Police to control city's 911 system
The North Little Rock 911 Center's operational control and supervision will be shifted from the city's Emergency Services Center to the Police Department beginning April 1, Mayor Joe Smith said in an executive order issued Thursday.
Rick Ezell, director of the city's Emergency Services and the 911 Center, will continue as Emergency Services director. The 911 Center's budget and staff will be shifted to fall under Police Chief Mike Davis' supervision, the order said.
Smith said the change occurred after Ezell announced his intent to retire, but then agreed to stay on as director only.
"I recognize that the majority of the activity in the 911 Center is related to the provision of police services," Smith wrote. "For this reason, the transfer of control makes good operational sense."
Smith added in the order that he appreciated Davis' willingness to accept the additional duties that will "increase responsibility to you and your staff."
Katchen exhibit to open at library
The artwork of Carole Katchen will be on exhibit beginning Friday through April 13 at the Argenta Branch Library of the William F. Laman Public Library System.
Katchen, who has resided in Hot Springs since 1995, has been listed in Who's Who in American Art for 26 years and was a contributing editor to The Artist's Magazine for 14 years, according to a news release.
Katchen's first children's book, I Was a Lonely Teenager, published in 1965, sold 700,000 copies, according to the news release. She later became a renowned gallery artist, with her art featured in museums and galleries throughout the United States since 1970.
The exhibit is free and open to the public during regular hours at the branch library, 420 Main St., North Little Rock. A reception will open the exhibit from 5-7:30 p.m. Friday at the library in conjunction with the Argenta Arts District's Third Friday Art Walk. For more information, visit the library's website at lamanlibrary.org.
'Harry Potter' put back on schedule
A national touring exhibit is back on at the Argenta Branch Library this summer, while another one headed for the main William F. Laman Library has been canceled, according to city spokesman Nathan Hamilton.
"Harry Potter's World: Renaissance, Science, Magic and Medicine" is scheduled to be at the Argenta Branch Library, 420 Main St., from May 11 to Aug. 14 -- an extended run that also will replace the canceled "Backstage Pass: Baron Wolman and the Early Years of Rolling Stone" magazine, which was to be on display June-August.
Both exhibits were announced as being canceled at a library board of trustees meeting in December because of budget cutbacks that resulted in 11 library employees losing their jobs and reduced hours at both libraries.
While library officials initially planned to cancel exhibits at the main library in light of the system's financial difficulties, it wasn't possible for most of them because the library had signed contracts and paid deposits, interim Director Mary Furlough said in December.
However, "The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic," scheduled to be at the main Laman Library, 2801 Orange St., from April 24 to June 6, now is no longer scheduled because of higher than expected shipping costs, Hamilton said.
Exhibits are free and open to the public. For more information, visit the library website at lamanlibrary.org.
Metro on 03/15/2015