With the first confirmed human to human transmission of the ebola virus within the United States having been confirmed in Dallas, officials in the two state region are reviewing procedures in preparation for possible ebola cases in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Dr. Dirk Haselow, state epidemiologist at the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services, said Arkansas has been working on preparedness since before the first diagnosed case of the now-deceased Thomas Eric Duncan, who flew from Liberia to Dallas where he was the first case ever diagnosed with the virus in the U.S. He eventually died. A nurse who treated Duncan now has the first human transmission of the virus in the United States.

"The state has already been working to prepare for an outbreak of any kind for a long time. We have a preparedness and emergency response branch in our health department established shortly after 9/11," Haselow said.

Part of the infrastructure in place includes streamlined communications between hospitals, physicians and the state health department, he said.

Matt DeCample, spokesman for Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, said the governor was keeping abreast of the situation and was in contact with state and federal officials, though no formal cabinet meetings or emergency sessions were planned. He added that the state was prepared to take action similar to how it responds to tornadoes and other natural disasters should the need arise.

"I think that as the administration, we have the ability to coordinate state resources as needed with anything. Depending on the specific circumstances, especially having been (in office) as long as we have, we can get people up and moving pretty fast for whatever assistance may be needed whether response, education, coordinating or advising on protocol.”

DeCample noted that this was not the first health scare the state has prepared for during Beebe's nearly eight years in office, giving the state practice for this potential situation.

In Oklahoma, Gov. Mary Fallin held a meeting of officials from mayors of the state's largest cities to cabinet officials Monday (Oct. 13), according to Press Secretary Michael McNutt.

"Governor Mary Fallin called together state agency heads and representatives from health groups and from Tulsa and Oklahoma City on Monday to discuss ongoing preparations for a potential Ebola threat," he said. "Oklahoma health officials said there are no cases of Ebola virus infections in the state -- but that emergency response plans are in place in case a person is diagnosed with the disease. Secretary of Health and Human Services Terry Cline said the governor and others have been discussing the Ebola threat for the past couple months.”

He said much like Arkansas, the state is in constant contact with hospitals even before the governor's Monday meeting of more than 40 officials at her state capitol office.

"On July 29, the Oklahoma Department of Health sent its first health alert on Ebola to about 3,200 health officials in the state, including about 1,700 health care providers. … Those attending included Craig Jones, president of the Oklahoma Hospital Association, Ken King, executive director of the Oklahoma State Medical Association, State Epidemiologist Kristy Bradley, State Veterinarian Rod Hall, Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett and Jim Couch, Oklahoma City’s city manager.”

Regional hospitals indicated to The City Wire that they are following CDC and state-issued guidance on how to deal with a potential ebola patient.

Laura Keep, a spokesman for Mercy, said the health system's hospitals in the region are taking extra precautions to keep staff and patients safe.

"(We) do have patient isolation rooms (at Mercy hospitals in Fort Smith and Rogers). Yes, we are following the guidelines from the state health department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Mercy facilities across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma are taking every precaution in evaluating patients for possible Ebola Virus Disease.

"Patients are being screened upon arrival for symptoms and questioned about travel to West Africa and contact with people who have been to West Africa," Keep continued. "Mercy co-workers are undergoing continuing education regarding the disease including how to identify patients at risk and precautions necessary if there is a patient with possible virus symptoms.”

Donna Bragg, director of marketing and communications at Sparks Health System in Fort Smith and Summit Medical Center in Van Buren, said even though its doctors believe it is highly unlikely ebola will make its way to the Fort Smith region, the hospital is prepared to follow CDC guidance. Patricia Driscoll, director of business development and marketing with Northwest Health System in Springdale, offered a similar assessment. Both hospital systems are owned by Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems.

The statement from both hospitals noted that they are “dedicated to providing patients with high quality care in a safe environment. Although the risk is low, if a patient exhibits symptoms of Ebola, we are prepared to follow infection control protocols established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention beginning with placing the patient in isolation. Medical personnel who enter the room would be protected with gowns, masks, face shields and gloves, and nonessential staff and visitors would be restricted from entering. The suspected case would be reported to local and state health departments and the CDC and we would continue to follow their guidance.”

Haselow of Arkansas' health department said all hospitals are being advised on how to train for wearing protective garments. He said the risk can exist even after leaving a patient's quarantine if bodily fluids of any kind have come in contact with the protective outfits worn by medical staff. Ebola is only transmissible through direct contact to bodily fluids, not through the air.

To know proper procedures for removing such garments without getting any fluid on a healthcare worker and possibly risking exposure to ebola, he said hospitals have been advised to suit up doctors and nurses.

