100 years ago
Dec. 5, 1921
• The mystery surrounding the disappearance of nearly 1,000 Gazettes every Sunday for several months was cleared up yesterday morning when a Gazette newsboy saw two negroes unload 800 copies of the Gazette in an alley near Fourth and State streets. Quick action by the newsboy and Emmet Elliott, foreman of the Gazette mailing room, resulted in the recovery of all the papers, and 800 out-of-town subscribers did not miss the Sunday paper. The newsboy hurried to the Gazette office and informed Elliott of what he saw. Elliott went to the scene in an automobile and arrived in time to see the truck leave the alley. In the alley, Elliott found 15 bundles of Gazettes, which he loaded in his Ford, then went to police headquarters. Patrolman Allen joined him and they went to the transfer company barn, but the two negroes had disappeared. There, they found the truck in the barn. Underneath the truck were five bundles of Gazettes.
50 years ago
Dec. 5, 1971
FAYETTEVILLE -- Rodney Kirkton, 33, a University of Arkansas entomology professor and a gun and knife collector, wounded his wife and stepdaughter with shots from a 9mm automatic pistol before killing himself with a .45-caliber weapon, the Fayetteville Police Department said Saturday. Bill Brooks, a Police Department investigator, said the police received a telephone call about the shootings at 3:02 p.m. The shootings occurred in the Kirktons' home.
25 years ago
Dec. 5, 1996
SPRINGDALE -- A local activist for issues involving Spanish-speaking immigrants has been ordered to pay the management of a Springdale hotel a bill for more than $10,000 incurred in April. Robert Espinoza was ordered by Circuit Judge Kim Smith to pay the $10,097.40 bill to the management of the Holiday Inn of Northwest Arkansas. The hotel claims that on April 10, Espinoza booked a banquet and 22 rooms for four nights, using a credit card for payment, according to the lawsuit. Upon checkout, Espinoza said he had to take one of his guests to the airport and would return with payment. He never did, the lawsuit stated. The credit card was processed and the charges denied.
10 years ago
Dec. 5, 2011
• A Little Rock business was a total loss after a fire early Sunday, Little Rock Fire Department Capt. Jason Weaver said. Fire crews were dispatched to Arkansas Fence and Guardrail Co. at 11112 West Base Line Road at 4 a.m. after several phone calls about a fire at the business, Weaver said. When crews arrived, Weaver said, the roof had already started to cave in and a wall was partially collapsed. An estimated $20,000 of damage was done to the metal building, which was 30 by 40 feet, and its contents, Weaver said. Crews were on scene until about 5:55 a.m. and the cause of the fire is not yet known, Weaver said. No one was injured.