100 years ago
June 24, 1921
• J. D. Mays, sheriff of Phillips county, was denied the privilege of taking six of the Elaine negroes to the jail at Marianna, whom he called yesterday at the state penitentiary to transfer the men who are awaiting trial in the Lee Circuit Court, on change of venue, in connection with the Elaine riots. Warden E. H. Dempsey of the state penitentiary held that he was without authority to permit the men to be taken from the walls, as a statute governing the removal of prisoners provides that each prisoner so removed shall be accompanied by one or more guards appointed by the Penitentiary Commission, to afford adequate protection to the prisoners.
50 years ago
June 24, 1971
• Representatives of the three railroads with tracks in North Little Rock objected Wednesday to the city's proposal to regulate their crossings. They told Public Works Director Charles F. Wrobleski in an afternoon meeting at City Hall that they agreed that some of the crossings needed smoothing but disagreed that the city should pass an ordinance requiring specific types of crossings and warning signals. Wrobleski told them that he didn't think an ordinance should be necessary either but he said that the railroads had neglected the crossings.
25 years ago
June 24, 1996
• Pulaski County jail officials wondered why inmates were so eager to work on the roof. Then the jail's maintenance staff discovered the reason: a rooftop dotted with packs of cigarettes. The cigarettes were smuggled into what was supposed to be a smoke-free jail in a rather sporting way. Friends on the outside would lob the packs over the razor-wire fence and into prisoner recreation yards. Many of the smokes made their way into an inmate black market, a contraband gold mine where entrepreneurs could command $45 a pack from their nicotine-deprived jailmates.
10 years ago
June 24, 2011
• University of Arkansas leaders told a panel of lawmakers Thursday that they were mindful of the historic value of the Fayetteville campus when they planned a route for the use of construction vehicles there. The route will be used for about two years to bring materials to workers at Ozark and Vol Walker halls in the center of campus. "We want to make sure that we do right by the citizens of this state," said Dr. Carl Johnson, chairman of the UA board of trustees. The university revised the route, originally set to run from Lafayette Street, after Fayetteville residents complained that it would cut through the lawn in front of Old Main, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.