"We've learned from experiences in other hospitals, particularly Dallas, that talking about it is not enough. We need to have hospitals practice it and drill it and actually have evaluation of how well to put on and take off protective equipment. Just try putting your clothes on without ever touching the outside of them. It's hard. There are specific protocols to make sure you don't accidentally contaminate yourselves. We are advising people to practice removing protective gear after smearing it with chocolate sauce or ketchup to show how easy it is to get that on you.”

Should an ebola case be diagnosed in Arkansas, Haselow said it would largely be dealt with locally with state support.

"The (Arkansas state) health officer does have a great deal of authority, but what we'd do is hope to be involved at the front end. If a physician is concerned, isolate that person and call us to bring us up to speed and we can give them additional guidance on the level of risk and what to do with that person in terms of isolation.”

Haselow said testing for ebola can be arranged by the state through the CDC and individuals from the state, including himself, would interview the patient in person regarding travel and other risk factors that could isolate not only where the individual could have contracted ebola, but also who else may be at risk.

DeCample said while the state's role is generally coordinating response, it is not out of the question to consider the deployment of the National Guard to help deal with any potential widespread ebola outbreak should it occur in Arkansas, though again he stressed that it was not expected to become an outbreak should any cases be diagnosed.

"The state's role is generally coordinating that response. … But that's not something I could tell you with certainty one way or another. Just like every time we have a natural disaster, is it to the level of deploying the National Guard? We have a fantastic National Guard, but it always depends on the situation.”

In a departure from the often times toxic nature of political races in the 21st century, the two candidates vying for an open at-large seat on the Fort Smith Board of Directors engaged in a civil discussion of issues facing the municipality in a candidate forum held at noon Monday (Oct. 13) that could have been mistaken for a conversation between two friends instead of political opponents.

The candidates, former City Director Don Hutchings and Parks and Recreation Commission Sherry Toliver, expressed agreement in many issues but found differences, as well, including on the question of whether the city administrator form of government could be due for a change. Toliver did not come out in full support of changing the form of local governance, but she admitted that "something is missing" in the current government.

"A lot of people are dissatisfied with it. I've heard rumblings that it should be changed, even so much so that some people want to get a petition going (that would put a change in government to a vote) to make that happen. I'm not sure what the alternative could be. That would require some study on my part, but the city mayor, administrator and the director form of government - right now something is lacking, something is missing and that's why I'm running for city director.”

Hutchings took a different approach and said voters last century had already made their voices heard on the form of government Fort Smith should operate under.

"The city administrator form of government is often not perfect, it needs some improvement. But the citizens voted to do this and I think there's a great form of representation of these city directors – three at large and the four ward directors. And then having an elected mayor and having an administrator who is good at the business world. … It could be improved, but I would like to stick with what we have now.”

The two also addressed the issue of the police and fire pension contribution fund, which The City Wire reported last week could go broke as early as 2019 based on projections by the city of Fort Smith's finance department. The problem should have been addressed when city leaders were first made aware of the funding issues, Toliver said.

"The budget is a big issue right now. … We've all read about the police pension funds and how it's going to be no money there in 2019. Twenty years ago or so, whenever the budget was figured, they didn't look at this very closely. In hindsight, we know that something should have been done differently and now we're paying the price. So it's going to have to be looked at quickly," she said, adding that the problem will have to be resolved for not only current retirees but those who will draw from the pensions in later decades.

With work on the 2015 budget already underway, Toliver said it was time to make the pension funding and police pay raises a priority instead of waiting. Hutchings said he was nervous, but would do whatever it takes to ensure money is there to meet obligations even though he recounted years of budget cuts already undergone by city departments during his previous stint on the Board.

"Police and firefighters are nervous right now. And looking at the city budget, we're nervous. Will there be enough money when that day comes? And I know Sherry feels the same way. Whatever it takes. They deserve it, they've got to have it and I believe that it will happen when they get their pension and retirement funds.

Both candidates were asked how they would make controversial decisions that saw citizens nearly evenly split on a given issue. Hutchings said he knows he "won't please everyone," but: ”It's a very strong philosophy of mine to find out what the citizens want and it's majority rules. That's the great Democracy that we have in America. So we have sat down and listened to both sides of many issues and we really are blessed in this community to have so much unity, but everyone once in a while there's contention.”

Toliver had a decidedly different take and said many groups of citizens are left out of the decision making process in Fort Smith.

"We hear from a certain segment of people and whole groups of people are left out. And when they feel not included, they don't come. You have low voter turnout, you have low voter participation in public meetings. That's because the people don't feel like their voices are being heard. And so this is what needs to be corrected, when you study and issue and make an informed decision, then you should be able to stick with you decision no matter if two or three people might disagree with you.”

