Kenneth Heard
Stories by Kenneth
Arkansas site of 3 confirmed tornadoes
posted: 05/24/2013 4:48 a.m. Discuss
The National Weather Service has confirmed that three tornadoes touched down during storms Monday evening in Northwest Arkansas.
UA, ASU votes bar handguns at colleges
posted: 05/24/2013 12:02 a.m. Discuss
Boards of trustees for the state’s two largest university systems voted unanimously Thursday to opt out of a new state law that would allow qualified, full-time faculty and staff members to carry concealed handguns on their campuses.
Two days of quakes give areas the jitters
posted: 05/23/2013 5:06 a.m. Discuss
A series of earthquakes near three Arkansas towns Tuesday and Wednesday, including two by Morrilton, have geologists studying causes and residents wary of the potential for more shaking.
Wind cited in state teen’s death
posted: 05/22/2013 12:23 a.m. Discuss
Storms from a large system that spawned a deadly Oklahoma tornado raked Arkansas on Monday evening and Tuesday, killing a Prairie Grove man in Springdale.
Body in river identified as missing girl’s
posted: 05/21/2013 12:22 a.m. Discuss
WALNUT RIDGE — State Crime Laboratory examiners have identified a body found in the Black River near Pocahontas on Saturday as that of a 14-year-old girl missing since March 10, Walnut Ridge Police Chief Richey Thacker said Monday.
Cattle rustling in state often under the radar
posted: 05/19/2013 4:46 a.m. Discuss
Melbourne cattle farmer Hayden Wyatt has watched his herd more closely since someone stole 140 cows and calves from him and his partner a year and a half ago.
Education notebook
posted: 05/19/2013 4:25 a.m. Discuss
LR high schools set graduation timeline The Little Rock School District is hosting baccalaureate and graduation ceremonies for five campuses this week.
Kidnapping suspect arrested
posted: 05/18/2013 5:08 a.m. Discuss
Arkansas State Police officers arrested a Georgia man Friday afternoon near the busy interchange of Interstate 55 and Interstate 40 in West Memphis, eight hours after authorities said he kidnapped his 2-year old daughter near Atlanta.
Two towns approve sales taxes
posted: 05/16/2013 5:01 a.m. Discuss
Collection of a renewed sales tax in Osceola won’t begin until three months after an existing 1 percent tax expires, resulting in the Mississippi County town losing about $300,000 in potential tax revenue, Mayor Dickie Kennemore said Wednesday.
New circuit judge assigned to trial in Jonesboro killing
posted: 05/16/2013 4:49 a.m. Discuss
A circuit court judge who presided over the pleadings of three men charged in the 2011 killing of a Jonesboro businessman will now hear the capital-murder case against the victim’s wife.
Phillip County court hears jail financing options
posted: 05/15/2013 5:20 a.m. Discuss
HELENA-WEST HELENA — Members of the Phillips County Quorum Court were overwhelmed Tuesday night by the amount of planning and money needed to reopen the county’s decrepit jail. As a result, the justices of the peace readily agreed to an architect’s suggestion that he put off his presentation until another meeting.
Gay alumnus sees school snub
posted: 05/10/2013 12:04 a.m. Comments 36
A 1990 graduate of a northeast Arkansas high school who went on to a career in national television has said that officials at his alma mater have withdrawn an invitation for him to speak at today’s commencement ceremonies because he is homosexual.
I-40 pileup kills 1, stalls traffic 5 hours
posted: 05/09/2013 12:59 a.m. Comment 1
One person died and two others were injured Wednesday in a six-vehicle accident in an Interstate 40 construction zone near Hazen that blocked traffic for more than five hours, officials said.
A MATTER OF DEGREES: 30-foot change gives rise to weather rivalry
posted: 05/05/2013 4:17 a.m. Discuss
GILBERT — Harold Bing greets visitors to his home on Gilbert’s Frost Street with a hearty handshake and an invitation inside.
May snow one for books
posted: 05/04/2013 4:54 a.m. Comments 2
On Friday, for the first time in recorded history, it snowed in May in Arkansas.
Phony calls: Pay power bills, or else
posted: 05/02/2013 4:44 a.m. Discuss
Customers with Entergy Arkansas Inc. and a north Arkansas electric cooperative received fraudulent calls Wednesday from a person purporting to be with the utilities and asking for payment before the companies shut their services off, officials said.
Arson cases in Dyess spark security boost
posted: 04/30/2013 12:28 a.m. Discuss
Four recent house fires in Johnny Cash’s boyhood town of Dyess have driven local authorities to increase patrols of the small Mississippi County town and have spurred Arkansas State University officials to closely watch their renovation project at the country singer’s childhood home.
