The race for the position seven at-large city director is now a competitive one after Fort Smith Parks Commissioner Sherry Toliver announced her intention Monday (April 28) to seek the seat being vacated by City Director Philip Merry.

By entering the race, Toliver will face former City Director Don Hutchings, who is seeking a return to the Board after sitting out during the last term to focus on a funding and building campaign for a new sanctuary at the church he pastors, Evangel Temple.

In a press release, Toliver said she would seek advice from the business community.

"I believe that growing Fort Smith's economy starts with listening to business leaders," she said. "That's why I'm running for City Director."

She also said that as a city director her focus would be on supporting small businesses and working to foster relationships between companies and the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith's high-tech training programs.

"I believe that growing our regional economy is the key to improving opportunities for all Fort Smith residents and ensuring our City's financial future," Toliver said in the press release.

When reached for comment on the race, Hutchings had nothing but positive things to say about his newly-announced opponent.

"She would be a great city director," he said. "She's a wonderful person and highly qualified."

Toliver said her decision to run for office was not influenced by Hutchings being in the race, adding that she was not aware he was running.

"I didn't know I was running against him," she said. "I did not know who was going to file. Actually, no one has filed yet. The filing period is not until May, so there may be others. But the reason I chose to run for Position 7 is because Director Philip Merry is not going to run. That will be an open seat and I did not want to run against an incumbent."

Asked why Fort Smith voters should elect one over the other, neither candidate offered specifics.

"It would just be about letting the public know what each of us stands for and letting the people decide," Hutchings said. "That's the best way to do it and I encourage more people to get involved. It's a high honor to even be considered for office and we need more people like Sherry."

Toliver said she would just present her argument to voters as to why she believes she should be elected and let the chips fall where they may.

"When you're seeking a position, just be honest, tell the truth and let people know where your heart is and let the voters decide," she said. "And that's what will happen in this case."

So far, the Position 7 At-Large seat is the only contested municipal election in Fort Smith.

Of the other positions up for election later this year, Mayor Sandy Sanders has announced he would seek re-election, as has Vice Mayor Kevin Settle, who holds the Position 6 At-Large seat. City Director Pam Weber, who holds the Position 5 At-Large seat, said in a telephone call that she was not yet ready to announce a decision about her plans.

The filing period for municipal Fort Smith offices runs from May 14 to Noon on May 29. An election will be held Aug. 12. If needed, a run-off election will be held Nov. 4.

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel says that while lethal injections are gummed up in the legal system, other antiquated methods of carrying out the death penalty – such as the electric chair or a firing squad – have problems of their own.

Appearing on this week’s “Talk Business & Politics” program, which airs Sundays at 9am on KATV Ch. 7, McDaniel spoke on the topic that has been a controversial issue in the race to succeed him.

“It’s a very difficult place we’re in legally,” McDaniel said.

The state has not carried out an execution of a death row inmate since 2006 as lawsuits and market forces have prevented lethal injection executions from taking place.

Manufacturers who have the drugs to carry out lethal injections won’t sell to the state due to retaliation from anti-death penalty activists and doctors who might administer the drugs if they were available have been limited due to ethics concerns.

“There’s no way to guarantee the secrecy, the confidentiality of either the supplier of the drug or the executioner,” McDaniel said. “I’m still a strong supporter of the death penalty and am still doing all that I can to see the legal hurdles removed and to see the sentences carried out.”

David Sterling, a Republican candidate for Attorney General to possibly succeed the term-limited McDaniel, has suggested reinstating the electric chair as a method of execution. McDaniel doesn’t see that as a possibility.

“I think the litigation challenges that we’re facing now on lethal injection would be exponentially increased if we attempted an electric chair [execution]. Take the policy out of it – whether it’s a good idea or a bad idea or whether it’s barbaric or whatever – I don’t think you could ever get to the legal point where a federal court would let us use the electric chair,” he said.

“Honestly, if we were going to go to an antiquated and potentially to a more publicly offensive, but maybe more legally defensible method, the only one that my fellow AGs and I think could meet some of the standards would be a firing squad. But I don’t think the voters, I don’t think the general public is at all comfortable with the gruesome nature of a firing squad,” McDaniel said.

The Fort Smith School Board took a step forward in plans for a new district performing arts center and basketball arena, with the board voting 7-0 Monday (April 28) to authorize Superintendent Dr. Benny Gooden to pursue a long-term lease of property owned by the Fort Smith Airport Commission.

The site, which sits on McKennon Boulevard with access from 66th and 74th Streets, was the final site among eight that were under consideration, according to Dr. Deanie Mehl, vice president of the school board.

One of the favored sites by the district was along Riverfront Drive near downtown Fort Smith, though the site ended up not being chosen due to flooding concerns.

Another site that was favored was near the proposed site along Phoenix Avenue, but Mehl said the owner was asking a price that was nearly double the land's appraised value.

"I wanted you all to understand this is an issue that we have evaluated for a great deal of time," she said. "We have spent a lot of time visiting sites, we had multiple meetings. We appreciate that this is not the best… It is the best option we have, all things considered."

She said while the preference of the school board would be to own the land outright, finding a large enough site to host what the school board had proposed was a difficult task.

In all, the site which Gooden will negotiate for with the Airport Commission is 33.2 acres, with 27.5 of those acres available for development.

Should the Airport Commission agree to the terms proposed by Gooden, the school district would begin leasing the property Oct. 1, 2015, for a term of 50 years, with an option for renewal at the lease's termination date in 2065.

The cost of the proposed lease would be 7 cents per square foot per year. That adds up to $7,000 per month, or $84,000 annually. The lease would increase by 3% in 2025, 2035, 2045 and 2055.

"The proposed lease terms are based on appraised property values in the area while also considering the public benefit of the planned project," Gooden wrote in a letter to Airport Director John Parker.

Architect Tim Risley of Risley & Associates, the district's architect for the project, said while some in the community may not be pleased with the site, it was the best choice considering a 6,000 seat and a large auditorium that will be housed on site, in addition to more than 1,500 parking spots.

"This has been important to try to get the site settled because there's not that many choices," he said. "We looked at eight. They all have beauty marks and they all have warts. But there's not that many choices available when you try to put together 30-something acres. I want them to settle and at least start the process on something just so we can have something cornered."

While the school board did vote to move forward in its attempt to secure the site, it’s far from a done deal because voters will have to approve an increase in the district's millage rate next year. No set figure has been announced, though Gooden said in January that the rate could be as low as 4.5 mills or as high was 6.5, largely dependent on how much the district anticipates receiving in partnership funds from the state for projects which could include the nearly $40 million events complex and a proposed third Fort Smith high school, which is projected to cost $65 million.

On the topic of a third high school, the school board voted 7-0 to enter into a contract with Business Information Systems to evaluate the district's view that a new high school was needed. The hiring of BIS followed a February school board meeting in which community leaders questioned the necessity of the new school.

According to Gooden, the district's population of 14,313 students was expected to blossom to about 17,000 students by the year 2023, which would necessitate a third high school and re-alignment of freshman to the city's high schools.Before Monday's unanimous vote, Mehl said the hiring of the consultant was a necessary expense for the district.

"I think the thing that's important to remember is we're going to be going before the taxpayers in about 15, 16 months asking for a millage increase and we need to exhaust all our options so we can get the best plan of action to the taxpayers when we ask for the millage increase," Mehl said.

In other business, the school board voted to raise the base salary of new teachers with no experience to $37,500. The school board also voted to give pay raises to existing staff beginning next school year. The pay raises will range from 2.3% to 5.5%, for an average raise of 3.24%, according to Deputy Superintendent Dr. Gordon Floyd.

The Cherokee Nation broke ground Tuesday (April 29) on a new $80 million Cherokee Casino and Hotel at a site adjacent to its more than 20-year-old facility in Roland, Okla.

The new gaming complex will total nearly 170,000-square-feet, which is just shy of three times larger than its current 50,000-square-foot facility that opened as the tribe's first Cherokee Nation Bingo Outpost in 1990.

Features of the new casino and hotel include 850 electronic games, a high limit poker room, a six-story hotel with 120 rooms, 7,500-square-feet of convention space and two new restaurants, including a Las Vegas-style buffet.

"We are bringing our guests the best in gaming entertainment and hospitality," said Shawn Slaton, CEO of Cherokee Nation Businesses. "The new facility allows us to expand our amenities by adding dining options, live music and a hotel. The best part of it all is our ability to create more jobs in the community where our business started."

The construction will bring about 100 new, permanent jobs to the city of Roland, where the casino already employs more than 300.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker said an additional 100 or more short-term construction jobs would be created as a result of the casino and hotel construction.

Baker said the new casino in Roland, as well as the tribe's other gaming and business interests, are in existence to provide for the citizens of the Cherokee Nation by creating something more than jobs, pointing to the tribe's investment of more than $100 million to expand healthcare options across the tribe's vast land area in eastern Oklahoma.

"I was on the Tribal Council when we decided to move from bingo to gaming. We understood then the purpose was to create jobs and provide a better quality of life for the Cherokee people," he said. "Today, we have more Cherokee citizens employed at our businesses than ever, and for the first time in our history as a gaming tribe, casino profits are going directly to improving healthcare for our people."

Tribal Councilor David Thornton told a crowded tent of tribal and local elected officials, as well as employees and business leaders from the region, that the tribe's assets have increased by 22%, or more than $130 million, since 2011 with net capital having risen by 20%.

