Of the people, By the people, For the people
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Lloyd Eoff
TUESDAY, July 31, 2018 / Vol. 4 Issue 31 / 75 cents
Accomplishments aside, one thing was missing
Jack M. Lewis received a very special piece of paper July 1.
Jack M. Lewis has led a distinguished life as a lawyer, a prosecutor and a judge - the first municipal judge in Van Buren County, in fact. Last year, he was awarded the title of Attorney Emeritus from the Arkansas Supreme Court for his more than 50 years of dedicated and honorable service to the legal profession. He served in the Army during the years of the Korean War. Born in Pangburn in September 1933, to C.L.
and Evelyn, Lewis had four sisters. His dad was in the lumber business. He owned planer mills in Pangburn, Shirley, and Morrilton. The family spent several years in Shirley. Throughout the years, there was one thing he was missing — a high school diploma. Lewis went to high school in Morrilton and finished up in Pangburn in 1951. He was one credit short of receiving his high school diploma because of a class he had in Morrilton that was not offered
in Pangburn. Jack did not receive his high school diploma in May 1951. He went to work after high school and soon joined the Army. He was stationed in Germany and came back to the United States, attending State Teachers College in Conway, now the University of Central Arkansas. It was discovered there that he lacked a high school diploma but he was allowed to stay and take an extra course. Next was the University of Arkansas in Fayette-
ville, where he received his Bachelor of Arts Degree. He then was accepted into law school at the University of Arkansas, and he passed the Arkansas Bar in 1961. Still, he wanted that high school diploma, and last summer he talked with the superintendent at Pangburn to see what he could do. The superintendent took the matter to the School Board and on July 1, 2018, Lewis was presented his diploma at the school reunion.
Second thoughts spur return of cash The Clinton Police Department tells us that integrity is still alive and well here. “We are all human and make mistakes, it's what we do to redeem ourselves that defines us,” the department says on its Facebook page. Earlier in the week, a woman was unloading her cart at Walmart and forgot her wallet in the shopping cart. A young woman picked up the wallet and took $160 cash out of it before turning it in to the service desk without the cash. The woman who lost the wallet reported it to Clinton Police and thought that would be the last she'd ever see of her cash. Apparently the young wom-
an who took the cash was having second thoughts about keeping it and last week she went to the police department and handed it to the secretary in the front office and ran out the door before the secretary had a chance to open it and discover what it was. Inside was the cash along with this note: “I am so sorry, very long story short - I was on the phone with the hospital who has my son who I seen jump out of my moving car the night before, they are not a “free” mental facility and I panicked. Please forgive me as I always strive to have integrity and that day I failed miserably. Once again I am sorry.”
The sky’s the limit - A Great Blue Heron departs from a pond and heads east last week.
(Photo by Robert R. Gaut)
Driver faces drug charges A Rison man landed behind bars in the Van Buren County Detention Center earlier this month after being stopped because of a burned-out tail light. A Clinton Police officer reported that he was on patrol on Highway 65 about 11 p.m. July 22 when he noticed the small truck and pulled it over. The driver, Murry Green, 30, gave permission to search his vehicle, the affidavit for arrest states. Inside, the officer found
a green plastic bag with white crystalline residue in it and at that point put Green under arrest, the report states. Green kept insisting there should not be anything illegal in the vehicle, but the officer went on to find a meth pipe, marijuana pipe, marijuana and a green bag with a white crystalline substance inside, the report states. The officer said Green then said it belonged to him, the report states. Green has been
charged with possession of controlled substance meth/cocaine, Class D felony; possession of drug paraphernalia, Class D felony; possession of controlled substance, misdemeanor; and possession of drug paraphernalia, misdemeanor. His arraignment is set for Aug. 30 at 9 a.m. in Van Buren County Circuit Court. His bond has been set at $2,500. Also on July 22, a Van Buren County dep-
uty headed toward McCoog and Jamie Road to check out a report of a car with Florida tags that was stopping in front of homes up and down the street. The deputy spoke with Tracy Britnell, 39, of Forrest City. The deputy believed her to be under the influence and she allowed him to look in her purse where he found a glass smoking device and a small plastic bag containing a crystallized substance, according to an affidavit.
Green
Britnell
The deputy said he later found out that the minor son was driving the car looking for rocks to be used in landscaping. Britnell was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia meth/cocaine, a Class D felony, pos-
session of controlled substance meth/cocaine, a Class D felony, and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a minor. Arraignment will be 9 a.m. Aug. 30 at the Van Buren County Courthouse.
Dispensary selection to be made by outside firm
Crews busy on highway - Utility work continues on Highway 65 between Clinton and Botkinburg in preparation for road construction improvements in 2020. Workers are in multiple locations. Give’em a brake. (Photo by Jeff Burgess)
A divided Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission decided last week to search for an outside consulting firm to score the applications for the state's first cannabis dispensaries. The Office of State Procurement plans to solicit bids from consulting firms and the winning bidder will have 30 days to evaluate the 203 dispensary applications. The licenses should be issued before the end of the year. The measure passed on a 3-2 vote. The consulting firm should have its work
done in this fall and the first dispensary licenses should be issues in November. Two of the commissioners will see their terms end in December and the commission has been warned that having new commissioners finish the process likely would cause additional legal problems. Some commissioners said they believe hiring a firm is abdicating their only duty. Arkansas voters approved legalizing medical marijuana in the 2016 General Election, as did 29 other states. Most states
have faces legal and regulatory issues. The commission will look for a group with experience in health care and cannabis or horticulture. Medical cannabis to be used in Arkansas must be grown in Arkansas. It should be available to patients in the summer of 2019. Several months ago, two groups bidding for cultivation and dispensary rights made presentations in Van Buren County. They were unsuccessful on the cultivation side but are still hopeful to be licensed for distribution.