Hutchings and Toliver are running for the only contested Board seat, at-large position seven which is being vacated by City Director Philip Merry. Early voting begins next week, with the non-partisan general election for the seat taking place Nov. 4.

Investors of J.B. Hunt Transport Services enjoyed a 5.5% gain in their share value Tuesday (Oct. 14) in active trading on the heels of the logistics giant reporting stellar third quarter results even with challenges within the industry.

The stock price rallied to $75.22, up $3.92 per share before noon Tuesday as the major market indices also logged big gains, led by lower oil prices helping transport stocks.

Lowell-based J.B. Hunt pocketed income of $102.41 million in the quarter ending Sept. 30. Profits rose 14% from $89.5 million posted in the prior year period. That equated to 87 cents per share, a 16% gain over the 75 cents returned a year ago and 3 cents better than Wall Street expected.
 
It wasn’t just bottom line profits that propelled Hunt higher. The diversified carrier also exceeded top line predictions posting revenue of $1.6 billion, compared to $1.44 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected revenue of $1.59 billion in the quarter.

Operating income for the quarter totaled $172 million versus $151 million for the third quarter 2013.

Hunt officials attributed results to higher rates and increased load volume in three of its four operating segments. The company also cited higher operating costs related to driver recruitment, higher pay for third party drivers, increases in mileage pay, rising equipment costs and escalating insurance and workers compensation expense.

Interest expense in the quarter increased from a year ago due to higher debt levels primarily from increased net capital expenditures.

The Street.com analysts see some important positives in J.B. Hunt which they believe will out weight perceived weaknesses in the sector, which is why they give the stock a “buy” rating.

“The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, growth in earnings per share, good cash flow from operations and increase in net income. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows low profit margins,” Street.com analysts note.

PROFIT BY SEGMENT
• Intermodal
Intermodal — rail via truck — revenue totaled $963.56 million in the recent quarter, up 8% from a year ago. Operating income totaled $125 million, a 6% gain year-over-year. This important segment for Hunt is 60% of the company’s total revenue and 73% of its operating income.

Load growth in this segment rose 8% in the quarter amid a challenging environment for rail services and limited dray fleet capacity. Much of the growth was in the Eastern network, Revenue per load was flat.

Slow train speeds and the shortage in dray fleet capacity continues to reduce network efficiency and reduces margins in this segment.

• Dedicated Contract Services
Dedicated Contract Services saw its segment revenue rise 13% to $361 million in the quarter. Net operating income was $34.3 million, up 17% from a year ago. This segment comprises 12% of the company revenue and 20% of operating income. Productivity (revenue per truck per week) increased by approximately 4% compared to 2013 due to increased customer demand at accounts open longer than a year and rate increases implemented during the quarter. 

An additional 538 revenue producing trucks were in the fleet by the end of the quarter compared to the prior year primarily reflecting new contracts in this and prior periods.

• Integrated Capacity Solutions
The fast growing segment with Hunt’s portfolio is the Integrated Capacity Solutions, or brokerage division. This segment grew revenue by 35% to $185.13 million in the quarter, and operating income rose to $8.4 million, up 197% year-over-year. This segment accounted for 12% of the company revenue and 5% of the operating income in the recent quarter.

The revenue growth was attributed to a 24% increase in load volume and a 9% gain in revenue per load. Revenue grew faster than volumes primarily due to freight mix changes driven from customer demand. Contractual business was approximately 64% of total load volume but only 58% of total revenue in the current quarter compared to 64% of total volume and 61% of total revenue in third quarter 2013. The company said spot load demand is also strong.

Operating income gains relate to a 3% gain in gross margins thanks to customer rate increases in the contract business. Personnel costs also increased as the company builds out its branch network. Total branches at the end of the quarter grew to 28. ICS’s carrier base increased 11% and the employee count increased 18% compared to third quarter 2013.

• Trucking division
The laggard segment for Hunt continues to be its truckload division, now under new management. The truckload segment posted a 1% dip in revenue to $95.7 million in the quarter linked to a 6% reduction in fleet size. This segment comprises 6% of the company’s overall revenue and 2% of its operating income. The operating income for the segment totaled $4.33 million, up 569% year-over-year.

Rates per mile rose 10%, but the average length of haul was 3% shorter. The company said it’s working to create a more balanced network and it raised rates 6% on average in this segment. At the end of the quarter Hunt had 1,843 tractors, down from 1,951 a year ago.

Across each of the segments Hunt noted higher costs due to driver training, shortage of drivers, insurance rate increases and higher equipment charges.