"These are things that I really enjoy saying because the operating revenues have went up 20% and the dividends to the (Cherokee) Nation (citizens) have went up 100%, people. That's not counting the extra $100 million that the chief and the nation has brought about for these clinics and I want you to realize that's one hell of a job."

Tribal Councilor Janelle Fullbright said the tribe has long paid its workers, including those at the Roland casino, well above minimum wage and she was glad to know that the tribe's efforts would continue with the additional jobs coming to the Roland location, which she said has been in need of upgrades for a long time.

"When I first was elected to the tribal council seven years ago, I wanted a new casino out here at Roland and we got put on the back burner," she said. "And one of my main jobs has been to make sure that Sequoyah County, the southern-most part of the Cherokee Nation, is not the step-child of the Cherokee Nation any longer. We want to be competitive with people across the river."

She was referring to the Choctaw Nation, which completed its own casino and hotel expansion on the Arkansas-Oklahoma state line at Pocola in 2012 at a cost of $60 million.

With the expansion of both casinos, Fort Smith Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Claude Legris said it would be beneficial to the city's marketing efforts as it continues to lure conventions and tourists to the city.

"Gaming is always good for the Fort Smith economy because it's another attraction that we can turn around and offer folks, both on tour busses and convention groups that want to come into the city," he said. "Even though it's not in Fort Smith proper, it still allows us to say that Fort Smith is almost as much a gaming community as West Memphis and Hot Springs."

He said many times, people looking for a weekend of relaxation and gambling do not realize what the Fort Smith region has to offer.

"Nothing against either of them. They're obviously gaming communities, but I don't think people realize how close the casinos are to the Fort Smith market and that allows us another opportunity to explain to potential customers some of the off-site attractions that are available to folks that are coming into Fort Smith."

Cherokee Nation Businesses Media Relations Specialist Alicia Buffer said the casino should open by May 2015, while the hotel is not slated for completion until August 2015.

Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr. said the tribe expected to fill all of the newly-formed positions at the casino and hotel with Cherokee citizens.

The new complex will be located at the same location as the original casino, along Interstate 40 and U.S. Highway 64 in Roland.

Partnering for a greener world was the theme of Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Expo event held Tuesday (April 29) in Rogers. The retail giant assembled a cast of global suppliers, environmental advocates, supply chain experts, farmers and ranchers for the three-day event.

Kathleen McLaughlin, president of the Walmart Foundation and administrator over Wal-Mart’s global sustainability initiative, opened the first session by noting that the expo had convened suppliers representing $100 billion in sales at Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart Stores CEO Doug McMillon announced a partnership with eight corporate partners and the Walmart Foundation to launch a recycling initiative called the Closed Loop Fund, a investment group that will funnel money to cities across America looking to improve their recycling capabilities. The fund aims to invest $100 million in recycling infrastructure projects and spur private and public funding toward making a real difference in the recycling system in the U.S.

PLEDGE PARTNERS
Companies signing to pledge their support to the Closed Loop Fund include: Wal-Mart and its foundation; John Bryant, CEO Kellogg Company; Rob Gehring, global account leader, The Coca-Cola Company; Kees Kruythoff, president, North America for Unilever; A.G. Lafley, chairman and CEO, Procter & Gamble; Roberto Marques, company group chairman for Johnson & Johnson; Denise Morrison,CEO Campbell Soup Company; Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO PepsiCo; Monique Oxender, senior director-sustainability for Keurig Green Mountain; Ken Powell, chairman and CEO General Mills; and John Weinberg, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs Group.

Nooyl said people have recycled for 20 years and with all the receptacles that have been made available and the push by businesses during that time, recycling has only increased 8%.

“There is huge opportunity here and this Closed End Fund will help bring this down to the city and neighborhood levels where behaviors have to change,” Nooyi said.

Another interesting perspective was that only one in five people recycle plastic bottles used in the bathroom, according to Johnson and Johnson. 

“Walmart and our suppliers recognize that collaboration is the key to bringing sustainable solutions to all of our customers,” McMillon said. “A great deal of innovative work is happening every day, but there are still too many gaps and missed opportunities. Today’s commitments are about creating real systems change from one end of the supply chain to the other — meaning how products are grown and made, how they’re transported and sold, and how we touch the lives of people along the way.”  
 
Eight of the largest food companies joined McMillon on stage to announce pledges to help move the collective needle in the ongoing sustainability movement. The commitments aim to drive more collaboration and efficiency across the current food system. In total, this work is expected to bring eight million acres of farmland into sustainable agriculture programs and eliminate six million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).

STEPPING UP 
The Expo highlighted several initiatives to further expand access to sustainable products and create more transparency in the supply chain:

Together with Procter & Gamble, Wa-Mart announced a commitment to a 25% reduction in water per dose for all liquid laundry detergent.

In the area of fertilizer management, Wal-Mart last year set a goal of optimizing 14 million acres of farmland with the potential to reduce seven million metric tons of GHGs. Combined with progress already made, the new pledges announced today will help advance that goal by optimizing an estimated 10 million acres and eliminating 8.5 million metric tons of GHGs.

Working with Cargill, Wal-Mart is developing a small-scale pilot focused on improved beef supply chain visibility, including increased traceability elements resulting in more visibility from farm to fork. This is part of the retailer’s goal to source 15% of its beef supply with environmental criteria by 2023.

In collaboration with Conservation International and suppliers, Wal-Mart has converted 27% of the palm oil used in its private-brand products from conventional to sustainable palm oil.

Wendy Cleland-Hamnett director of chemical safety for the FDA, provided an update on the need for sustainable chemistry. 

“I am thrilled with work Wal-Mart and the suppliers are doing to bring about changes in the chemical sector. The FDA guidelines are the floor, Through voluntary leadership we are seeing businesses raise the bar,” Hamnett said. 

‘SHALLOW PROMISES’
Not all Wal-Mart watchers are convinced the new pronouncements will lead to change.

“At the Walmart Sustainability Product Expo today, Walmart CEO Doug McMillan and other senior leaders once again offered shallow promises with little substance and refused to acknowledge major failures in the company's track record on sustainability,” noted a statement from Stacy Mitchell, a senior researcher with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, and author of Walmart's Assault on the Climate.

Mitchell said Wal-Mart has a history of broken promises related to landfill waste, renewable power, climate change and sustainability efforts.

“By pushing suppliers to lower cost, Walmart has dramatically cut product lifespans, leading consumers to buy and discard an ever growing volume of shoddy clothing, electronics, and other products, according to federal data,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell also alleges that use of renewable power in the U.S. by Wal-Mart has declined 25% in the previous two years, and that sustainability drives rarely produce results.

“Walmart has a history of failing on its pledges to sell sustainable products. In 2011, for example, Walmart abandoned its promise, made 3 years earlier, to ‘work with suppliers to make the most energy-intensive products in our stores... 25 percent more energy efficient.’ It also failed to meet its 2009 promise to reduce phosphates in laundry and dish detergents by 70% by 2011 and abandoned a 2008 promise to sell only Energy-Star rated air conditioners,” according to Mitchell.

‘WALKING THE TALK’
Wal-Mart officials noted throughout the day that sustainability is a journey and after 10 years, there is still much work to be done. In the true Wal-Mart fashion of leveraging its scale, the retailer is asking more from its supplier partners up and down the chain. McMillon said such requests of the suppliers also means Wal-Mart must be seen as “Walking the Talk.”

Wal-Mart announced plans to create a sustainability store on Walmart.com – shopping portal, expected to launch by the of this year. This shop in a shop will allow customers 
to easily identify brands that are leading sustainability within a category via a special icon.

“No one should have to choose between products that are sustainable and products they can afford,” said Manuel Gomez, vice president of sustainability for Wal-Mart. “We want to make sustainability easy by taking the guesswork out of values-based shopping. Accessibility and transparency really put the customer in the driver’s seat.”

Financial literacy ratings assigned by WalletHub based on federal data indicates Arkansas is way behind the curve when it comes to overall financial knowledge in its consumer population.

The Natural State ranked 50th out 51 places in the recent study that looked at education efforts in financial literacy, high school dropout rates, percentages of people with college degrees, the unbanked and those who borrow from non-bank lenders.

Dr. William Bailey, a professor emeritus at the University of Arkansas, has taught consumer finance to college students for three decades. He is not surprised to see Arkansas rank near the bottom of the barrel in overall financial literacy. He said a financial literacy test routinely given to college students in consumer finance/family finance classes have low scores — 62% nationally and 60% locally.

The WalletHub report found Arkansas to have the following rankings:
40th – High school financial literacy program 
29th – High school dropout rate
48th – Percentage of people with a bachelor’s degree
45th – FINRA financial literacy survey
37th – Percentage of people spending more than they make
32nd – Percentage of people with a rainy day fund
38th – Percentage of people borrowing from non-bank lenders

Financial literacy educators across the country agreed more has to be done to improve financial prowess among consumers, and they said the earlier the better.

“This is a life skill. These high schools, these schools are failing to understand this is a life skill. The sooner you can know about finances, investing and so forth the better off you will be, but with all this emphasis on standardized testing, they just don’t have time for it. Financial literacy should definitely be included in public school curricula,” Keith Weigelt, professor at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, said in the WalletHub study.

Bailey told The City Wire that financial teaching should begin at home. He shared a story of a someone he knew who raised his two daughters alone after the wife died suddenly.

“He would sit those girls down at the table each month when he wrote the checks to pay the bills. In the early years they licked the stamps and as they grew older they helped to track expenses, keep spreadsheets and balance a checkbook. He never hid his finances from those girls and they were able to make sound financial decisions as young ladies,” Bailey said.

