TRAVELERS’ CHECK : Mice control keeps flights safe at XNA

ROBERT J. SMITH

Employees at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport keep the grass mowed short near the runway because they want to keep mice away. - Monday, October 6, 2008

FAYETTEVILLE : Proposal plays down marijuana possession

BY BILL BOWDEN

FAYETTEVILLE — Voters will decide Nov. 4 whether marijuana possession should be a lower priority for Fayetteville police. But the vote won’t change the way police deal with these cases because city ordinances can’t supersede state drug laws. - Monday, October 6, 2008

ROGERS : Woman confesses to killing husband

BY ADAM WALLWORTH

ROGERS — A 75-year-old Rogers woman remains in the Benton County jail without bail on capital-murder charges in connection with the weekend shooting death of her husband. - Monday, October 6, 2008

FORT SMITH : University determined to flourish

BY TRACIE DUNGAN

FORT SMITH — Since joining the state’s largest university system six years ago, the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith has left the Westark College name behind and become a four-year college with ambitious goals to become a regional academic force. - Monday, October 6, 2008

FORT SMITH : Passing of flag marks 2 command changes

BY DAVE HUGHES

FORT SMITH — Two key military installations in western Arkansas received new commanders Sunday. - Monday, October 6, 2008

Hope rises for fast LR-Memphis rail-rider service

BY NOEL E. OMAN

A study to assess the feasibility of high-speed passenger rail service between Little Rock and Memphis is part of a larger effort to upgrade railroads throughout the region, which proponents now say will come sooner rather than later. - Monday, October 6, 2008

Harrison woman works to sustain lace-making art

BY CELIA DEWOODY HARRISON DAILY TIMES

HARRISON — Emily Woodard’s skilled hands moved around the smoother hands of a young girl, demonstrating an ancient craft, passing along knowledge that has been transferred from person to person over hundreds of years. - Monday, October 6, 2008

Other days

100 YEARS AGO October 6, 1908 TEXARKANA — Calvin Shelton, a white farmer who lives 16 miles from here, was arrested today on a warrant charging him with rioting. There has recently been a good deal of whitecapping and “night riding” it is claimed, in the vicinity in which the defendant lives, both Negroes and whites having been in many instances given hours to leave the country. Nearly all the Negroes have left the neighborhood because of this whitecapping and as a result the farmers are badly handicapped for cotton pickers and other farm help. - Monday, October 6, 2008

NW Arkansas today

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QUOTE OF THE DAY “One of the inconsistencies in our drug laws is that a second arrest for a small amount of marijuana is a felony, but drunk driving doesn’t reach felony status until the fourth arrest.” Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody, on a proposal going before voters Nov. 4 to make marijuana possession a lower priority for police Article, 1B Today’s meetings Rogers board of adjustments, 9:30 a.m. Fayetteville board of adjustments, 3:45 p.m. Fayetteville City Council tour, 4:30 p.m. Tontitown Street Committee, 5 p.m. Fayetteville Parks and Recreation advisory board, 5:30 p.m. Lowell technical plat review work session, 6 p.m. Tontitown Park Committee, 6 p.m. Centerton Planning Commission, 6:30 p.m. Gentry City Council, 6:30 p.m. Centerton Fire Department, 7 p.m. Elkins Planning Commission, 7 p.m. Fayetteville Ward 2, 7 p.m. Lincoln Planning Commission, 7 p.m. Today’s happenings Boreham Library fall book sale, 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center, University of Arkansas at Fort Smith LifeWriters, 10 - Monday, October 6, 2008

School advisers work to pair jobs, students

BY EVIE BLAD

Arkansas’ 2008 high school graduates’ career interests do not align with the jobs the state’s economy will produce as they enter the work force, survey results show. - Sunday, October 5, 2008

Specialists share environmental tips in Fayetteville

BY ADAM WALLWORTH

FAYETTEVILLE — Nearly 100 years ago, a war put solar energy on hold in favor of oil. With oil no longer a cheap alternative, interest once again is moving toward solar power, among others, said James “Butch” Coger of Coger Custom Construction. - Sunday, October 5, 2008

Campaign Focus : Heated race down to seniority, taxes

BY BILL BOWDEN

FAYETTEVILLE — State Rep. Jim House works the traffic jams along Arkansas 265 every weekday morning. He figures as many as 3,000 potential voters are stuck in traffic out there, and he knows how to get their attention — on horseback. - Sunday, October 5, 2008

FORT CHAFFEE : Wild hogs increasing as officials OK hunts

BY DAVE HUGHES

FORT CHAFFEE — A large and growing feral hog population at Fort Chaffee has post officials looking for solutions, including encouraging hunters to participate in a free hunt this fall. - Sunday, October 5, 2008

Toy German tank a mystery at military museum

BY EVIN DEMIREL

Amid World War II-era pamphlets, posters and playthings, a gray-and-black wooden tank sits in the corner of an exhibit room in the Jacksonville Museum of Military History. - Sunday, October 5, 2008

