100 years ago
May 7, 1916
PARAGOULD -- Following an example set by Judge J. F. Gautney of Jonesboro, first division, Judge W. J. Driver of Osceola, of the second division, Second judicial circuit, today addressed a letter to Prosecuting Attorney M. P. Huddleston requesting him to instruct the sheriff of Cross county to rearrest Luther Wallen and Bob Turk, recently fined and sentenced to jail by Judge Driver for contempt, and pardoned by Gov. Geo. W. Hays. It is alleged that the pardons were not legal because the petitions asking the governor to pardon the men were not published, as is required by law.
50 years ago
May 7, 1966
• The city of Russellville and the Little Rock District of the Corps of Engineers launched a comprehensive effort Friday to reclaim the unsightly coal strip mine pits north of the city for beautification and recreation. In a ceremony held on a site overlooking the wasted area, Col. Frank P. Bane, district engineer, presented Russellville Mayor C. A. Hughes with a 25-year lease to two of the strip pit areas along the west side of Arkansas Highway 7 on Illinois Bayou.
25 years ago
May 7, 1991
JACKSONVILLE -- Soil samples taken last year from several sites in Jacksonville contain no detectable levels of dioxin, according to a report issued by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. EPA officials, responding to complaints from local environmentalists, took the samples in August and September. The samples were taken from five locations, including two elementary schools located near the old Vertac Chemical Corp. plant, in August.
10 years ago
May 7, 2006
• Last week, the Jacksonville City Council became the first in Arkansas to legislate the preservation of the city's past by passing an ordinance making it illegal to remove artifacts from historic sites within its boundaries. People who violate the ordinance face fines between $50 and $500, said Alderman Bill Howard, who sponsored the law. "As far as I know, this is unique," said Ann M. Early, the state archaeologist at the Arkansas Archeological Survey at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Relic hunting is "a problem in Arkansas and everywhere else in the country," she said. "Civil War-era artifacts are particularly in danger. They are highly desirable, traded, bought and sold. It's the prudent and responsible thing for any public or private entity to be concerned about the integrity of any Civil War site."
Metro on 05/07/2016