He said money topics have been viewed as taboo among family discussions for ages but he has seen those parents who teach financial literacy give their children a gift they take with them to college.

Dr. Ed Bashaw, dean of the College of Business at Arkansas Tech University, said higher poverty rates in the state are part of the reason financial literacy is also lagging. Bashaw said those families struggling to make ends meet, may not want to burden their children with that worry. He was not surprised to learn that Arkansas ranked high in the unbanked category (38), given its influx of immigrants and their general mistrust of financial institutions.

“Poverty is generational and with a lack of education the cycle continues. And in terms of non-bank lending, sometimes it may be cheaper to borrow from a payday lender than bounce several checks. But, once they borrow like that it’s easy to become enslaved,” Bashaw said.

Bailey is concerned about the lack of financial prowess among the general college student population. He advocates for courses to be taught each year at the collegiate level, starting with basic financial topics like credit card and debt management to more in-depth maneuvering cafeteria plans and 401(k) options for seniors about to enter the workforce. He said with student loan debt at $1.3 trillion, this young generation is saddled with a financial burden that could last for 20 years or more. 

“With debt levels now between $20,000 to $35,000 owed per student they are looking at postponing home purchase, starting families and other major life events while they whittle down their student loans,” Bailey said.

Bailey said in an ideal world parents would give children a foundation of sound financial teaching that are age appropriate. He said K-12 educators could and should reinforce and extend those learnings at each grade level as part of the standard curriculum. Then those students who go on to college would get more teachings, but those who don’t pursue higher education would still have the basic foundations.

Kimberly Snipes, senior vice president-auditing at First National Bank of Fort Smith, has been an advocate for teaching basic consumer finance to children for the past decade.  Snipes said the bank is active in the Fort Smith and surrounding communities working with local school systems to introduce children to savings principles and a wide variety of basic consumer finance information. It’s a program she has championed for 11 years. During that time, Snipes said the bank has helped 3,046 school children set up savings accounts, with a $5 initial deposit.

“We are in those elementary schools almost every week from September to May, teaching lessons on the discipline of savings, basic money principles and we look at the U.S. Mint. This program hopes to plant early seeds across many diverse socio-economic demographics, Snipes said.

Since 2003, she said First National has contributed $15,230 back into the communities with their $5 kick-start savings investments and they have contributed many hours teaching the weekly sessions and going to the schools to collect the students’ deposits. The teachings are geared to fourth grade and higher.

“We don’t stop at the elementary level. We go back in and teach a six-week course on personal finance to eighth and ninth graders, which is part of the mandated curriculum in Fort Smith schools,” Snipes said.

At the high school level Snipes said they teach the National Endowment Financial Education curriculum which builds on the earlier teachings. This summer Snipes and her team are working with the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith and 100 high schools students taking part in the federal Upward Bound program.

“These students come from lower income families and they are planning to attend college. We will teach the NEFE program that looks at a wide array of areas from credit, borrowing, savings, checking, career options, etc.,” Snipes said. “We know that teaching and reteaching, helping to build savings habits early and making money a topic of discussion is key to breaking the cycle of illiteracy.”

Arvest Bank conducts similar work with the public schools in Northwest Arkansas.

Crawford County Judge John Hall and Sheriff Ron Brown spoke to a decidedly friendly crowd Tuesday (April 29) as the two men brought made yet another pitch to county voters for a new sales tax, a pitch that comes less than a week before citizens can begin early voting.

The meeting, held at the county's emergency management headquarters in Van Buren, was hosted by the Van Buren Chamber of Commerce, a group that has endorsed the plan.

"This Spring, at our board (of directors) meeting, we did and we voted to support the jail initiative," said Van Buren Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jackie Krutsch.

She said while the chamber board voted to support the plan to fund and build a new $20 million jail — only one board member did not vote in favor of the endorsement — support from chamber members has not been as overwhelmingly supportive of the planned tax. The jail funding plan would tack a half-cent sales tax on purchases made in the county during the next 10 years to build the jail, while an additional quarter-cent sales tax would be in place permanently to fund law enforcement operations for the county, including jail operations.

"You know, mixed reactions. Business never likes taxes, but yet we've had a lot of businesses saying they've been hurt by crime. I've had several say (it is) more than hot checks, but air conditioners units ripped off their building and things like that and knowing that those individuals ether weren't prosecuted because it was a moot point or they were and were never incarcerated."

Krutsch was referring to what Brown has spoken of repeatedly in making his pitch for the new jail — he simply does not have the room to house offenders, leaving him to release individuals who have been arrested on signature bonds.

Brown said since he has no space to house inmates and the county is not always expending more money to transport inmates to other county jails, he is often times pushing criminals back out onto the streets to re-offend.

In literature Brown and Hall have been distributing as part of their campaign for the tax, Uniontown resident Rickey Jones explained an experience he allegedly had that illustrated Brown's point.

"While going on a hunting trip to my wife's grandparents house, we noticed the house and some storage buildings had been broken into. We set up surveillance the next morning and caught the thieves in the act," he is quoted as saying. "While waiting on more officers to arrive, the ring leader said, 'I'm not too worried because I won't stay in jail because they are overcrowded.' This seems to be a scary problem knowing these people are committing crimes and know they won't get the punishment they deserve due to overcrowding."

The sheriff said because he has had to let more than 2,000 individuals out on signature bonds last year to likely re-offend with no worry of jail time, he was "the biggest person undermining the whole judicial system in Crawford County. I'm chopping away at it because I'm letting people go because I swore to uphold the (Arkansas) constitution and overcrowding is a constitutional violation."

The group appeared to be warm to the idea of a new tax to fund the jail, leading Hall to implore the individuals to get their friends to the polls starting Monday (May 5), when early voting opens at the Crawford County Emergency Management Headquarters. He said voting for the two sales tax questions would not only help construct the new jail, but would drive economic development in the county during the construction phase and later, as he claimed more businesses would choose to develop around the jail site at 4301 Highway 64 just outside Van Buren.

"Sacrifice right now, vote for the half-cent sales tax, vote for the quarter-cent operations and maintenance, keep all your money at home."

Van Buren resident Richard Jiminez said he remembered three other attempts to pass a sales tax for the jail in the early to mid-2000s and he said the need now was greater than before, which is why he would vote for the tax and encourage his friends to do the same.

"I'm here again because I see that's it's necessary," he said. "Crime is not decreasing, it's increasing — certainly in our community. And public safety is most important, as important as anything else in our lives. That's what we ask the sheriff to do, is protect us and how's he doing it? By such things as this here — seeing that we have a jail or detention center to hold those who can't abide by the law."

If passed, the new jail would house 265 beds, with infrastructure for up to 400. The new facility would also house all divisions of the Crawford County Sheriff's Department, as well as an arraignment courtroom and the county's 911 dispatch center.

Early voting for the sales tax questions, partisan primary elections and judicial elections begins Monday (May 5) and will take place at the Crawford County Emergency Management Headquarters in Van Buren. May 20 is the scheduled election date, with voters able to vote at their designated precinct locations.

Van Buren-based USA Truck continues to lose money, but the losses are trending lower and officials with the trucking company maintain that their turnaround plan is delivering better results.

The company recorded a loss of $1.589 million during the first quarter of 2014, an improvement over the $2.474 million during the first quarter of 2013. Total revenue was $145.489 million, up 10.1% compared to the first quarter of 2013.

The 15 cent loss for earnings per share was better than the consensus estimate of a 20-cent per share loss, according to the earnings report released early Wednesday (April 30).

Company officials said the company improved during a quarter in which several rounds of severe winter weather made operations difficult. USA Truck President and CEO John Simone said during the earnings call that the weather-related impact on operational income is estimated to be $2.5 million. The company also recorded an expense of $400,000 related to its defense of the failed hostile takeover attempt by Phoenix-based Knight Transportation.

"The unusual frequency and severity of winter storms disrupted our Trucking operations throughout January, February and the first week of March,” Simone said in the earnings statement. “The final three weeks of March, however, were characterized by unusually strong freight volumes, which outstripped both our and the industry's supply of trucks, creating widespread dislocations in the marketplace as pent-up shipping demand from the severe winter met a worsening shortage of drivers in the industry.”

The first quarter loss follows a 2013 that saw improvements, but continued losses. USA Truck posted a net loss of $9.11 million in 2013. While an improvement compared to the net loss of $17.671 million in 2012, it marks the fifth consecutive year of losses for the trucking company.

The company has lost more than $47.9 million in the past five years. The last time the company strung together meaningful numbers was in the middle of the previous decade when 2004, 2005 and 2006 delivered net income of $7.432 million, $15.568 million and $12.441 million, respectively.

"We are continuing to execute our turnaround plan, focusing on the same high-leverage activities that drove significant improvement in our results throughout 2013.  We are pleased with our progress in many areas,” Simone said in the statement. “One obstacle facing the entire industry is the shortage of drivers brought on by more restrictive federal hours-of-service rules, increasing opportunities in other industry verticals such as housing and energy, and long-term demographic trends in which more drivers are leaving our industry each year than are entering it.”

During the USA Truck earnings call, Simone said the turnaround plan is “largely back on track” in the second quarter, but it will take several months to recruit and retain enough drivers to return to a normal seated-truck count. He said the company increased staff support for recruiting, changed marketing efforts and may have to take an expense hit with higher driver pay.

“We are evaluating pay. Nothing is off limits at this point,” Simone said during the call.