BALANCE SHEET
Hunt had $837 million in outstanding debt at the end of the quarter. Debt rose from $687 million a year ago.

The company said its capital expenditures for the nine months of this year totaled $479 million compared to $334 million for the same period of 2013. Hunt also continues to hold a cash position of $5.9 million at the end of the period.

There were no share buybacks in the recent quarter as the company continues to focus on investing in its core businesses. There is approximately $263 million remaining under the company’s share repurchase authorization.

A lawsuit expected to be filed earlier this month by the Department of Justice against the city of Fort Smith over Clean Water Act violations has not yet been filed thanks to an effort by Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel to resolve the issue outside the court.

On Oct. 2, Fort Smith officials held a press conference to announce the sudden end of negotiations between the city and the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice. City officials were notified Sept. 24 by the DOJ that negotiations were over and they were “considering” a lawsuit.

Negotiations, which have lasted more than eight years, center on the city’s wet weather water and sewer system. The city was placed under an administrative order in 1993 for violations of the federal Clean Water Act. Since that time, city officials say they have invested more than $201.2 million improving the city's wet weather system, and another $150 million or more could be poured into improvements before the city atones for violations of the federal Clean Water Act – bringing the grand total for compliance with the law to $351.2 million.

Federal legal action would likely have required McDaniel to sign on as a plaintiff against the city.

Aaron Sadler, spokesman for McDaniel, confirmed Oct. 10 that the AG is working to avoid litigation.

“The Attorney General's Office is working closely with all parties to attempt to resolve this matter. Because of the sensitivity of the issue, the AG doesn't have any comment,” Sadler noted.

Fort Smith officials also declined on Oct. 13 to comment on why nothing has been filed on a lawsuit they expected to be filed earlier this month.

On Tuesday (Oct. 14), Sadler said McDaniel is hoping to “bring the parties back to the negotiating table,” and there is no timeline on the process.

Gosack said in early October that the lawsuit would likely be the result of federal officials wanting the city to do more work in a shorter time period.

"We think the federal government was concerned on a couple of points. One is the amount of work that was going to be done by the city of Fort Smith. And our concern was the affordability issue and the community's ability to pay."

The city has said more than 70% of the chronic problems have been addressed and only nine wet weather issues were noted in the previous year. The city also said it has reduced overflows during wet weather situations by 79% from 2007 to 2013.

To pay for more necessary work, the city has said it may have to raise rates on more than 30,500 sewer customers, with those increases possible in 2015.

Real estate markets are often linked to economic performance but a report from Irvine, Calif.,-based RealtyTrac suggests that housing market turnarounds also favor incumbents in most of the eight hotly contested Senate races across the country. However, that may not be the case in Arkansas or Kansas.

RealtyTrac analyzed the health of local markets in more than 1,500 counties nationwide compared to two years ago. The metrics examined were housing affordability, unemployment rates, foreclosure starts and median home prices. Data found that 52% of the counties were deemed “Better Off” than two years ago, while 11% were “Worse Off” and 36% were categorized as a “Toss Up.”

“The housing market recovery has truly taken hold in about half of the country, but the recovery is weak or experiencing a relapse in the other half,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac. “Whether because of good government policy, sheer luck or otherwise, the majority of county housing markets in six of the eight states with close U.S. Senate races are better off than they were two years ago. This should favor the incumbent, or the incumbent’s party, all else being equal — which of course we know it is not. The only exceptions were Iowa and Alaska, where the majority of county housing markets were classified as toss-ups compared with two years ago.”

RealtyTrac said Arkansas’ housing market favors Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor. Of the nine counties in Arkansas with sufficient housing data to score, eight were categorized as “Better Off” while one was categorized as a Toss-Up and none were categorized as Worse Off.

Arkansas’ three largest counties — Pulaski, Benton, and Washington — all had a decrease of about 1% in unemployment rates compared with two years ago. Northwest Arkansas added 5,000 jobs between 2012 and 2013. Employment in the region reached a new annual peak of 214,500 in 2013, according to the State of Region report compiled by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas.

Income growth in Benton and Washington counties has grown faster than peer regions, but still lags the national average. The median household income for the region stood at $47,905 in 2013, a 5% increase over the median household income in 2012. Average wages in Northwest Arkansas increased 5% between 2012 and 2013, to $46,133, according the UA report.

In Washington County, 17% of homeowners with a mortgage are seriously underwater, while in Benton County 14% of the homes are worth less than owed. In Pulaski County it’s 12%, according to the RealtyTrac report. That said, home prices are headed in the right direction. In Washington County, median prices are up 27% between August 2012 and August 2014. In Benton County prices have risen 29% in the same two year period, according to MountData.com.