Arctic bite sets records across state
posted: 04/26/2013 4:54 a.m. Comments 18
More than two dozen Arkansas towns saw record low temperatures Thursday, and 10 cities recorded the latest date for a freeze in decades as nursery owners scrambled to save plants and meteorologists kept watch on another cold spell forecast for next week.
Man killed when plane clips tree, crashes
posted: 04/23/2013 3:48 a.m. Discuss
A Greenbrier man died Monday after his airplane clipped a tree during an aborted landing, then crashed at the Arkavalley Airport in Faulkner County, authorities said.
Craighead County receives nearly $132,000 IRS refund
posted: 04/19/2013 4:40 a.m. Discuss
The Internal Revenue Service has refunded more than $130,000 to Craighead County after officials negotiated a settlement for penalties and interest accrued for nearly 10 years of mistakes in payroll taxes.
Front dumps rain, cools down state
posted: 04/19/2013 4:28 a.m. Discuss
Heavy rains soaked the state Thursday as a cold front moved through and temperatures dropped by more than 30 degrees in many Arkansas towns.
Newport of a mind to save ‘blue bridge’
posted: 04/17/2013 3:53 a.m. Discuss
A survey shows strong sentimental feelings for the Arkansas 367 bridge that spans the White River in Newport, fueling city leaders’ desire to develop a downtown-revitalization program incorporating the bridge.
County will pay to finish Bono Lake
posted: 04/15/2013 4:02 a.m. Discuss
Craighead County Quorum Court member Josh Longmire was a high school student when local officials first talked about building a recreational lake near Bono.
Mom arrested in sex-abuse case for giving girl new phone
posted: 04/13/2013 4:51 a.m. Discuss
Jonesboro police on Friday arrested the mother of a 12-year-old Jonesboro girl whom authorities said had been sexually abused by several adults and four youths numerous times, saying the mother permitted the abuse by giving her a cell phone so she could call and text those who abused her.
3 tornadoes hit state, weather service says
posted: 04/13/2013 4:48 a.m. Discuss
The National Weather Service in North Little Rock confirmed that three tornadoes touched down in Van Buren, Stone and Izard counties during Wednesday’s storms, including a twister that injured five people in Botkinburg. The confirmation came after inspections of damage by survey teams Friday.
Victims recall twister’s terror
posted: 04/12/2013 12:01 a.m.
Discuss
As she lay in a hospital bed Thursday with a fractured rib and three fractured vertebrae, Carolyn Cloud told of the “scariest thing that has ever happened” to her — surviving the twister that ripped apart her home in the nearby Botkinburg area and threw her into the yard the night before.
12 formally charged with rape of girl; porn counts also for 10
posted: 04/11/2013 12:56 a.m. Comments 8
Authorities formally charged eight adults and four youths Wednesday with rape, computer child pornography or both after a three-month investigation into the repeated sexual abuse of a 12-year-old Jonesboro girl.
Storm carves damage trail in state
posted: 04/11/2013 12:03 a.m. Discuss
A strong storm system ripped through the state Wednesday, damaging homes, downing power lines and uprooting trees.
Jail beds back after Baxter County JPs find funds
posted: 04/08/2013 4:40 a.m. Discuss
The beds that Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery removed in December are back in the county jail, and sheriff’s deputies have returned to patrolling the county after an emergency cash appropriation of $143,574 was added to Montgomery’s budget.
School-mill rises sought in Independence County
posted: 04/08/2013 4:39 a.m. Discuss
Two Independence County school districts are seeking millage increases Tuesday to help fund projects aimed at improving school security.
Judge: Parents can’t see ’93 evidence
posted: 04/04/2013 4:48 a.m. Discuss
A circuit judge has ruled against allowing the parents of two West Memphis 8-year-olds killed in 1993 to look at evidence in the case.
Prosecutor clears sheriff’s deputy in wounding of man
posted: 04/04/2013 4:38 a.m. Discuss
A prosecuting attorney ruled Wednesday that a Craighead County sheriff’s deputy was justified when he shot and injured a Jonesboro man during a March 23 traffic stop.
3 weeks later, still no sign of girl, 14
posted: 04/03/2013 3:41 a.m. Discuss
Lawrence County sheriff’s deputies and volunteers have searched Lawrence County for more than three weeks for a missing 14-year-old Walnut Ridge girl without finding a clue to her whereabouts. But they are not giving up, and the hunt continues, said search coordinator Buddy Williams.