Simone stressed during the call that a big part of the company’s turnaround will be continued growth of the Strategic Capacity Solutions (SCS) segment of the company. That segment provides logistics and freight brokerage services. The company reported that SCS revenue was 31.8% of the overall revenue in the quarter, and operating income quadrupled to $5.1 million.

Brad Delco, a transportation industry analyst with Little Rock-based Stephens Inc., estimated in a Feb. 25 investor note that USA Truck would post a $1.9 million loss in the quarter. Delco estimates the company will earn $1 million in the next quarter, and end the year with net income of $2.6 million, or earnings per share of around 25 cents.  (Stephens Inc., Delco’s employer, has a market position in Arkansas Best and USA Truck, and does investment and non-investment business with the companies.)

USA Truck does not offer guidance on future earnings.

The market did not like the earnings report. USA Truck shares (NASDAQ: USAK) closed Wednesday at $16.60, down $1.26 per share, or more than 7%. During the past 52 weeks the share price ranged from a $19.57 high to a $4.95 low.

Wal-Mart is wasting no time in deploying its latest grocery format — a stand alone pick-up center where shoppers can drive up and retrieve their online orders and never leave their car. It’s a new format concept for Walmart U.S. who continues to up the ante for convenience in the highly competitive grocery sector.

The retailer reviewed plans for the first concept depot with Bentonville city officials on Tuesday (April 29.) The proposed development goes to the city planning commission on May 6.

The concept was introduced by Bill Simon, CEO of Walmart U.S., on March 4 during a speech he gave at the Raymond James investors conference in Orlando. He said Wal-Mart has tested drive-through pick-up options for online orders in 11 stores in the Denver area with a 90% approval rating. But, Simon also said the success of the drive-through test prompted the retailer to consider stand-alone depots or modulars that are used as mini fulfillment centers for online grocery orders.

Simon described the concept modular as “Sonic-like,” but he gave no timeline for this launch. The City Wire  recently learned that Wal-Mart is ready to test this new concept just as soon as city officials in Bentonville approve the plans.

BENTONVILLE DEPOT
The Bentonville location slated for the new format is near the J. Street and South Walton Boulevard intersection, behind the Chambers Bank which is located on the southeast corner of the intersection across from Zaxby’s and Firehouse Subs. The 15,000 square-foot facility will house 10,000 fresh and dry grocery products – from cereal, chips and bread to fresh produce, meat and milk, according to Deisha Barnett, corporate spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. 

Barnett said the concept will allow consumers to shop online for their grocery items, schedule a pickup time at their convenience then drive up like they would at a Sonic drive-in, call to the associates who then bring their grocery order to car.

“We know at Wal-Mart our customers’ needs are changing. They want and need more shopping options and we have the means to give them low prices, wide assortments along with value and convenience in a seamless shopping experience,” Barnett said.

She said the new concept will offer local consumers a completely new shopping experience and it’s one of several tests the retailer is conducting from storage lockers in metro Washington D.C., Walmart to Go pick-up and home delivery in Denver and San Jose, Calif., and the new convenience store located up the road from this new grocery fulfillment concept facility. Simon has said the concept centers are designed to provide convenience and in no way are meant to replace traditional stock-up trips that its supercenters provide. Those trips are valued annually at $585 billion and remain about 60% of the total grocery spend.

LESSONS LEARNED
Barnett said Wal-Mart hopes to takes the lessons form innovative concepts it is testing to ensure customers get the services, prices and selections they want and expect.

“We don’t think consumers should have to pay more for convenience which is why we continue to innovate and look for new ways their shopping needs can be met,” she said.

Carol Spieckeman, CEO of NewMarketBuilders, said in the past every new concept or format that retailers launched was seen as a prototype that, if successful, would roll out in current form. In fact, retailers often announced staged rollout plans simultaneously with each launch.

“Wal-Mart exemplifies how much that model has changed and is leading the charge when it comes to diverse and disparate concept launches,” she said.

ENGLISH EXPERIENCE
She said Wal-Mart’s Asda division has more than 100 drive-through pick-up locations in the U.K., with plans for more. But it also launched its first temperature-controlled locker pick-up location in the U.K. a couple of weeks ago.

“Wal-Mart’s international presence and ability to test concepts in non-U.S. markets is a huge advantage, particularly given the wider adoption of online grocery shopping in markets like the U.K.,” Spieckerman added.

Barnett also said Asda has been delivering online grocery orders for sometime in the U.K., as well as using Kiosks to order items that can be picked up at its drive-through locations. 

Retail analysts agree that online grocery is more widely used in the U.K. than in the U.S. at this time.

“In the U.S., Wal-Mart is testing and deploying a dizzying array of convenience, pick-up and delivery options in various markets and I expect the proliferation of options to accelerate,” Spieckerman said. “For the short term, I see diversification, not consolidation, as Wal-Mart’s goal and its U.S.-based competitors will have to formulate a response. They certainly can’t afford to play wait-and-see. ... No retailer other than Amazon is matching Wal-Mart’s ‘multi-testing’ mojo these days and Wal-Mart will reap the benefits of working the kinks (and costs) out before many others even get started.”

CUSTOMER THOUGHTS
The City Wire asked a few consumers their opinion of the new online grocery shopping format proposed for Bentonville later this year. Several shoppers said they would welcome the concept.

Lana Flowers of Rogers said the service could appeal to elderly shoppers and others that don’t feel like getting out. However, she likes the store experience.

“As long as I am healthy enough to walk through a store, I’d rather pick up my own items and pick them out. Otherwise, I may not find new products or different flavors or iterations of favorite brands,” Flowers explained.

Spieckerman said click-and-collect concepts have gained more traction in non-U.S. markets, but U.S. retailers have been slow to follow. It’s unfortunate given the lower associated costs, but she said Wal-Mart is poised to take full advantage. She also sees a connection between Wal-Mart’s recent move to introduce Wild Oats-branded organic foods and its click-and-collect forays.

“Brands like Wild Oats will help Wal-Mart build a bridge to more affluent shoppers who might not otherwise have Wal-Mart top-of-mind for site-to-store grocery shopping,” she said. “Wal-Mart already carries an impressive selection of online-unique ethnic, organic, vegan and other specialty offerings.”

Spieckerman said as Wal-Mart hones its site-to-store and site-to-home model, these items will find their way into more shoppers’ homes, giving Wal-Mart the opportunity to build an omni-channel relationship with new customers before competitors move off the mark.

Christmas may come early to select signage and print companies with Fort Smith-based Arkansas Best Corp. announcing Wednesday (April 30) that as of May 1 the transportation holding company will rename and rebrand to ArcBest Corporation.

The company that began in 1923 as OK Transfer and operated a few truck routes around Fort Smith morphed into a corporate holding company in 1966 under the Arkansas Best Corporation moniker. ABF Freight was the largest subsidiary of the company. In late 1972, the company went public with an initial ticker symbol of ABZ on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock is now listed as ABFS and trades on the NASDAQ exchange.

But that symbol will also change on May 1 to ARCB.

The new name and “unified logo system” was crafted to enhance the company’s identity as a holistic provider of transportation and logistics solutions for a wide variety of customers,” noted the company statement issued Wednesday afternoon.

“This marks an exciting new era for our organization,” ArcBest President and Chief Executive Officer Judy McReynolds said in the statement. “The new name, logo system and advertising campaign we are unveiling allow us to more clearly communicate our total value proposition to our customers, our employees and our shareholders through one unified identity under the ArcBest umbrella.”

With one exception, names of the operating subsidiaries under ArcBest will remain the same. Those are ABF Freight, ABF Logistics, Cleveland-based Panther Premium Logistics and Cherryville, N.C.-based FleetNet America.

The exception is with Data-Tronics, the information technology division. The new name will be ArcBest Technologies.

ABF Logistics will now include the household goods moving services businesses now known as ABF Moving. ABF Moving includes the the U-Pack brand, and services providing corporate relocation and military moves.

The company is holding an event Thursday morning (May 1) at the Fort Smith Convention Center to roll out the new name and branding. Former NASA astronaut Dr. Scott Parazynski is the featured speaker. Parazynski, who flew on five shuttle missions and participated in seven spacewalks, is a popular corporate leadership speaker.
www.parazynski.com

David Humphrey, vice president of Investor Relations for ArcBest, said the name changes were studied for several months. When asked about the costs to implement such changes, he said there will be costs but they will not be “a material number.”

And was the name change partially motivated by any concern about a growing national and global company being linked to one state? Humphrey said that was “one of numerous considerations” but the overriding factor was to “unify the whole thing and get everybody working together” and present a unified array of services to existing and potential customers.

Humphrey also said Board Chairman Robert A. Young III “is fully supportive” of the change. Young is the son of Robert A. Young Jr., who acquired the company in 1951 and is credited with growing it into being one of the largest less-than-truckload carriers in the U.S.

ArcBest is scheduled to release first quarter earnings after the markets close on Thursday. The consensus estimate among the 15 analysts who cover the company is an 8 cent per share loss during the first quarter on total revenue of $551.35 million. The company posted a 52 cent per share loss during the first quarter of 2013.

Company shares (NASDAQ: ABFS) closed Wednesday at $39.2, up $1.42. During the past 52 weeks the share price has ranged from a $39.79 high to a $9.67 low.

The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith's Board of Visitors received an update Wednesday (April 30) on the university's planned new fitness center.

According to Dr. Lee Krehbiel, UAFS vice chancellor for student affairs, the university has narrowed the list of potential architects for the project, which will be funded through a $5 per credit hour fee approved by the University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees earlier this year.

