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Lori Blagg
TUESDAY, October 2, 2018 / Vol. 4 Issue 40 / 75 cents
Daybreak heads to Clinton
Clinton tops Melbourne - Caleb Bowman runs for a touchdown last week against Melbourne. The Jackets won 35-26. Story, more photos Pages 6-7. (Photo by Robert R. Gaut)
Attention early risers … Channel 7 Daybreak will be at Tumlison Field at Clinton schools at 5:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 5, and will start airing at 5:45 a.m. The public is encouraged to join the school in creating an ESPN-type Game Day atmosphere Friday morning as we get to show the state how Van Buren County does high school football. - Jeremy Carson
Forum set in Bee Branch
The Bee Branch Fire Department is hosting a political forum for candidates for Van Buren County judge and sheriff. Most of the candidates have committed to take part in the forum, which is set for 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9, at the fire department. Questions were provided to the candidates last week. Candidates for Van Buren County judge are the incumbent Roger Hooper (Democrat), Justice of the Peace Dale James (Republican) and Tony Soyani (Independent). Candidates for Van Buren County sheriff are Lucas Emberton (Republican), an officer with the Greenbrier Police Department; Eric Koonce (Democrat), an officer with the Clinton Police Department; and Paul Rice (Independent), a retired Van Buren County deputy.
Dig it - Road construction workers continue to whittle away at bed rock on Highway 65, south of Choctaw, while other parts of the project approach completion. (Photo by Jeff Burgess)
Open house Saturday
How many pies? - Millard Wagner grew this 6.53 pound Centennial sweet potato in his Scotland garden. He said it was so big it pushed its way out of the ground. Wagner said he is going to save the sweet potato for next year’s cuttings.
Choctaw Volunteer Fire Department is holding an open house on Saturday, October 6, starting at 11 a.m. and running until 2 p.m. This open house will be at the Barrens Station on Barrens Community Road. This open house is to show the new equipment that the Choctaw department has obtained over the past few years and to let the community learn that there are jobs that need to be done at the fire station that do not involve fighting a fire. Someone has to clean the building, someone has to do the books, someone has to cut the grass and keep the
equipment running. The department is always looking for help as well as full-fledged firefighters. Come by and visit with your Volunteer fire Department members, have a hamburger or hot dog, let the kids have fun in the bouncy house and check out the new fire engine, fire boat, and other items that the department has worked hard to obtain. Did you know that when Choctaw Fire Department rolls all of its equipment there is around 8,000 gallons of water heading to the fire scene? Come out and find out how they do it. - Ken Brown
Man gets 10 years for sex with child A 20-year-old Shirley man pleaded guilty last week to charges that will put him behind bars for 10 years. Corey Key pleaded guilty to sexual indecency with a child, a Class D felony, and sexual assault-second degree, a Class B fel-
ony. He was sentenced to 120 months in the Arkansas Department of Correction with a 120-month suspended imposition of sentence. Key acknowledged having sex over the course of a year with a 13-year-old. He said he
knew her age, according to an arrest affidavit. The victim said her mother caught Key at their home and chased him away. Key was arrested after an interview with sex crimes investigator Robert Leal in February 2018.
Key
Snowy winter? - According to folklore, you can predict what kind of winter is in store by cutting open a persimmon and seeing what utensil is represented. A spoon, as seen here, indicates lots of snow. (Facebook photo)
Marijuana found on Green Bay land A Clinton man has been charged with growing marijuana on property belonging to Green Bay Packaging. A 20th Judicial Drug Task Force agent, a Game and Fish Commission officer and Van Buren County deputies descended on the home of James Kevin Witt on Highway 16 West on Sept. 25 with a search warrant. The officers discovered a marijuana plant growing about 60 feet away from the residence, according to an arrest affidavit. They also found suspected marijuana leaves hanging up to dry and a bag containing 2 grams of a white crystal-like substance suspected to be methamphetamine, and numerous items of paraphernalia, the report states. Inside Witt’s vehicle, officers discovered about 27 grams of suspected marijuana and a .22 caliber rifle, the report states. A search of the residence turned up six more firearms, ammunition and more suspected marijuana, about 73 grams in all, the report states. Witt told officers he has a drug problem and all of the marijuana was for personal use, the affidavit states. Witt, a convicted felon, told officers most of the firearms had been his since he was a kid, the report states. At the sheriff’s office, Witt told the task force agent that he was growing marijuana on Green Bay property because it got good sunlight and because he didn’t want to get anyone in trouble, the report states. Witt, 44, has been charged with possession of firearms by certain persons, a Class D felony, unauthorized use of property to facilitate a crime, a Class B felony, possession of a controlled substance-meth or cocaine, a Class D felony, possession of a controlled substance-schedule IV, a Class D felony, and misdemeanor manufacturing a controlled substance, and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. A 45-year-old Clin-
ton man is facing three counts of terroristic threatening, Class Bonds D felonies. Earl Jackson Bonds had been at his mother’s home on Sept. 19 though she had told him not to be on her property, according to an arrest affidavit. Bonds first told his mother he would put a pill in her drink, then told her and another relative at the house that he would put a bullet in their heads, according to the report. Bonds was arrested at his home. A Clinton woman stopped Sept. 24 by police for having Harris a headlight out is facing far more serious charges. A search of her car turned up 3 grams of a crystal-like substance and a glass pipe, according to an affidavit for arrest. Colette Harris, 53, told the Clinton officer that she had been on meth “a long time,” the report states. She has been charged with possession of a controlled substance, a Class C felony, possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class D felony, and a couple of traffic violations. A home visit from an Arkansas Community Corrections officer resulted in the arrest of a 61-year-old Clinton man on Sept. 18. The officer discovered three syringes in the bedroom of Ronald Hamner, according to an arrest affidavit. Hamner then directed the searchers to other items including methamphetamine, a green leafy substance and two sets of scales, the report states. Hamner has been charged with possession of methamphetamine or cocaine with purpose to deliver, a Class C felony, possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class D felony, and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.