Debra Hale-Shelton

Report blames UCA troubles on cash outlay

School didn’t issue bonds for projects, auditor says

Unfunded capital projects during Lu Hardin’s six years as president of the University of Central Arkansas are partly to blame for the school’s financial problems, a state report found.
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Ruling to be sought on death-penalty waiver

Attorneys for a man charged in a 2005 slaying in Van Buren County plan to ask the Arkansas Supreme Court to rule on whether the state can rescind a previous prosecutor’s decision not to seek the death penalty.
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FBI takes close look at UCA

Reason for visit is not disclosed

The FBI is investigating questionable practices at the University of Central Arkansas, sources said Wednesday, more than six months after state auditors turned findings of financial irregularities at the school over to a state prosecutor.
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Report says courthouse in OK shape

The historic Faulkner County Courthouse is in good enough shape structurally to serve the public “for decades to come,” according to a new report commissioned by preservationists.
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City urges dismissal of suit over tax records

A judge should dismiss a newspaper’s lawsuit seeking to force Searcy to release individual businesses’ gross tax receipts and Advertising and Promotion tax returns, the city attorney said in a court filing.
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Vaccinations go smoother as rain eases

119,000-plus flu doses given at state’s temporary clinics

The second day of a mass influenza vaccination effort across Arkansas went more smoothly Friday as heavy rain began subsiding.
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UCA makes positive of painful

Improvements, scholarships in response to students’ deaths

A year after two students were fatally shot at the University of Central Arkansas, the school has expanded its security and notification system while also taking time to honor the victims.
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Two charges filed in Morrilton blaze

Suspect faces rare catastrophe count

A Conway County man who police said was drunk and set a fire that destroyed three buildings in a historic section of downtown Morrilton was charged Friday with causing a catastrophe and commercial burglary.
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Conway developer goes back to drawing board

Residents of two upscale subdivisions in west Conway will still have a hay farm as their neighbor for a while, but developer John Pennington agreed Thursday to work toward a housing development more in keeping with the city’s wishes.
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Justices affirm consecutive terms for Throneberry

The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the consecutive prison sentences of Anne Throneberry, convicted in the 2004 bludgeoning death of her husband, Ted, and the coverup that followed.
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