"The committee (in charge of hiring an architecture firm) has been meeting. They've narrowed the proposals and we now have, I think, a top six — the top three of which will go forward in May to the Board for approval."

While the UA System Board has already approved the specific fee increase at its March meeting, which was held on the UAFS campus, it must still approve the UAFS overall tuition and fee structure for the upcoming school year, which Krehbiel called the final "hurdle."

"The one remaining hurdle, if you will, is that this will go to the UA System Board in May as part, again, of our overall tuition and fee request. And so at that point, if it goes through, that will solidify our ability to get the bonds out, hire the architects, begin work on a construction manager and hopefully then within a few months, we'd be looking at another groundbreaking."

UAFS held the groundbreaking for the new $15.5 million visual arts building on April 21. The building will be constructed along Waldron Road and Kinkead Avenue across from the Stubblefield Center.

The new fitness center is also part of the university's 20-year master plan, unveiled in October 2013. UAFS Chancellor Dr. Paul Beran said the master plan's overall price tag "in today's dollars" is around $200 million and calls for a variety of new projects and construction, with the focus of new construction being around the school's iconic bell tower.

As for why the university opted for building a new fitness center at this time, Krehbiel said it came down to the same problem UAFS has been facing for years — lack of space.

"We had a situation where while it functioned and continues to, we had multiple uses. Athletics uses the facility, academics uses the facility and general student population for recreation purposes uses the facility. So (sometimes) we literally had to close the fitness center so we could accommodate the class load in there. So it made it very difficult for students to even plan their workouts. So the need was pretty clear."

While no firm date has been set for a groundbreaking or an opening date and no cost estimates have been formally presented, Krehbiel said students who begin paying the fee during their academic careers at UAFS will be able to come back and use the facility upon its completion. It was a move, he said, that "leveled the playing field" and got more students to buy into the concept of a fee hike to pay for the facility.

In other business, Vice Chancellor for University Advancement Dr. Mary Lackie discussed naming opportunities for the new visual arts building. Naming rights for various rooms and locations throughout the new structure vary in donation to the university, from $5,000 up to $500,000.

Beran also noted that UAFS was in the process of restructuring the College of Education into a School of Education which would be under the university's STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) programs. He said the move would better prepare the university's students to obtain math and science-based education degrees, with graduates in those fields being highly sought after in the education industry at a national level.

He said it was also part of the university's ongoing evaluations to see which colleges should be collapsed and moved into other colleges. According to Beran, such changes are "imminent in growing the efficiency" at the school.

Efforts to increase the minimum wage aren't just happening – or not happening – in the halls of Congress or the West Wing. A group in Arkansas is working to increase the state's minimum wage above the current federal rate.

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday (April 30) failed to pass a bill that would raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour. The vote was 54 to 42, with Senate Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., voting against the bill so he could re-introduce it later. The bill needed 60 votes to overcome a Republican filibuster. Even if the bill passes the Senate, it’s not likely to meet with approval in the GOP controlled U.S. House.

U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., was not in Washington to vote on the bill because he was in Arkansas working on tornado recovery efforts. However, Pryor is in favor of raising Arkansas’ minimum wage.

“By giving a raise to the nearly 170,000 Arkansans who make minimum wage, our economy will get a much needed shot in the arm,” Pryor noted in a commentary on the issue. “I hear from Arkansas business owners all the time, and one of their main concerns these days is demand for their products. Better wages for workers means increased sales for small business owners as families have a little more each month to plug back into the economy.”

The current Arkansas minimum wage stands at $6.25 per hour, a dollar below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

Stephen Copley, chairman of the Give Arkansas a Raise Now Coalition, said his organization is seeking signatures to place a minimum wage of $8.50 per hour on the November ballot.

The reason for moving for a move to $8.50 per hour versus the $10.10 per hour being pushed by President Barack Obama and recently passed by a handful of states, including Maryland, was due to one simple reason.

"It was the feasibility… what we thought might pass," he said. "There was a sense that something like $10.10 was not the sort of proposal Arkansans would pass, so we sat down and looked at what might politically pass in an initiative."

And while many in Arkansas are paid above the state's minimum wage because the federal minimum wage is a higher rate, Copley said a small number of the state's residents are still paid the $6.25 per hour rate, which equals only $13,000 per year based on a 40-hour work week.

"Basically (those workers fall under a) law passed in Arkansas in the 1960s," he said. "Anybody who works at a job that does not involve interstate commerce and the business makes less than $500,000 a year. If they are involved in interstate commerce, it falls under the federal (law) even if they make less money."

Senior Policy Analyst Eleanor Wheeler, who has authored a study for the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families that supports a rise in the state's minimum wage, said there is a misconception that individuals earning minimum wage are just young high school or college students.

"Actually, 85% of minimum wage workers are at least 20 years old and earn at least half the income for their families," she said. "That's a big reason why it's important in Arkansas. These full-time workers are struggling to support their families and it gets harder each year because of increasing prices."

She said raising the minimum wage would help raise Arkansas families out of poverty, while having no negative impact on job growth and retention.

"For one thing, a lot of businesses who employ low wage workers are the bigger businesses who can absorb the increase in payroll," she said. "Even these small business will see the money coming back to them because if you put the money in the hands of people in the community, they'll spend in that community. It creates a cycle where it is good for business."

But Randy Zook, president and CEO of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, said the opposite would be true.

"It will hurt employees," he said. "It will result in fewer people being hired, but I don't know that it will necessarily, in the long term, hurt employers. Employers will adjust their work teams to compensate for the increased pay and there will be fewer people hired."

And the Congressional Budget Office appears to back Zook's assertion.

According to a February report by the CBO, while a hike in the minimum wage would be a benefit to some employees and their families, it could have the exact opposite effect for others.

"But some jobs for low-wage workers would probably be eliminated, the income of most workers who became jobless would fall substantially, and the share of low-wage workers who were employed would probably fall slightly,"the report read in its summary.

And while Copley feels confident his group will successfully get the 62,507 signatures by July 7 to have the minimum wage increase appear on the November ballot, Zook said the State Chamber would likely stay out of the discussion since many of its members have not expressed any opinion one way or another, adding that many of its members pay above the minimum wage.

"At this point, there is so little interest or expression of concern. My guess is that we'll probably not express a position. That's not the final word, but at this point it appears unlikely."

Another bank has joined the growing web of lawsuits, counter complaints and pleas for judgment in the Dennis Smiley fraud saga. 

To date there have been seven banks file counter suits against Smiley, Arvest Bank and the other 20 lenders involved in loaning about $4.5 million to Smiley over the past four years.

First Bank (Hampton) filed its counter/cross complaint in Benton County Circuit Court on Wednesday (April 30). The bank is staking its claim for money loaned to Smiley beginning Oct. 9, 2013. 

The bank said it made a loan of $130,000 to Henry D. Smiley Jr., and nterest was to be paid monthly beginning Nov. 9. with the full balance due October 2014. As a condition of this loan Smiley pledged 4,264.33 shares of common stock in Arvest Bank Group, held in an investment account at Arvest.

First Bank received a signed Security Control Agreement with a power of sale for the collateral should the loan become delinquent. That Control Agreement was signed by Smiley and an Arvest executive vice president Jeb Mills, along with First Bank President Jon Harrell. 

On Oct. 31, 2013, First Bank made a second loan for $50,000 payable in 35 monthly installments with a balloon payment of the balance due October 2016. Smiley again used the Arvest stock as collateral for the loan, tied to the signed Control Agreement.

First Bank declared default under the terms of the two loans due to false or misleading information provided by Smiley during the loan process. Demand for payment was made, but the bank said it is still owed $130,000 on one loan and $49,000 owed on the other loan and interest is accruing on both loans at roughly $25 per day, according to the filing.

The bank asked the court for a judgment against Smiley the unpaid funds. First Bank also answered the Arvest interpleading and filed a claim against Arvest Bank Group noting that the Control Agreements signed by the intermediary for the bank are binding contracts that state Arvest had no knowledge of any other claim to the collateral — Smiley’s stock account. The agreement also states that if any other liens are found against the collateral they will be subordinate to First Bank’s position.

The bank said when Arvest liquidated Smiley’s account without notifying First Bank, it breached the contract signed by its intermediary Jeb Mills. First Bank asked the court to render judgment against Arvest Bank Group for the $180,000 secured by the collateral. They also ask for attorney’s fees and court costs related to this case.

Several of the 19 banks listed in Arvest’s interpleading have filed answers with the court. The exceptions include: Chambers Bank, First Western, Legacy National, Bank of Arkansas, Benefit Bank, Centennial Bank and Bank of the Ozarks.

Benton County Circuit Judge John Scott is expected to call a hearing in the next couple of weeks to begin sorting out the pile of claims against Smiley and his former employer.

Rodney Shepard, a former top officer with Arvest Bank operations in the Fort Smith area, is returning to be the new president and CEO of Arvest Bank of Fort Smith. He is now the head of Arvest Bank operations in Springfield, Mo., and will begin his new role on June 1.

Shepard spent 17 years working in the Fort Smith area banking business prior to his promotion in January 2011 to Springfield.

“We are looking forward to having Rodney back in the Fort Smith community,” Arvest Bank regional executive Cliff Gibbs said in a statement. “He played a vital role during his tenure in Fort Smith prior to leading the team in Springfield. Rodney understands the Arvest culture and will hit the ground running upon his return to the community that he loves and supports.”