Jail money on Baxter County radar
posted: 03/31/2013 3:56 a.m. Discuss
After removing 58 beds from the Baxter County jail to cut costs, Sheriff John Montgomery is now asking Quorum Court members to appropriate $143,000 in earned-interest money to help fund the jail for the year.
Officer is suspended after conduct arrest
posted: 03/30/2013 4:44 a.m. Discuss
A 2nd Judicial District Drug Task Force agent was suspended Friday after police arrested him on charges of disorderly conduct and public intoxication, Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington said.
Chopper clip cuts power to 13,000
posted: 03/29/2013 5:18 a.m. Discuss
An Arkansas National Guard helicopter’s landing gear clipped an electrical utility line, knocking out power to about 13,000 customers in Searcy and Van Buren counties Wednesday evening, said Bill Conine, chief executive officer of Petit Jean Electric Cooperative.
Sheriff seeks volunteers to search for girl
posted: 03/29/2013 5:17 a.m. Discuss
Lawrence County authorities will search an area along the Black River on Saturday for a 14-year-old girl missing since March 10, and they are asking for volunteers to assist them.
Filings in lawsuit claim four killed three boys in ‘93
posted: 03/28/2013 12:15 a.m. Discuss
An attorney representing the mother of one of three West Memphis 8-year-olds killed in 1993 filed affidavits Wednesday in Crittenden County Circuit Court from witnesses who say they have knowledge about who killed the children two decades ago. Authorities said those accused in the affidavits were previously excluded as suspects.
Train-tractor crash leaves driver dead
posted: 03/27/2013 5:17 a.m. Discuss
A Union Pacific freight train hit a farm tractor Tuesday morning near Weiner, killing a volunteer firefighter who was towing equipment to a nearby field, authorities said.
Murder-trial jury seated in doctor’s fatal stabbing
posted: 03/26/2013 4:50 a.m. Discuss
Attorneys selected six men and six women Monday to serve on the jury for the capital murder-trial of a Memphis man accused of killing his stepfather, a Mountain Home doctor, authorities said.
Spring snow pretties up state’s north, then melts
posted: 03/23/2013 4:06 a.m. Discuss
An early-spring storm dropped up to 9 inches of snow on northern Arkansas, turning roads to slush, downing power lines and forcing some businesses to close early Thursday evening, but by Friday, most of it had melted off roadways.
Flames char Searcy Goodwill
posted: 03/23/2013 3:49 a.m. Discuss
An early morning fire Friday destroyed the Searcy Goodwill store and a warehouse that was full of donated clothing, appliances and other items, officials said.
Snow hits northern part of state
posted: 03/22/2013 5:01 a.m. Discuss
One day after spring arrived, snow fell in northern Arkansas — and there’s more to come, National Weather Service meteorologists said Thursday.
198 ASU employees report tax fraud
posted: 03/16/2013 4:50 a.m. Discuss
The Internal Revenue Service has now notified nearly 200 Arkansas State University employees that fraudulent income tax returns were filed in their names, ASU officials said Friday.
Drug sweeps round up 94 in two states
posted: 03/14/2013 3:33 a.m. Discuss
BLYTHEVILLE — A twoyear investigation that began when law enforcement officials wanted to curtail violent crime and drug trafficking in northeastern Arkansas has led to charges against 126 people in two states, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas said Wednesday.
Ditches, flatlands scoured for teen
posted: 03/13/2013 12:24 a.m. Discuss
The search for a missing 14-year-old Walnut Ridge girl entered its third day Tuesday as police combed fields and waterways, and townsfolk waited anxiously.
Newport examines salvaging ’30 span
posted: 03/11/2013 4:02 a.m. Discuss
As the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department prepares to build a new bridge over the White River in Newport, Jackson County officials are working to determine if it’s feasible to save the existing, 83-year-old span.
Permit OK’d to remove logjam
posted: 03/02/2013 4:54 a.m. Discuss
Jerry McCoy has seen a blockage of timber and debris continuously grow on the Cache River by his home near Grubbs over most of his life.
Newport shooting leaves toddler dead, mother in hospital
posted: 02/28/2013 3:42 a.m. Discuss
A 1-year-old girl was fatally shot and her mother critically injured when someone fired shots through their Newport apartment early Wednesday morning, authorities said.
Arkansas takes 2nd punch as storm’s ice follows snow
posted: 02/22/2013 2:38 a.m. Discuss
A winter storm that dumped 4 inches of snow on western Arkansas a day earlier unleashed freezing rain on the northern third of the state Thursday, coating roads and utility lines with a glaze of ice.
