Deputies Find Body After Inmate's Tip
Last updated Wednesday, September 24, 2008 9:03 PM CDT in News
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JACKSONVILLE -- Sheriff's deputies from Faulkner and Pulaski counties are investigating an inmate's claims he killed two people and dumped their bodies near Jacksonville.
Deputies say search dogs found one body so far. However, officials are declining to name the Faulkner County inmate or say who his alleged victims were.
Deputies say they will look into their missing person files to see who the man in custody may have targeted. A spokesman says investigators may go out again Thursday with search dogs.
Lawsuit Filed Against Clark County Alcohol Measure
ARKADELPHIA -- Opponents of an effort to allow alcohol sales in Clark County have filed a lawsuit to stop the measure from making the Nov. 4 ballot.
The suit, brought forward by James Richard Mays and William Coke Visor, claims the county's clerk shouldn't have certified the measure because "many of the signers of the petitions signed them before they were legal voters of Clark County." The suit also claims some signed the petition the same day they registered to vote, making them "disqualified voters."
The suit also claims one or more signatures were forged.
Supporters turned in more than 6,100 signatures to put the measure on the ballot.
In Arkansas, 42 of its 75 counties are dry. Another alcohol proposal in Sharp County faces an ongoing court challenge.
Ammonia Leak Injures Worker At Russellville Plant
RUSSELLVILLE -- A state emergency management spokesman says a worker at the ConAgra Foods Inc. plant in Russellville suffered burns Wednesday after anhydrous ammonia leaked out of an engine room.
Spokesman Tommy Jackson says the worker suffered burns to the arms in the leak and has been taken to a local hospital for treatment. Jackson says about 100 pounds of the gas seeped out of the engine room before workers stopped the leak around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.
ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs says workers at the frozen-foods plant evacuated the building during the leak and were allowed back in around 2 p.m. Childs says the leak was contained to the building and those around it were in no danger.
ConAgra Foods, based in Omaha, Neb., makes packaged food brands like Healthy Choice, Hunts and Banquet.
Thief Swipes ATM From Hospital
FORT SMITH -- Police say an ATM with up to $10,000 in cash in it was stolen from the basement level of the Sparks Regional Medical Center in Fort Smith.
Police say there were no witnesses or surveillance video of the theft. There were two ATMs in place, though only one was bolted to the floor. The one that wasn't bolted down was the one reported missing Tuesday afternoon by River Town Federal Credit Union, the machine's owner.
According to a Fort Smith police report, the machine is valued at $30,000 and it likely contained $6,000-$10,000 in cash.
The machine was last used Saturday at 12:35 p.m., police said.
Detective Jeff Carter of the Fort Smith Police Department says it's likely the thief or thieves wheeled the ATM away on a dolly.
"It's relatively light," he said. "One person could slide it and move it."
The stolen ATM was in a basement near the hospital's cafeteria. The machine was placed near an exit with a ramp, so someone could slip out unnoticed without walking through the cafeteria, Carter said.
Small Quake Shakes Part Of Arkansas
QUITMAN -- A small earthquake was detected Wednesday morning about 10 miles west of Heber Springs in central Arkansas.
The magnitude 2.5 quake was at about 9:30 a.m. near the southern borders of Cleburne and Van Buren counties and the northern border of Faulkner County.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake was very shallow, about a tenth of a mile deep.
Cleburne County Emergency Services Director Billy Cockrell says no one called to report feeling the quake.
No Charges Against Woman Who Shot Husband
EL DORADO -- A prosecutor says he won't file charges against a pregnant woman who shot and killed her husband in July.
Prosecutor Robin Carroll says the shooting was in self-defense. Police say 37-year-old Kimberly Gates fatally shot her husband, 47-year-old Roger Gates, because he was assaulting her.
Sheriff Ken Jones says Kimberly Gates told him that her husband had attacked her and that she was afraid for her life and her baby's. Officials say she was able to get away from her husband, get a gun from the bathroom, and shoot him.
Eagles Concert To Open Missouri State's New Arena
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The classic rock band the Eagles will headline the first event at Missouri State University's new JQH Arena.
The Springfield university said in a statement on Wednesday the Eagles will perform Nov. 13, just days before the opening men's and women's basketball games.
The $67 million arena, named for donor and hotel magnate John Q. Hammons, has been under construction since 2006.
The university said booking the Eagles caused a change in plans to have basketball games as the arena's opening events.
The Eagles have sold more than 120 million albums worldwide. Their hits include "Hotel California," '"Desperado" and "Take It Easy." They began their "Long Road Out of Eden" tour in May.
City's Police Officer Of The Year Fired
McALESTER -- The police officer of the year in McAlester has been fired after being arrested for driving under the influence.
Officer Chris Morris had been suspended with pay after he was arrested by McAlester police on Aug. 10 on complaints of DUI, failure to signal by hand, arm or signal lamp and failure to stop at a stop sign.
Morris, who was off duty at the time of the arrest, has pleaded innocent to the three misdemeanor charges and has an Oct. 21 hearing in Pittsburg County court.
McAlester Police Chief Jim Lyles said he met with Morris on Monday afternoon and fired the 12-year veteran of the police department.
"The arrest violated the rules and regulations of the department," Lyles said.
Lyles said Assistant Police Chief Darrell Miller and McAlester officer and Fraternal Order of Police representative Loyd London also attended the meeting. Lyles said Morris had requested a union representative attend.
Before his arrest, Morris had been chosen as the city's officer of the year and served as president of the local FOP lodge.
Lyles said Morris could appeal the firing through the police union or the city's personnel board.
Company Plans Wind Farm For Western Oklahoma
ELK CITY, Okla. -- Acciona Energy said Wednesday it has begun construction on its first Oklahoma wind project, a wind farm in two western counties that will include 82 turbines.
The Spanish-based company has been developing Red Hills Wind Farm project since 2004 and said construction should be finished by the end of this year.
Seventy of the 1.5 megawatt turbines will be in Roger Mills County, while 12 will be in Custer County.
"Just as Oklahoma is well known for its oil and natural gas reserves, it will also come to be known for its incredible wind reserves," said Kimberly L. Smith, the vice president for construction for Acciona Energy North America.
Construction of the wind farm will involve leveling the ground at the turbine sites, laying tower foundations, constructing access roads and operations buildings, developing distribution and transmission lines and erecting the support towers.
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