The state/region in brief

Man gets 2 years for 1-block escape TEXARKANA — A man who walked away from the recreation yard at the Southwest Arkansas Community Correction Center and was captured less than a block away has been sentenced to serve two more years in jail. - Sunday, October 5, 2008

Other days

100 YEARS AGO Oct. 5, 1908 CADDO GAP — Arrangements have been made for the trains to stop at the hot springs below town and let passengers on and off. Many people visited the springs today. - Sunday, October 5, 2008

2 die in accidents on state highways

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Two people were killed in accidents on Arkansas highways Friday, Arkansas State Police reported. - Sunday, October 5, 2008

NW Arkansas today

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QUOTE OF THE DAY “Students’ knowledge of the workplace is often rather limited, and the programs of study at a high school level don’t always align with what a student is interested in.” Raymond Henson, program manager for the Arkansas Department of Workforce Education Article, 1B Today’s happenings Coalescence Festival, all day, Lake Leatherwood Park, Eureka Springs Fort Smith Jazz Festival, 9 a.m.-10 p.m., Creekmore Park, Fort Smith Decatur Bulldog Days, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Veterans Park, Decatur Twist of Green Festival, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Fayetteville Square Arkansas Apple Festival, noon, downtown Lincoln Looking ahead Boreham Library Fall Book Sale, 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center, University of Arkansas at Fort Smith LifeWriters, 10 a.m. Monday, Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, Springdale Ozark Writers’ Block Meeting, 6 p.m. Monday, The Warehouse, 504 Old Bellefonte Road, Harrison Protecting Arkansas senior citzens, 8:30 a.m.-1 :30 p.m. Tuesday, Jones Center for Families, Sprin - Sunday, October 5, 2008

Judges cut caseloads, 2 federal posts open

BY LINDA SATTER

Two new federal judgeships became available last week in the Eastern District of Arkansas with the announcements that two Democratic appointees have taken senior status. - Sunday, October 5, 2008

Rogers woman, 75, charged with murder

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

A Rogers woman is in the Benton County jail on a charge of capital murder. - Sunday, October 5, 2008

Tackling 2-year budget, state to face needs, flux

BY SETH BLOMELEY

State government’s budget hearings start Tuesday amid lots of needs and plenty of uncertainty as legislators prepare for the 2009 legislative session. - Sunday, October 5, 2008

Buyers from far and wide snap up Reece farm’s turtles

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LESTER — Reece Turtle Farm is no side attraction for travelers passing through northeast Arkansas. The decades-old family operation sells to a restaurant on the West Coast and customers in China. - Sunday, October 5, 2008

NW Arkansas meetings

Monday Rogers Board of Adjustments, 9:30 a.m. Fayetteville Board of Adjustments, 3:45 p.m. Fayetteville City Council tour, 4:30 p.m. Tontitown Street Committee, 5 p.m. Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, 5:30 p.m. Lowell technical plat review work session, 6 p.m. Tontitown Park Committee, 6 p.m. Centerton Planning Commission, 6:30 p.m. Gentry City Council, 6:30 p.m. Centerton Fire Department, 7 p.m. Elkins Planning Commission, 7 p.m. Fayetteville Ward 2, 7 p.m. Lincoln Planning Commission, 7 p.m. - Sunday, October 5, 2008

BENTON COUNTY : Children’s set to run study on area youth

BY AMANDA O’TOOLE

The Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute has received $14.4 million to help lead the first phase of a landmark study investigating child health in Benton County. - Saturday, October 4, 2008

Beebe: Foster parents needed

BY MICHAEL R. WICKLINE

Gov. Mike Beebe said Friday that the state needs more foster parents and he’s reconsidering his previous support for the state’s 3-year-old practice of barring unmarried cohabiting couples from being foster parents. - Saturday, October 4, 2008

FAYETTEVILLE : O’Connor recalls Marshall in UA speech

BY TRACIE DUNGAN

FAYETTEVILLE — Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor recalled Friday how a private confession from a fellow justice years ago got her thinking about how civil rights success is measured. - Saturday, October 4, 2008

Springdale park now buyer’s market

BY RICHARD MASSEY

SPRINGDALE — Thanks to a down real estate market, the city has a chance at a bargain rate on one of five large tracts for a park on the east side. - Saturday, October 4, 2008

FAYETTEVILLE : Educator advises adjusting merit pay

BY EVIE BLAD

FAYETTEVILLE — Teacher merit pay plans are more easily implemented when school boards consider incorporate factors other than student test scores to measure teacher performance, a public policy researcher said. - Saturday, October 4, 2008

Man killed, wife injured in cycle wreck

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

A Huntsville man died in a motorcycle wreck that injured his wife. - Saturday, October 4, 2008

Firm fined in scaffolding accident

BY KRISTIN NETTERSTROM

Overloaded scaffolding and undersized bolts contributed to an April accident that resulted in the deaths of three workers who fell into the Arkansas River as they built a water pipeline underneath Interstate 430 near Little Rock, U.S. Department of Labor records show. - Saturday, October 4, 2008