100 years ago
Oct. 7, 1922
FORT SMITH -- Sophie Jordan, 14-year-old girl held in custody since August 16, following the fatal shooting of Henry Barrett, local grocer, will not be arraigned in Circuit Court on a charge of second degree murder, as a result of the Grand Jury announcing today that it had ignored taking action, referring her case to the Juvenile Court. Officers say the girl had obtained a pistol after she had wagered with another girl that she could drink the most liquor, and dashed into the crowd of men, waving the gun wildly and recklessly. Barrett, while endeavoring to pacify the girl, was shot, dying soon afterward.
50 years ago
Oct. 7, 1972
CONWAY -- State College of Arkansas has relinquished its 99-year lease on Kamp Kiwanis, owned by the Conway Kiwanis Club, and the club now is studying plans for further use of the area. The camp site is located on Cove Creek in northeastern Faulkner County. The camp, founded in the 1930s, was abandoned by the Kiwanis Club as a summer camp for boys and girls several years ago. SCA leased the property for use by outdoor recreation classes. Officials of the college say the camp area now is no longer needed.
25 years ago
Oct. 7, 1997
• Human error caused almost 1,000 people to be mistakenly notified in August that they had not filed Arkansas income tax returns for 1995, a state official said Monday. The mistake occurred when a computer tape containing tax return information was not loaded on the computer for processing. Therefore the computer system contained no record of returns for 976 taxpayers. Tim Leathers, deputy director of the state Department of Finance and Administration, issued a news release apologizing for the error. Taxpayers who received non-filer notices have been mailed letters telling them of the mistake and that it has been corrected. Those who were due refunds will receive them plus 10 percent interest. Leathers said state law requires the state to pay 10 percent interest on refunds that are not processed within 90 days of the filing deadline.
10 years ago
Oct. 7, 2012
JONESBORO -- The second annual Johnny Cash Festival proved to be even more successful than the first, thanks to fewer acts and better pacing. Even the wretched weather did not keep more than 5,000 music fans from packing the Convocation Center at Arkansas State University on Friday, where their reward was more than four hours of music that would have done Cash proud, especially since the event helped raise funds for the restoration of his boyhood home and other landmarks in nearby Dyess. The music was not the only high note, as there were insightful filmed segments between acts about Cash's life, with some featuring Cash himself. The most touching was one in which famed rock producer Rick Rubin described working with Cash in the last years of his life, when he knew death was approaching.