Stories by I.C. Murrell

Members of new PBSD school board appointed LITTLE ROCK – The seven people who will serve on a limited-authority board for the Pine Bluff School District have been selected.The Arkansas Board of Education on Thursday voted unanimously to ... December 9, 2022

State education body votes for PBSD limited authority board LITTLE ROCK – A seven-person board with limited authority will lead the Pine Bluff School District in the near future.The Arkansas Board of Education voted unanimously to allow the state-operate... December 8, 2022

UAPB to fill in Classic games The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff will replace Jackson State University as Tennessee State University's opponent in the Southern Heritage Classic football game for the next two seasons.Fred... December 8, 2022

UAPB to replace Jackson State in Southern Heritage Classic The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff will replace Jackson State University in the Southern Heritage Classic football game for the next two seasons.Fred Jones, the founder of the annual game in Mem... December 7, 2022

PREP ROUNDUP: Cooper lifts WCHS to defeat Maumelle In Morrilton, Khamani Cooper scored 33 points and lifted Watson Chapel High School to a 63-58 win over Maumelle on Monday in the Petit Jean Basketball Classic. Cooper was 1 rebound away from a do... December 7, 2022

Friendship Aspire opens downtown The opening of Friendship Aspire Academy's Downtown Pine Bluff campus represented the addition of a new community resource, school officials said Tuesday."This school represents an urban part... December 7, 2022

PB man’s death a homicide The death of a 31-year-old Pine Bluff man in the area of Old Warren and Gibbins roads on Nov. 1 has been ruled a homicide, according to the Jefferson County sheriff's office. The identity of Jesse... December 6, 2022

Pine Bluff police nab suspect in July slaying of teen An 18-year-old man wanted in the slaying of a 16-year-old was captured by authorities Friday.The Pine Bluff Police Department announced Monday that Cartez Davis was found in a vehicle along with two o... December 6, 2022

Nov. 1 death in Pine Bluff was homicide, deputies say The death of a 31-year-old Pine Bluff man in the area of Old Warren and Gibbins roads on Nov. 1 has been ruled a homicide, according to the Jefferson County sheriff’s office.Police have identifi... December 5, 2022

Suspect in July homicide, 2 others arrested An 18-year-old man wanted for the alleged capital murder of a 16-year-old was captured by authorities Friday.The Pine Bluff Police Department announced Monday that Cartez Davis was located in a vehicl... December 5, 2022

Prosecutor follows calling to Pulaski County post Living in North Little Rock, Will Jones knew for a long time he wanted to become prosecuting attorney in Arkansas’ Sixth Judicial District.“A lot of times, a lot of people get a calling co... December 4, 2022

Sportsboard PREP FOOTBALLARKANSAS STATE PLAYOFFSNOTE: All championship games at War Memorial Stadium, Little RockCLASS 6AChampionship (Today)Greenwood vs. Pulaski Academy, 6:30 p.m.CLASS 5AChampionship (Today)Lit... December 3, 2022

Reindeer-free Santa flies into Pine Bluff, White Hall schools Elementary school children across Pine Bluff and White Hall were blessed with a visit from Santa Claus via helicopter on Thursday.Santa visited his young admirers at Edgewood, Forrest Park/Greenville,... December 2, 2022

Underwater Seafood in new spot City leaders, firefighters and businesspersons in Pine Bluff gathered at the former Long John Silver's at 1400 S. Main St. to welcome a more local business to the location -- Underwater Seafood --... December 1, 2022

Jury gives man 25-year sentence in killing A Jefferson County man will spend the next 25 years in state prison after being convicted of killing another man nearly two years ago just outside Pine Bluff.Prosecutors charged Zachary Vermillion, no... December 1, 2022

UAPB running back Kayvon Britten up for NCAA transfer Less than a week after scoring three touchdowns in a season-ending victory, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff running back Kayvon Britten announced on Twitter that he's entering the NCAA transf... December 1, 2022

