2011: A year in review

1. Spring storms brought severe flooding to Jackson County and its neighbors.
Mandatory evacuations were ordered for the entire town of Jacksonport and all people living north of Jacksonport to Elgin west of Hwy. 17.
Most of the flooding began along the White River, but it would later spread to  communities along the Cache River.
Spring flooding caused a tremendous amount of damage to county infrastructure.  “We had about 5 miles of county-paved road that was damaged by flooding,”  said Jackson County Judge Jeff Phillips.
The flooding also greatly impacted the local agricultural economy.  Jackson County Extension Staff Chair Randy Chlapecka estimated more than 100-thousand acres of farmland were under water.  There were between 30-35 million dollars in losses to the local agricultural economy, according to Chlapecka.
Local authorities also performed numerous water rescues.
Flooding and heavy rains also forced planners to pull the plug on Portfest.
The Portfest directors considered every possibility and concluded their only option was to cancel the event.
"Portfest is 30 years old this year, and this is only the second time to have had a total cancellation,"  said Newport Area Chamber of Commerce Director Julie Allen.
Tickets purchases were reimbursed by the event's directors.

2. The rivalry between the Newport Greyhounds and the Batesville Pioneers came to an end in September.
Greyhound Athletics Director and head football coach Jeromy Poole informed his  Pioneer counterpart Dave King that “Newport was dropping the series.”
“I think that with the direction that are wanting to go this is the best direction for the Newport Greyhound football program at this time,” Poole said.  “It just boils down to a numbers game.  It is nothing more than that.  I have to look out for the best interests of my kids.”
He added, “When you look at our numbers and us continuing to lose enrollment every year, it is just not the best thing at this time.”
Poole pointed out that a new rivalry might be emerging.
“We are going to renew our series with Bald Knob for the next two-year cycle and I think that can become a good rivalry for us,"  Poole said.  “It is close, they have a good program, we had a great game this year with them, it was a good gate and I think it has the potential to be a very competitive game as the numbers match up very closely.”
Newport Superintendent Dr. Larry Bennett agreed with Poole's decision to drop the annual match-up between bitter rivals.

3. Voters chose to extend the Newport Economic Development Commission half-cent sales tax for funding economic growth.  Newport voters overwhelmingly passed the measure, 592-176, a 77 percent margin of victory.  Also, voter turnout was unusually high for a special election with 21 percent of the 3,594 registered voters in Newport casting ballots.
“I expect that we will see some surveying and polling of the community to see what they would like to see over the next 10 years after giving us such an overwhelming mandate,” NEDC Director Jon Chadwell said.
The initial 10-year sunset was set to expire at the end of this year.

4. The Newport Police Department continues to investigate the August murder of
local historian James Morgan.
According to police, Morgan was stabbed multiple times before being found dead in his home.
Morgan's body was sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory for an autopsy.
The senseless crime has shocked the community as well as Morgan’s family.
“This was so tragic and unnecessary,” Morgan’s sister, Mary Jane Coats said.
“We (the family) just hope that they catch whoever is responsible for this and they are brought to justice.”
Morgan was one of only three editors for The Stream of History for the Jackson County Historical Society, wrote several books on the history of Jackson County and was one of the foremost authorities of local history.
Any person with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the Newport Police Department at 870-523-2722.

5. In October, Ike Shawndale Nunn, 35, was charged with the First Degree Murder of Cecil Phillips of Tuckerman.
Phillips was discovered by the Tuckerman Police Department Sunday after a concerned neighbor notified authorities Phillips nor his vehicle had been seen recently.
Phillips was the step-father of Nunn, who had been relieved of custody of his children earlier that month.
A baseball bat, believed to be the murder weapon, was discovered in the Phillips home, and the Arkansas State Crime Lab's autopsy of Phillips concluded the Tuckerman resident died as a result of blunt force trauma, sustaining several skull fractures.
Authorities learned Nunn had driven Phillips' vehicle to Toledo, Ohio and checked himself into a psychiatric facility.
The suspect was later extradited back to Jackson County where he was ordered to undergo a mental evaluation at the Arkansas State Hospital on January 9.

