Our Town

North Little Rock notebook

Sponsor holding off on cow, farm rules

Legislation to restrict the number of cows and place other limitations on farmland within the city will wait at least one more City Council meeting, the ordinance's sponsor said.

The City Council convenes Monday in a meeting rescheduled from last Monday because of snow. The council's next regularly scheduled meeting will be March 9.

The legislation, postponed from Jan. 26, would restrict the size of farming and ranch plots and limit the number of cattle to 10. Having more than 10 cows would require a special permit. The city now allows one cow per acre.

The issue could specifically affect properties in the Stone Links subdivision on the city's eastern end. Dozens of residents from the Stone Links subdivision attended the Jan. 26 council meeting to support the restrictions after the 18-hole Stone Links Golf Course was closed and the golf course property auctioned off in December. Many single-family homes are near the golf course property that includes about 300 acres of farmland.

Alderman Maurice Taylor, the legislation's sponsor, said Stone Links residents would prefer the property remain a golf course but that it "would be a tough thing to pull off from a financial aspect." Changes to the proposal are being studied, with no action to come Monday, Taylor said last week.

"In a couple of weeks, we may have something solid we can move forward on," Taylor said. "We're going to explore all the options to see what we can come up with and do what's best for the city and what's best for them."

Permits now needed for liftoffs at park

Model-rocket hobbyists will need an annual permit and launch-day approval to shoot off kit-built rockets from within a restricted area within Burns Park, the city's Parks Commission decided recently.

The largest rocket engine to be allowed is a size "C" because of limited launch space, said Jeff Caplinger, special projects director for the Parks and Recreation Department.

An annual permit costing $25 must be obtained, plus a request in writing must be made before the day of any launches, with Parks Department approval needed. The approval is necessary because the restricted launch area is on the Burns Park Soccer Complex fields and launches would have to defer to any soccer events, according to the approved regulations.

Awards set to honor emergency workers

The annual Public Safety Awards will be at 11:30 a.m. March 19 at the Wyndham Riverfront hotel, according to the city's Chamber of Commerce, the event's host.

The annual awards honor outstanding employees in the police, fire and emergency services departments.

Tickets are $25 and available by calling the chamber at (501) 372-5959 or emailing Brenda@nlrchamber.org.

Clinton to headline Thea evening in LR

Former President Bill Clinton will headline a fundraiser May 13 at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock to benefit the Thea Foundation, a nonprofit based in North Little Rock's downtown.

"Into the Blue: An Evening with President Bill Clinton" will include a cocktail reception with Clinton beginning at 6:30 p.m. Dinner is to start at 7:30 p.m. in the center's Great Hall. Several former Thea arts scholarship winners will perform.

Held in Washington, D.C., each year since 2003, this will be the first year for the annual fundraiser to be held in Little Rock, Thea Foundation Executive Director Paul Leopoulos said, adding that "over the years, many local patrons and friends have expressed interest in attending the event."

Individual tickets range between $1,000 and $2,000. Proceeds will benefit the Thea Foundation's programs, which includes annual scholarship awards to high school seniors across Arkansas. Information and tickets are available by emailing paul@theafoundation.org or calling (501) 379-9512.

Metro on 03/01/2015

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