Shepard has been busy in Springfield. He has led the growth of Arvest in what is a relatively new market for the bank. The growth included six new branch banks for a total of 13 in the market. Staff at the bank also doubled during his tenure, according to Arvest.

Arvest Bank operates more than 260 bank branches in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas through a network of 16 locally managed banks, each with its own board and management team. These banks operate in more than 120 communities.

FAMILY TIES, ECONOMIC FACTORS
Shepard told The City Wire that the decision to return to Fort Smith was tough because his family had grown to love the Springfield area. However, he and his wife Lisa have a majority of their families living in the Fort Smith area. The family ties were a big part of the decision, he said. Shepard and his wife have two children.

“We like this area up here. This is really a great place to live. We had settled, found a good church, really got involved in the community up here, but at the end of the day, when that opportunity opened up, the family piece was part of the decision for us to come back,” Shepard explained.

Shepard also acknowledged that part of his decision involved an economic comparison of the two regions. The Springfield metro area has a larger nonfarm labor force (202,4000 as of March 2014) than the Fort Smith area (116,600 as of March 2014). Also, the Springfield metro area jobless rate has been at or below 7% for more than two years, with several months during that period of monthly jobless rates below 6%. The March rate was 6.1%. Prior to March, the Fort Smith metro area had 62 consecutive months that the jobless rate was at or above 7%. The March rate fell to 6.9%.

“It did,” Shepard said when asked if the relative weakness of the Fort Smith area was a factor in the decision. “It is true that Springfield has a healthier economy. ... But as I visited with our (Fort Smith area bank) directors, I asked them about the economy ... and they feel positive about Fort Smith’s outlook.”

Shepard said his positive economic outlook is based on the Fort Smith region having good infrastructure – rail, roads, waterway, air – in place.

Also, Arvest has a larger customer base and operations in the Fort Smith area than it now does in the Springfield market. Shepard said that was a draw for him, too.

“But this (Springfield) is a great place to live ... and at some point I believe our company will have a larger operation here and will continue to grow here. This has been a wonderful experience here, and I hate to leave, but I think that everyone understands,” Shepard said.

BACKGROUND
Shepard earned an associate’s degree from Carl Albert State College, a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern State University and a master’s degree from Webster University. He also is a graduate of the Mid South School of Banking and completed the ABA Commercial Lending School, and Graduate School of Banking program at Louisiana State University. Carl Albert State College also honored him with its Distinguished Alumni Award.

During his time in Springfield, Shepard served on the board of directors for the Missouri Bankers Association, United Way of the Ozarks, and the Public Utilities for the City of Springfield. He is a graduate of the Leadership Springfield program and a member of the Springfield Southeast Rotary Club.

Shepard was active in the Fort Smith area during his previous time there. Groups with which he worked with include the Single Parent Scholarship Fund, advisory council for Young Emerging Leaders of the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce, a council member for the 188th Fighter Wing in Fort Smith, River Front Blues Society, Fort Smith Area United Way, and the Old Fort River Festival. He also is a graduate of Leadership Fort Smith.

Home sales in Arkansas four largest metro areas during the first quarter of 2014 are up almost 3% compared to the same period of 2013, but the average per home sales price is down more than 3% and the total value of homes sold in those markets is also down for the quarter.

The Fort Smith region was the only one of Arkansas’ four largest metro areas to post a gain in home sales and total sales amount during March.

According to The City Wire’s Arkansas Home Sales Report, there were 4,229 homes sold in the four markets for the first three months of 2014, up 2.97% compared to the 2013 quarter, and up 12.18% compared to the same quarter in 2012.

The City Wire’s Arkansas Home Sales Report captures home sales data in the state’s 14 most populated counties within the state’s four largest metro areas — Central Arkansas, Fort Smith area, Jonesboro/Northeast Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas. The report, which records closed sales, accounts for between 70% and 75% of total Arkansas home sales. The report is sponsored by Fort Smith-based Weather Barr.

Average home prices in the four markets for the quarter was $153,959, down from the $159,286 during the same quarter in 2013, and just above the $153,425. The value of the homes sold in the four markets during the quarter totaled $651.091 million, down 0.47% compared to the same quarter in 2013, but up 12.57% compared to the 2012 quarter.

MARCH NUMBERS
March home sales totaled 1,625, down 3.62% in the four markets. The average price per home in the four markets was $158,996, down 2.64% compared to March 2013, but up 3.36% compared to March 2012.

There were 735 homes sold in central Arkansas, down 5.04% compared to March 2013, and up 9.7% compared to March 2012.

March home sales totaled 576 in Northwest Arkansas, down 6.8% compared to March 2013, and up 5.49% compared to March 2012.

Jonesboro area home sales totaled 153, down 0.65% compared to March 2013 and down 12.07% compared to March 2012.

In the Fort Smith area, home sales totaled 161, up an impressive 15% compared to March 2013, and up 12.59% compared to March 2012.

The value of the sales during March were down 6.23% in central Arkansas, down 5.3% in Northwest Arkansas, down 23.13% in the Jonesboro area, and up 9.02% in the Fort Smith region.

THE REGIONAL PICTURE: 2014
Central Arkansas — Home sales
Jan.-March 2014: 1,975
Jan.-March 2013: 1,926
Jan.-March 2012: 1,769

Fort Smith area — Home sales
Jan.-March 2014: 388
Jan.-March 2013: 333
Jan.-March 2012: 346

Jonesboro area — Home sales
Jan.-March 2014: 443
Jan.-March 2013: 390
Jan.-March 2012: 392

Northwest Arkansas — Home sales
Jan.-March 2014: 1,423
Jan.-March 2013: 1,458
Jan.-March 2012: 1,263

The top five counties in terms of Jan.-March 2014 home sales:
Benton — 896, down compared to 912 in 2013
Pulaski — 888, up compared to 869 in 2013
Washington — 527, down compared to 546 in 2013
Craighead — 346, up compared to 305 in 2013
Saline — 337, up compared to 305 in 2013

Link here for a PDF document of the March 2014 data.

‘LIFE IS GOOD’
Jennifer Zunino, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Rector Phillips Morse in Maumelle, said she has noticed stricter credit requirements are preventing many first-time home buyers from entering the market. The increase in sales in her area is largely from repeat buyers.

“Second-time buyers are happening right now. ... We're not seeing many first-time buyers,” she said, adding that lower priced homes in Pulaski County aren't moving as fast as those priced in the $200,000 to $300,000 range. “People are upgrading.”

She said prices have stabilized for many to the point that those home owners who owed more money on their homes than they were worth a few years ago are discovering they have equity in their houses. Home owners with equity, then, are more likely to sell their houses and “upgrade” than those who do not.

Sheryln Blackwell of Fred Dacus Associates in Jonesboro (JonesboroRealEstate.com) said her market has clearly recovered from the downturn of a few years ago.

“Three closings today,” she said on Wednesday. “Life is good.”

She said the bulk of the buyers she works with are repeat customers who are “moving on up” by going to larger homes. However, she said her office has no shortage of first time buyers, adding there are more credit issues than there used to be and that is why developing good relationships with lenders so prospective buyers have options is essential in today's market.

“I'll find a way to get them financed,” Blackwell said.

‘DEMAND IS STILL GOOD’
The City Wire Economist Jeff Collins said there's a reason Realtors are optimistic about the current market.

“I think that what you see is a recovered and stabilized housing market,” he said, adding that the market is not undergoing a record-setting pace, but conditions have definitely improved.

“The volumes are solid,” he said. “Not spectacular, but solid. … Demand is still good.”

He noted that March numbers are down, but said that can be a function of many things including ice and snow as a result of an unusually cold winter in Arkansas. A good number of March closings are the result of contracts entered into during February and January – months that featured ice, snow and frigid temperatures.

Collins said average prices are trending downward, but that comes as no surprise. He said interest rates are going up but incomes have remained fairly unchanged. As upticks in interest rates lead to higher monthly payments, Collins said there's not much people can do but buy less expensive homes than they would have when rates were lower – that same monthly payment won't go as far now as it did even a few months ago.

Jim Long, an agent with Crye-Leike Real Estate in Bentonville, said he didn’t close any properties in March, but he did put two listings under contract and he had several closings in the prior two months.

“There is ample buyer demand. When the sun comes out consumers are eager to look and purchase. But these off-and-on winter storms have kept things a little off balance lately.” Long said. “On the whole, I’m off to a better start than last year.”

Agents agree the metrics in the local market are good for buyer and sellers right now. Interest rates are quite low around 4.19% APR.

INVESTMENT PUSH
Long said home prices are continuing to rebound, though not as fast as many sellers would like. He just put a home under contract in West Fayetteville for a couple that had looked at more than 20 properties. The one they bought was on the market just two days and it sold for almost full asking pricing, Long added.

According to Principal Broker/Owner Pat Satterfield of Pat Satterfield Real Estate in Alma, one of the biggest drivers for the Fort Smith area market is the rural development loans that were renewed as part of a recently-passed farm bill. She also said the real estate market is being helped by investors looking for a better return on their money.

"They can't get anything on their invested money," she said. "So a lot of people are investing in real estate. I'm seeing that more than anything. They'll have that money in a C.D. and spend it on real estate where they get more on their money.”

The first quarter financials for ArcBest Corporation (formerly known as Arkansas Best Corp.) were not as good as analysts expected thanks to a pension settlement charge and the estimated negative impact of severe winter weather during the quarter.

