News in Brief

— Read below for news snippets from around the River Valley and Ozark area.

MAUMELLE

Jacksonville man dead in I-430 accident

MAUMELLE — An accident at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 15 claimed the life of a Jacksonville man, William Dooley, 60, Pulaski County Coroner Garland Camper said.

Troopers said Dooley’s car crossed the median and hit a pickup truck driven by Aaron Hawks, 21, of Vilonia.

The accident took place near the Interstate 430 Maumelle exit past the Arkansas River bridge.

FAULKNER COUNTY

Area colleges note enrollment changes

CONWAY — According to a University of Central Arkansas press release, the school has lost 337 students in the last semester.

Public Relations Officer Jeff Pitchford said the university has cut back its concurrent-enrollment programs at area high schools, which reduced UCA’s student count.

Central Baptist College’s enrollment this fall exceeded 700 students for the first time.

A report released by the CBC registrar said the college has a total of 725 students.

“That’s up 100 students (a 16 percent increase) over the fall 2009 enrollment of 625,” the report states.

POPE COUNTY

Arkansas Tech reaches record enrollment

RUSSELLVILLE — Arkansas Tech University’s total enrollment is a record 9,801 this fall on its Russellville and Ozark campuses. University officials said this is an 11.2 percent increase from fall 2009.

VAN BUREN COUNTY

Preliminary report released on Air Evac crash

SCOTLAND — The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report on the Air Evac helicopter that crashed Aug. 31 in Van Buren County, near Clinton.

The report chronicles the observations of a witness who said he heard the explosion and the sound of crashing metal.

The investigation also found that the radar indicated that the helicopter turned to the left and then to the right shortly before disappearing.

According to the report, the helicopter’s wreckage was in three pieces. The rotor assembly fell about 700 feet from the largest piece of the helicopter, while the tail rotor was about 100 feet away.

Horse still missing

CLINTON — Nate Priefert of Mount Pleasant, Texas, is still searching for his missing quarter horse, Chief, who disappeared Sept. 3 during the National Championship Chuckwagon Races in Clinton.

Priefert is offering a reward of $1,000 for the lost horse.

Priefert believes his horse was probably loaded into a trailer and stolen, but he is continuing the search effort.

Chief is a sorrel-colored male with a blaze face and a diamond P brand on his left hip.

For more information, visit the website of Stolen Horse International at www.netposse.com.

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