6. Newport Police Officer Bryan Strickland was honored by the Newport City Council for saving a life during a June meeting.
Police Chief Michael Scudder told city officials that Strickland acted heroically after a 911 emergency call was received concerning a drowned toddler.
Strickland helped save the young child’s life by administering CPR before the paramedics arrived at the scene.
“I was on patrol and I heard the 911 call,”  Strickland said.  “I was the first one there, and the baby was laying on the ground when I arrived.”
The former Marine corporal noticed the child’s airway was blocked by some food that had to be removed before CPR could be administered.
“That was the first time that I have ever actually used CPR,”  Strickland said.  “Once I got the baby in my arms it seemed like my instincts took over.”
Scudder praised Strickland’s actions.
“Because he knew what to do, the paramedics were able to restore the baby’s heartbeat,”  Scudder said.  “The baby is alive and at Children’s Hospital.”
Strickland was presented with a life-saving medal and a letter of commendation
Those in attendance gave the officer a standing ovation for his valor.

7. Last month, Jackson County Sheriff's Deputy Travis Engler resigned following an incident inside the detention facility.
According to Sheriff David Lucas, he was notified that an accidental shot had been fired inside the building by a deputy.
Lucas reviewed surveillance footage and interviewed witnesses before accepting the resignation of Engler.
According to Lucas, Engler picked up a weapon laid down by another officer which was not properly secured.  
During the course of handling the unsecured weapon, it was accidentally discharged.
"I have to have a zero tolerance policy for these types of matters,"  Lucas said.  "I hate that it happened.  He was a good deputy but unfortunately he had a lapse in judgement."
Lucas notes that when he met with Engler, the deputy had already drawn up his resignation, which Lucas accepted.
"I think our procedures are solid, they were just not followed.  I have had our officers look at the video to see that something can go from an innocent prank to a deadly situation in a split second."

8. Jeromy Poole, a Russell native and graduate of Bald Knob High School, was chosen by school officials to coach the Newport Greyhounds in February.
"I'm very excited to be a Greyhound and am looking forward to it.  I know that in time it's going to get rolling and it's going to be great, expect good things," Poole said.
"I just want to develop a championship mentality and be first-class in everything that we do.  We have a plan and it is going to be a work in progress and we are going to continue to build on it.  The thing about it is that we don't only want to have a good team, we want to have a good program.  That would be my long-range vision is to have a good program."
Poole came to Newport from Greenwood High School where he served five years as the defensive coordinator.  During Poole's time at Greenwood, the Bulldogs captured four conference championships and three state titles.
"As far as building a championship program at Newport you have to have a plan and you all know that.  We are not going into this blind.  You have to have a vision, you have to have a plan and we are going to implement one.  We are going to know every single day what we are doing and the reason we are doing it."
He continued, "Championship programs start with the community and I want community involvement and community support."
Fans saw a different style of football from the home team at Greyhound Field this season.  Poole implemented a no-huddle spread offense and a no-huddle 4-3 defense.
The Greyhounds extended the state's longest streak of consecutive playoff appearances to 25 and finished the 2011 season with a 4-7 record.

9. An April explosion at Old Ed Ward's distillery sent two people to the hospital and shut down the facility.
Head Distiller Larry Bishop and his assistant Ashley Honey were injured by steam burns when one of the plant's pressurized containers exploded, according to former Newport Fire Chief Mike Mink.
The distillery's door was damaged and repaired later the same day.  Some other minor damage was done, but Ward's son-in-law Patrick Thompson expected it to be more severe.
"I was thinking it would be worse than it is, and I was surprised that more damage wasn't done to the distillery,”  Thompson said.
The distillery is located at 420 Beech Street in Newport.

10. A constantly growing mass of river debris continues to cause concerns for Jackson County residents along the Cache River.
“You can stand on Hwy. 18 bridge and watch the logs as they go under the bridge headed towards the drift,” area farmer Kenny Clark said.  “More and more of them pileup making it even bigger than it was.”
The blockage first began forming more than 50 years ago, but recent changes have added to the problem.
“Both Clay and Green Counties just underwent major drainage projects, and that means more water and more silt is coming at a faster rate than before,”  Clark said.  “The new Estico Bridge’s design reduces the amount of water that can flow through there.  Everything that has been done makes it worse for us because we are caught in the middle.”
The blockage forces the river to leave its channel flooding the bank and destroying several acres of timber.
According to Clark, much damage has been done in the past and it will only worsen until the logjam is removed.
Removing the blockage from the river channel is extremely complicated due to government regulations concerning wetlands, and Clark stresses that growing crops and keeping people’s homes from flooding is more important.
“There are people starving to death, and our jobs as farmers is to feed them,”  Clark said.
The location of the logjam also makes it harder to remove and more costly.  There is no road that reaches it, and one may have to be built so that equipment can reach the logjam.