Lions set to play Air Force Academy Second-year Coach Solomon Bozeman knew what he was doing in crafting a busy start to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff men's basketball season.The Golden Lions (2-6) played eight games in a... November 30, 2022

UAPB women head to SMU after being foiled in Florida Just 4 more minutes separated the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff women's basketball team from leaving Coral Gables, Fla., with a win Sunday.UAPB led North Carolina A&T State 56-52 with 4... November 29, 2022

UAPB caps season with 19-14 win over Hornets MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- The Golden Lions won't soon forget this Thanksgiving, and for that they should be thankful.Sophomore Kayvon Britten broke the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season and scored ... November 25, 2022

Watson Chapel beats Bulldogs after a Strong finish Marcus Strong had made back-to-back three-point shots to give Watson Chapel its largest lead against longtime archrival White Hall in the first half, but his biggest basket was yet to come.Following a... November 23, 2022

Pine Bluff City Council grants revision of cultural district plan Pine Bluff City Council members approved a revision to a resolution that defines how $2 million appropriated for a new cultural district downtown would be sourced.The council on Monday passed a Nov. 7... November 22, 2022

Treadwell sticks to game plan for ’22 Turkey Day Classic At least for one more game, Don Treadwell will lead the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff football team onto the field.Treadwell said he hasn't talked with Athletic Director Chris Robinson abou... November 22, 2022

Sportsboard COLLEGE VOLLEYBALLSWAC TOURNAMENTAt Texas Southern University, HoustonSeeds in parentheses; all games streaming on SWAC Digital Network, unless otherwise indicatedSunday's championshipFlorida A&am... November 22, 2022

Pine Bluff center spends day in Morocco Across the lobby of the Donald W. Reynolds Community Services Center on Saturday, visitors took in sights of Moroccan culture in a one-day exhibit celebrating the country's 67th Independence Day, ... November 20, 2022

Silver Gloves tourney a hit with young fans A throng of kids stood in front of a sitting Mayor Shirley Washington inside the Sahara Temple, cheering loudly for one of their neighbors during one of Saturday's Arkansas State Silver Gloves cha... November 20, 2022

Vikings outlast UAPB, 67-58 The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff outscored Cleveland State University in the second half after trailing by as many as 19 points, but the deficit was too much to overcome as the Vikings held on... November 19, 2022

UAPB gets nod to raise center’s cost University of Arkansas System trustees have approved a budget increase for a planned Student Engagement Center at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.University leaders told the system board Wedn... November 18, 2022

Greene faces old team Cleveland St. with Golden Lions Until late Wednesday, Cleveland State University was suffering through a downward trend on the basketball court.The Vikings had lost their first three games -- two of them on the road -- before headin... November 18, 2022

Pine Bluff gets new hotel by Marriott Marriott Hotels will construct a new Courtyard by Marriott at the location of the old Plaza Hotel next to the Pine Bluff Convention Center, a city official announced Wednesday.Joseph McCorvey, executi... November 17, 2022

White Hall senior signs with ASU-Mountain Home baseball team Cade Harp, a White Hall High School senior, was elated to draw interest from some college baseball programs, including a brand new ballclub in northern Arkansas."For a little bit there, I wasn&#3... November 17, 2022

Sportsboard COLLEGE VOLLEYBALLSWAC TOURNAMENTAt Texas Southern University, HoustonSeeds in parentheses; all games streaming on SWAC Digital Network, unless otherwise indicatedFriday's first round(1) Alabama S... November 17, 2022

PREP ROUNDUP: Watson Chapel boys knock off Dumas Watson Chapel scored a marquee victory in high school boys basketball Tuesday night, defeating 3A state runner-up Dumas 69-62 at Leslie Henderson Gymnasium.Jai'Kori Phillips scored 23 points and h... November 17, 2022

Marriott to build new hotel in Pine Bluff Marriott Hotels will construct a new Courtyard by Marriott at the location of the old Plaza Hotel next to the Pine Bluff Convention Center, a city official announced Wednesday.Joseph McCorvey, executi... November 16, 2022