The transportation holding company reported a loss of $5.2 million during the quarter, or a per share loss of 20 cents, more than double the 8 cent per share that was the consensus estimate of the 15 analysts who watch the company. However, without a $2.9 million pension settlement charge, the loss would have been 11 cents per share.

Also, the loss was better than the $13.395 million loss the company recorded in the first quarter of 2013.

Total revenue during the quarter was $577.904 million, 10.98% better than the first quarter of 2013 and well ahead of the consensus estimate of $551.35 million.

Winter weather during the quarter shaved $10.5 million off the operating income tally, according to a company estimate. Factoring our weather and the settlement charge, the company would have been in the black during the quarter.

“The estimated operating income impact of first quarter severe weather at ABF Freight was approximately $10.5 million. ABF Freight’s pre-tax first quarter pension settlement charges equaled $2.9 million. Thus, ABF Freight’s $12.2 million reported first quarter 2014 operating loss was adversely affected by the $13.4 million total of these two items. Excluding these items, ABF Freight would have generated an operating profit in this year’s first quarter compared to a $22.5 million operating loss in the first quarter of 2013,” the company explained in the earnings report issued Thursday (May 1) after the markets closed.

Despite the weather, tonnage was up 5.4% during the quarter and the number of shipments were up 3.4%. Company officials have said the tonnage could have been up 7% during the quarter if not for the snow and ice storms in many parts of their network.

ArcBest President and CEO Judy McReynolds said all segments of the company performed well during the quarter even with the bad weather, which she said will result in more future business.

“This was a challenging quarter for our industry as severe weather across the nation disrupted operations,” McReynolds said in the statement. “Excluding that impact, our companies performed well, with ABF Freight overcoming the previous year’s loss, Panther posting strong operating profit and FleetNet experiencing record business levels on many days. Our improved success in offering customers holistic solutions and one-stop shopping for a variety of logistics challenges is helping distinguish us in the marketplace. This provides additional opportunities to enhance the relationships we have with existing customers.”

The non-asset based businesses in the ArcBest portfolio generated $4.459 million in operating income during the quarter, a big improvement over the $134,000 during the first quarter of 2013.

The tough first quarter follows a positive financial performance in 2013. Net income during 2013 for ArcBest was $15.8 million, much better than the $7.7 million loss in 2012 and the most the company has earned in a year since 2008. The per share earnings of 59 cents also blew past the consensus estimate of 47 cents per share.

SEGMENT NUMBERS Q1 2014
ABFFreight
Operating income
2014 (January-March): –$12.184 million
2013 (January-March): –$22.549 million

Premium Logistics (Panther)
Operating income
2014 (January-March): $3.364 million
2013 (January-March): –$864,000

Domestic/Global transportation management (ABF Logistics)
Operating income
2014 (January-March): $535,000
2013 (January-March): $518,000

Emergency/preventative maintenance (FleetNet)
Operating income
2014 (January-March): $1.401 million
2013 (January-March): $711,000

Household goods moving (ABF Moving)
Operating income
2014 (January-March): –$841,000
2013 (January-March): – $231,000

Company shares (NASDAQ: ARCB) closed Thursday at $40.57, a gain over the opening price of $39.55, and a new 52-week high for the stock. Prior to Thursday, the share price has ranged from a $39.79 high to a $9.67 low during the past year.

The good news is that the Fort Smith metro jobless rate during March was 6.9%, the first time in 62 consecutive months the rate has been below 7%. The not-so-good news is that the rate decline is not a product of sizeable gains in the workforce or the number of employed.

In fact, the reported metro labor force has shrunk more than 8% compared to the high point hit in June 2007.

A 6.9% metro jobless rate was better than the 7.4% in February and much better than the 8.1% in March 2013. A drop in the reported number of unemployed was the primary cause for the March jobless rate decline to 6.9%.

Fort Smith metro employment of 119,565 was slightly better than the 119,155 in February, and almost flat compared to the 119,346 in March 2013, according to figures released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

All of the eight metro areas in or connected to Arkansas had a jobless rate decline in March compared to February, and had jobless rate declines compared to March 2013. During March, the lowest metro jobless rate in the state was 5.4% in Northwest Arkansas and the highest rate was 9.4% in the Pine Bluff area.

FORT SMITH METRO NUMBERS
The size of the Fort Smith regional workforce during March was 128,463, down from 128,695 during February, and down from the 129,880 during March 2013. The labor force reached a revised high of 140,253 in June 2007.

Unemployed persons in the region totaled an estimated 8,898 during March, down from the 9,540 during February, and well below the 10,534 during March 2013.

The Fort Smith area manufacturing sector employed an estimated 18,200 in March, unchanged compared to February, and unchanged compared to March 2013. Sector employment is down almost 36% from a decade ago when March 2004 manufacturing employment in the metro area stood at 28,400. Also, the annual average monthly employment in manufacturing has fallen from 28,900 in 2005, 19,200 in 2012, and to 18,300 in 2013.

Jobs in the Trade, Transportation and Utilities sector — the region’s largest job sector —  totaled 24,100 in March, up from the 24,000 in February, and above the 23,600 during March 2013. Employment in the sector reached a high of 25,700 in December 2007.

Employment in the region’s tourism industry was 9,300 during March, up from 9,000 in February and above the 9,000 in March 2013. The sector reached an employment high of 9,800 in August 2008.

In Education & Health Services, employment was 16,500 during March, up from 16,400 in February and below the 17,000 during March 2013. Annual average monthly employment in the sector has steadily grown since 2005 when it reached 14,000. In 2012 the average was 17,000, but fell slightly to 16,800 in 2013. Employment in the sector reached a record 17,300 in October 2012.

In the Government sector, employment was 19,600 during March, up from 19,400 in February and up from 19,400 in March 2013.

NATIONAL NUMBERS
Unemployment rates were lower in February than a year earlier in 333 of the 372 metropolitan areas, higher in 30 areas, and unchanged in nine areas, noted the broad BLS report.

The U.S. unemployment rate in March was 6.7%, down from 7.5% from a year earlier. Arkansas’ jobless rate was 6.9% in March, down from 7.1% in February and down from 7.4% in March 2013.

Oklahoma’s jobless rate during March was 4.9%, down from 5% in February, and down compared to 5.2% in March 2013. The Missouri jobless rate during March was 6.7%, up from 6.4% in February and up from the 6.6% in March 2013.

ARKANSAS METRO AREAS
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers
March 2014: 5.4%
February 2014: 5.6%
March 2013: 5.7%

Fort Smith
March 2014: 6.9%
February 2014: 7.6%
March 2013: 8.1%

Hot Springs
March 2014: 7.1%
February 2014: 7.7%
March 2013: 7.8%

Jonesboro
March 2014: 6.6%
February 2014: 7.1%
March 2013: 7.1%

Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway
March 2014: 6.3%
February 2014: 6.7%
March 2013: 6.8%

Memphis-West Memphis
March 2014: 8.2%
February 2014: 8.4%
March 2013: 9.4%

Pine Bluff
March 2014: 9.4%
February 2014: 10.1%
March 2013: 9.8%

Texarkana
March 2014: 6.5%
February 2014: 7.3%
March 2013: 7%

FORT SMITH METRO AREA HISTORY
Past annual average unemployment rates
2013: 8%
2012: 7.7%
2011: 8.3%
2010: 8.2%
2009: 7.9%
2008: 4.8%
2007: 5.3%
2006: 4.9%
2005: 4.5%
2004: 5.2%
2003: 5.5%
2002: 5%
2001: 4.2%
2000: 3.7%

The stars have been aligned for Tyson Foods this past year and the meat giant is expected to produce another record quarter when it reports earnings on Monday (May 5) with estimated net income of $223 million. This would be a nice rebound from the $935million reported in the year-ago period.

Wall Street analysts expect 63 cents per share for the three months ending March 31. If they hit that estimate it would be a 75% gain in net earnings, which would likely come on the strength of higher chicken prices and reduced grain costs.

Tyson Foods competitor Pilgrim’s Pride reported an 80% turnaround in its profits on Thursday (May 1), a good sign for Tyson investors as the two companies run similar chicken operations, analysts said.

Tyson Foods CEO Donnie Smith recently said more consumers are moving to chicken because of its value compared to escalating beef prices. That has spurred chicken production across the industry and total pounds processed are expected to be 3% more this year. But that uptick in production doesn’t bother Smith.

“When you look at the halo effect, you’ve got very high beef prices, record high pork prices and chicken is very cheap, relatively speaking. ... It doesn’t worry us at all to have an increase in supply of let’s call it 3% or so because the demand is going to be there to absorb that,” Smith said during a recent investor conference in New York.

Smith also said consumers can expect higher meat prices across the board this year, and food service customers are on shorter contracts to mitigate the risk of prices fluctuations related to grain and other input costs.

Tyson is expected to report $8.85 billion in sales revenue for the quarter, a 5.10% gain from the same period last year, according to Wall Street consensus. Analysts expect Tyson to report solid gains in its chicken segment, with losses in its red meat business. 

Steve Kay, publisher of Cattle Buyers Weekly, said beef packers had a tough quarter. He said packers are experiencing their toughest operating climate in several years. He said packer margins were negative for the entire quarter ending March 31 and they stayed in the red in April as well. 

“Live cattle prices are going to have to go lower before packers can resume profitable margins,” Kay said. “Packers and retailers are hoping consumers will step up to the plate and buy beef as the summer grilling season will kick off this weekend. I can tell you that retailers will likely feature less beef this year and consumers may not want to pay $9 to $10 per pound for a choice steak. Packers may not be able to pass along the higher live cattle costs they are experiencing.”

