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Lyon hosts Lessons and Carols
The Lyon College music department’s annual Festival of Lessons and Carols will be at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Christian Science Society of Batesville at College and 18th streets.
The program uses the traditional English format of nine Christmas carols and nine Christmas readings from the Bible. The church features superb acoustics and an internationally renowned Dutch pipe organ situated in the rear gallery. -
Mallett throws 3 TDs to lead Arkansas
LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Coach Bobby Petrino saved his toughest call for Arkansas’ biggest game of the season.
Petrino went for it on fourth-and-3 in the fourth quarter and Ryan Mallett made the move pay off with a 39-yard touchdown pass to Joe Adams. That paved the way for the No. 12 Razorbacks’ 31-23 win over No. 6 LSU, and it kept alive Arkansas’ chances for the school’s first BCS bowl bid.
“We didn’t come to paint,” Petrino said. “We came to win the game.” -
Arkansas left to play BCS bowl waiting game
LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas ended its season with a flourish on the field, but the Razorbacks must now play the waiting game to find out when and where they’ll play next.
Led by Ryan Mallett’s 320 yards passing and three touchdowns, No. 8 Arkansas never trailed in a 31-23 defeat of No. 11 LSU on Saturday. The win was the sixth straight for the Razorbacks (10-2, 6-2 SEC) and secured second place in the SEC West, its best finish since 2006.
The win might have also secured a spot for Arkansas in its first BCS bowl game. -
Holiday sales encouraging, but are shoppers done?
NEW YORK — Holiday shoppers gave retailers a happy Thanksgiving weekend, crowding stores and malls more than last year.
Add strong spending earlier this month and robust sales online, and retailers head into “Cyber Monday” encouraged. Particularly because many shoppers were buying for themselves, in addition to gifts, though mostly where they saw bargains.
But retailers remain unsure how much people will spend before Christmas in an economy that’s still bumpy. Shoppers, grappling with an unemployment rate of 9.6 percent, remain careful about spending and driven by deals. -
Squabble over budget ensues after election
CONWAY (AP) — A squabble over a budget proposal has ensued after an Arkansas prosecuting attorney lost his bid for re-election.
The Democratic incumbent, Marcus Vaden of Conway, lost to Republican Cody Hiland earlier this month. Before the election, Vaden had proposed a budget increase for the office, asking the Faulkner County Quorum Court for about $788,000. After the election, Vaden’s revised budget proposal was about $512,000.
Last week, the court’s budget committee recommended approving a third proposal, for about $777,000. Hiland had input on that proposal. -
7 plead guilty in Ark. to stealing baby formula
TEXARKANA (AP) — Seven members of an alleged crime ring that involved the theft of about $18,000 worth of baby formula from Texas grocery stores have pleaded guilty in Arkansas.
An Arkansas circuit court judge sentenced the five women and two men to three-year prison sentences, with one year suspended. All seven are listed as residents of De Queen. -
Plane makes forced landing
LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A plane en route from Boston to Dallas has made an emergency landing at Little Rock National Airport Sunday. No injuries were reported.
Television station KTHV reports that the Boeing 757 had 165 passengers, two pilots and four flight crew members and that the pilots opted to land at Little Rock due to an engine stall problem.
An American Airlines spokeswoman says the plane’s engine did not shut down. -
Resident fatally shoots robber
FORT SMITH (AP) — Police say a Fort Smith resident fatally shot another man during an attempted home invasion robbery.
Police spokesman Sgt. Daniel Grubbs says the incident occurred about 7:30 p.m. Friday. Police say 69-year-old James Kennel told them that 27-year-old Chad Cancel entered the home through an unlocked front door, wearing a mask, brandishing a gun and demanding prescription medication. -
Jonesboro club operator sues city over ordinance
JONESBORO (AP) — The operator of a private Jonesboro nightclub is suing the city, saying its alcohol ordinance is not legal.
Craighead County Circuit Judge Victor Hill has granted a temporary restraining order asked for by club operator Reginald Prunty. The restraining order prevents the city from enforcing a six-month suspension of Prunty’s club.
The city council’s public safety committee ordered the suspension on Nov. 16 after allegations of violence in and near the club. -
Police find it tough to enforce texting-while-driving ban
ROGERS (AP) — Authorities in Northwest Arkansas say it’s a challenge to enforce the state’s new ban on texting while driving.
The law took effect in November 2009. Fayetteville Police Chief Greg Tabor said those who text while driving do present a danger, but it’s difficult for officers to discern if a person is texting or just making a phone call.
State Rep. Ray Kidd, D-Jonesboro, sponsored the bill and says officers just have to think a person is texting to stop them. Kidd says cell phone records would indicate what a person was doing on a phone. -
UCA prof works to save endangered Indian language
CONWAY (AP) — A linguistics professor at the University of Central Arkansas is working to help save the endangered language of an American Indian tribe.
Professor Tim Thornes has spent 16 years trying to help save the Northern Paiute, a language spoken by members of the Burns Paiute tribe. About 4,000 members of the tribe live mostly in northern Nevada and eastern Oregon.
Thornes, who used to live in Oregon, said that only about 300 speak Northern Paiute and most of them are older than 50. -
Southerners win WBC opener
WALNUT RIDGE —The Southside Southerners defeated the Maynard Tigers 49-29 in the first round of the Williams Baptist College Tournament here Saturday.
Kevin Jackson led a trio of Southerners with double-digit scoring totals. He scored 17 while Tyler Goad and Logan Brown threw in 12 and 10, respectively.
Maynard was led by Jeff Skudlark’s 14.
The 4-1 Southerners advance to face Riverside on Thursday. Tipoff for that contest is set for 5:50 p.m.