Watson Chapel School Board updated on bonds, index grades The Watson Chapel School Board looked a little different Monday night from the past 1½ years.Connie Compton and Rosemary White began their five-year stints on the board in the first regular mee... November 15, 2022

Prairie View hands Lions 8th loss The view toward a return trip to the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game became clearer for Prairie View A&M University — at the expense of an eighth straight loss for the Uni... November 13, 2022

Golden Lions seek to end skid today If there is anything the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff football seniors can do for one final act on their home field today, it might help break a seven-game losing streak, matching last year&rs... November 12, 2022

SEARK approves bond measure toward energy project Southeast Arkansas College approved a bond measure toward improving the campus's energy efficiency during a special meeting Thursday.SEARK will sell $5.6 million in student tuition and fee revenue... November 12, 2022

Some local schools exceed averages in 2022 reports Some local schools exceeded statewide averages in the 2022 state and federal accountability reports released by the Arkansas Department of Education's Division of Elementary and Secondary Educatio... November 11, 2022

Jones concedes; Sanders wins race Before polls closed Tuesday evening, Sarah Huckabee Sanders was already projected to be the next governor of Arkansas, much to the disbelief of those supporting Chris Jones inside a ballroom at the Ro... November 10, 2022

County releases results in races When all the results were tallied in Jefferson County, some races that were close calls turned out to be more decisive than they were when the Election Day ballots had yet to be counted.That was parti... November 10, 2022

Pine Bluff School District millage question turned down again LITTLE ROCK -- For the second year in a row, voters in the Pine Bluff School District turned down a 0.9-mill increase in the Dollarway attendance zone to level the millage rate across the district.The... November 9, 2022

County delegation in Legislature returning LITTLE ROCK -- Pine Bluff representation in the state Legislature will look the same.Voting totals from the Arkansas secretary of state election dashboard were fully updated by Wednesday morning. Demo... November 9, 2022

Ranked foe escapes UAPB upset bid One more basket, and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff would have had its highest-profile victory in men's basketball as a Division I program.Fourteenth-ranked Texas Christian University ma... November 8, 2022

UA women topple UAPB H.O. Clemmons Arena turned into an attire blackout Monday, and if it rattled the University of Arkansas women's basketball team, it was hard to tell.Arkansas outscored UA Pine Bluff 28-7 in the se... November 8, 2022

2 seek at-large seat on Watson Chapel School Board Sandra Colbert Boone is running for reelection to the Watson Chapel School Board as an at-large representative of zones 3 and 5.Boone is running against Connie Compton in Tuesday's general electio... November 7, 2022

Grambling Tigers leave Golden Lions grumbling GRAMBLING, La. -- Opportunity kept knocking, and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff struggled to answer.The Golden Lions went 0 for 3 on fourth downs to close out the first half, and Grambling S... November 6, 2022

Harrington: Community effort needed to boost Pine Bluff area Ricky Dale Harrington Jr. said during a debate in October he began running for public office because of the "hyper-partisanship" in Washington.A Libertarian, Harrington lost a Senate race to... November 6, 2022

Jones: Preschool, broadband, jobs seed land of opportunity In a world where faith and science often differ, Chris Jones believes both can exist harmoniously.A minister and physicist, Jones grew up in Pine Bluff and graduated from Watson Chapel High School. He... November 6, 2022

Education, jobs are important to growth of state, says Sanders Sarah Huckabee Sanders has never held public office, but the Arkansas native did spend two years working as President Donald Trump's press secretary.She earned the Republican nomination for governor, ... November 6, 2022

Golden Lions basketball team faces test Monday at Texas Christian Golden Lions basketball 2.0 under Solomon Bozeman has undergone some upgrades while bringing back an old favorite from the George Ivory days.Of the 11 newcomers to the University of Arkansas at Pine B... November 6, 2022