Kay expects beef processing margins to be below the normalized range this year and next year as the cattle supply continues to tighten. 

He said the run up in pork prices related to the PED virus has been irrational. On the consumer side, pork prices are already up 8% this year and they are expected to jump another 10% to 12% in the back half of this year, according to the National Pork Council.

Kay said it is unclear if the virus impact has peaked and he expects more pork to hit the market and prices to remain high. Smith said Tyson will try to pass along those higher costs to consumers and its food service customers.

STOCK DOWNGRADE
Investors of Tyson Foods have experienced an exceptional rise in value over the past year as share prices are up 73% from 2013.

The hefty rise prompted a rating downgrade by BMO Capital this week, from a “buy” to a “hold” position. BMO has a $43 price target for Tyson stock, and with the shares closing Thursday (May 1) at $42.41, BMO said its downgrade is a “mission accomplished” note, and not “Houston, we have a problem.”

Tyson is priced at 18 times earnings, but projected to grow at only 7% over the next five years. Tyson shares look more than fully valued, according to Motley Fool analyst.

Tyson shares (NYSE: TSN) closed Thursday (May 1) at $42.41, up 44 cents. During the past 52 weeks the share price ranged from a $44.24 high to a $23.39 low.

Sales tax collections for the city of Fort Smith were down in city and county sales taxes for the first quarter of the year.

Each of the city's 1% sales taxes (1% for streets and 1% for water and sewer projects) collected $1.635 million in the March report, up 1.24% from the same period in 2013.

Sales tax collections in the March report were 2.96% below budget estimates. (Because the state of Arkansas has a two-month delay in reporting collections back to the cities, the city of Fort Smith — for budgeting purposes — has historically reflected the collections on a one-month delay. Which is to say, the tax collections remitted to cities in March are from taxes collected in January and transferred by merchants to the state in February.)

Collections so far in the 2014 reporting period of the two 1% taxes were $8.709 million, while the same period in 2013 saw collections of $8.821 million. The same period in 2012 saw $10.234 million and $9.561 million in 2011.

Total collections in the year 2013 of the two 1% taxes were $38.937 million. Collections in 2012 of the two 1% taxes totaled $39.21 million, slightly ahead of the $38.683 million during 2011. The 2011 collections were 3.9% above 2010 collections.

Fort Smith's share of the county 1% sales tax in the March report was $1.294 million, up 2.75% from last year's total during the same period of $1.259 million. The collection was up 2.27%, or $28,672, compared to the revenue estimate of $1.265 million for the month.

The countywide tax generated $15.353 million for Fort Smith during 2013, up 0.49% compared to 2012 and down 1.99% compared to budget forecasts. The countywide tax generated $15.279 million in 2012, just ahead of the $15.15 million in 2011, but lower than the peak collection of $16.61 million in 2008.

The countywide tax collection is critical because the revenue is a little more than 40% of the city’s general budget of roughly $42 million. A majority of the general fund budget supports fire, police and other critical city functions. The dip in collections compared to budget estimates has resulted in city officials seeking 4% budget cuts from all departments.

POSSIBLE BUDGET CUTS
Following last month's report that showed a decline in sales tax revenues, the question was posed to Deputy City Administrator Jeff Dingman about whether the city would implement budget cuts across all of the city's departments.

He said at the time that it was too early to tell whether cuts were necessary.

"With just two months here in the bank, I don't know that we're ready to start making those decisions at this point. Like I said, we did it in April and May time frame (last year)," he explained. "As far as a set benchmark where we say we need to change something, I don't know that we have a set threshold."

In her Thursday (May 1) report, Bushkuhl did not push for any major cuts since franchise fee collections were up, though she said two departments may need to cut budgets to stay in line with revenues.

"Although the sales taxes are still below budget, the additional franchise fee revenues cover the shortfall and there does not need to be an adjustment to the General Fund budget at this time," she said. "The fire and parks department programs that are supported by the ¼% sales tax may need to adjust their budgets by approximately $23,000 if the sales tax trend continues. This reduction is less than 1% of each program’s budget for the year."

PREVIOUS ANNUAL COLLECTION INFO
Fort Smith 2% sales tax collection (1% for streets; 1% for water/sewer bonds)
2013: $38.937 million
2012: $39.210 million
2011: $38.683 million
2010: $37.229 million
2009: $37.554 million
2008: $41.226 million
2007: $37.858 million
2006: $36.840 million

Fort Smith portion of 1% countywide sales tax
2013: $15.353 million
2012: $15.279 million
2011: $15.15 million
2010: $14.89 million
2009: $15.04 million
2008: $16.61 million
2007: $15.15 million
2006: $14.71 million

Details on the lack of financial literacy in Arkansas, positive recovery for U.S. Sen. John Boozman, death penalty difficulties and a new name for the transportation artists formerly known as Arkansas Best Corporation are part of the May 2 Friday Wire for the Fort Smith region.

NOTES & ANALYSIS
• Miserable money managers
It’s a good thing Arkansas has a Constitutional requirement to balance the state budget, because our collective understanding of finances is so small that only the Large Hadron Collider could measure it.

A recent study by WalletHub found that Arkansas ranks 50 out of the 51 places studied (50 states and the District of Columbia) in the United States. The study that looked at education efforts in financial literacy, high school dropout rates, percentages of people with college degrees, the unbanked and those who borrow from non-bank lenders.

The City Wire talked to several folks around the state to see if they might refute the horrible WalletHub finding. No such luck. Dr. William Bailey, a professor at the University of Arkansas, was not surprised to see the state rank just a step above the bottom. Dr. Ed Bashaw, dean of the College of Business at Arkansas Tech University, also was nonplussed by the study. He said it’s a generational problem. Poor folks often don’t have the time, intelligence or desire to discuss their poor financial situation with their children.

Keith Weigelt, a professor at the prestigious Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, said high schools around the country need to do a better job of teaching financial management. But he doesn’t see that happening.

“This is a life skill. These high schools, these schools are failing to understand this is a life skill. The sooner you can know about finances, investing and so forth the better off you will be, but with all this emphasis on standardized testing, they just don’t have time for it. Financial literacy should definitely be included in public school curricula,” Weigelt said in the WalletHub report.

It’s a sad possibility that Weigelt is correct. We’ll have the most tested students in the world, but just don’t ask them how a mortgage works or what they are really paying for that rent-to-own big screen television.

ICYMI
Following are a few stories posted this week on The City Wire that we hope you didn’t miss. But in case you missed it ...

• Corporate name change
Christmas may come early to select signage and print companies with Fort Smith-based Arkansas Best Corp. announcing Wednesday (April 30) that as of May 1 the transportation holding company will rename and rebrand to ArcBest Corporation.

• USA Truck posts quarterly loss
Van Buren-based USA Truck continues to lose money, but the losses are trending lower and officials with the trucking company maintain that their turnaround plan is delivering better results.

• Positive recovery
Less than a week after an emergency surgery to fix an aortic dissection, U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., has returned home and has instructed his staff to work to help with tornado damage recovery in central Arkansas.

NUMBERS ON THE WIRE
$5: That is the rate per credit hour that students at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith will pay to fund a new fitness center on the school's campus. The current facility is too small and hosts general recreation, academic and athletic programs.

$8.50: The hourly minimum pay rate organizers are trying to get approved by Arkansas voters in the November election. Stephen Copley, one of the organizers of the Give Arkansas a Raise Coalition, said there rate would be easier to get passed than President Barack Obama's proposed $10.10 per hour.

16%: Percentage of Arkansas drivers without auto insurance coverage, one of the highest uninsured percentages in the nation, according to the Insurance Research Council.

OUTSIDE THE WIRE
• This is what Amazon's smartphone will look like
The phone will make use of a data plan called "Prime Data," and while the details on it are far from totally known, it's expected to piggyback on AT&T's "Sponsored Data" program. Sponsored Data allows companies to subsidize your data use, paying for the data you consume inside certain apps and services — the data used inside of certain apps effectively doesn't count against your data plan. This might mean that Amazon could offer unlimited data for music and video streaming, but this is still speculative.

• A new rule on home care workers’ wages
A new rule from the Obama administration designed to provide better pay and working conditions to 2 million home care workers is forcing many states to rethink how they look at Medicaid payments and may result in higher Medicaid costs.

WORD ON THE WIRE
“Poverty is generational and with a lack of education the cycle continues. And in terms of non-bank lending, sometimes it may be cheaper to borrow from a payday lender than bounce several checks. But, once they borrow like that it’s easy to become enslaved.”
– Dr. Ed Bashaw, dean of the College of Business at Arkansas Tech University, in explaining how Arkansas ranks so poorly in terms of financial literacy

“I think the litigation challenges that we’re facing now on lethal injection would be exponentially increased if we attempted an electric chair [execution]. Take the policy out of it – whether it’s a good idea or a bad idea or whether it’s barbaric or whatever – I don’t think you could ever get to the legal point where a federal court would let us use the electric chair.”
– Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, about problems with Arkansas’ death penalty rules

"You know, mixed reactions. Business never likes taxes, but yet we've had a lot of businesses saying they've been hurt by crime. I've had several say (it is) more than hot checks, but air conditioners units ripped off their building and things like that and knowing that those individuals ether weren't prosecuted because it was a moot point or they were and were never incarcerated."
– Van Buren Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jackie Krutsch, explaining the business reaction to a proposed increase in sales taxes that would fund and operate a new Crawford County jail