RealtyTrac notes that home affordability for those at the median income is up 5% from two years ago in the Northwest Arkansas market.

Arkansas foreclosure starts are down in all three counties compared with two years ago: 90% in Benton County, 78% in Washington County and 70% in Pulaski County, according to RealtyTrac.

Blomquist notes in the report that while the market improvements should favor two-term Democratic incumbent Pryor, Republican challenger U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton is ahead in Arkansas polls.

“Pryor is in the fight of his political life against freshman GOP challenger Tom Cotton. Democrats are making an unprecedented push on the ground to get out the vote in the Razorback State, but it might not be enough to overcome the unpopularity of a two-term Democratic president with a 31% approval rating,” Blomquist noted.

Kansas was only other contested Senate race where the housing market recovery does not favor the incumbent. In that race an independent challenger Greg Orman has a 10% lead over Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, according to Blomquist.

RealtyTrac dubbed Alaska a toss-up state where Republican challenger Dan Sullivan is out pacing the Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Begich with a 48 to 42 margin, according to a CBS-New York Times poll.

Blomquist said Senate races in Louisiana, Iowa, Colorado, North Carolina and Georgia favor the incumbents.

A Whirlpool Corporation executive and one of its hired environmental consultants told the Fort Smith Board of Directors Tuesday (Oct. 14) that a third round of chemical oxidation treatments would commence at the end of October. The third round comes after the first two rounds that occurred in March, May and June of this year.

Company officials also updated the Board on settlement talks with homeowners.

The chemical oxidation treatments planned for later this month will occur in a section of the TCE plume known as "Area 1," near the northwest corner of the Whirlpool plant where degreasing using the potentially cancer causing chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) was used until the 1980s, according to consultant Michael Ellis, a principal with ENVIRON. The company has been hired by Whirlpool to handle its remediation of land impacted by TCE in the groundwater and soil on and near the company's shuttered south Fort Smith plant.

During the period when injections will occur, Ellis said between 12,000 and 15,000 gallons of chemical oxidation solution will be pumped into the contaminated ground in an effort to break down the TCE and hopefully return the soil and groundwater to what could be considered “normal.”

As part of the effort, Ellis noted that the company had removed 300 cubic yards of impacted soil and moved it to an off-site disposal location. In its place, the company used crushed limestone backfill "in order to enhance natural attenuation of TCE in groundwater beneath Area 1, and provide a platform for potential future activities," Ellis explained during his Board presentation.

Ellis said even though there has been a suggestion by the Board that the company do more soil removal, he said it simply was not warranted.

"For all soil removal in Area 1. As we've discussed, it won't have an impact on groundwater migrating from Ingersoll Road to the north (where a residential neighborhood sits on the TCE plume). Area 1 is further to the south and that impact is migrating to the south. This work in Area 1 does not impact the groundwater that migrated to the north.”

Removal of large amounts of soil could also put the Whirlpool structures and others in danger of damage or collapse, including an electric sub-station in the area, he said. Ellis also said that despite an assertion from ADEQ that the TCE plume could be growing, levels of TCE were decreasing in the opinion of ENVIRON.

"The TCE concentration in the plume continues to decrease. That's based upon quarterly monitoring that we've been performing. However, there are some changes in specific locations with the variability of the locations and the variability of where the plume exist. But overall, if you look at the entire groundwater plume, it's stable and we're starting to see overall decreases in the TCE concentrations.”

In all, Ellis said 202 membrane interface probes are in place to screen soil and groundwater, as well as 62 soil probes for soil and groundwater sampling and 86 monitoring wells sampled quarterly. He also said five temporary boundary wells had been installed to monitor expansion, or lack thereof, of the TCE plume. Ellis said northeast corner monitoring was also taking place near the Boys and Girls Club of Fort Smith, where TCE concentrations have been above acceptable levels.

Jeff Noel, vice president of public relations for Whirlpool, told The City Wire that monitoring was taking place in the area, which includes a road project set to begin that would add lanes to Ingersoll Road. The challenge in doing monitoring, he said, is ADEQ has requested the monitors be installed where the road work will be taking place.

"Where they are talking about, no (monitoring will be taking place) until maybe is there another location that achieves the same end. But scientifically, we can get the same data with dispersement of the other wells. So it's not as if there's not data," he said, adding that the city was cooperative with the testing in the construction zone, but said it is just a challenge to achieve the goals of ADEQ while the city is trying to do a major construction project in the area.

Additional monitoring will take place through the use of vapor monitoring, Noel said, with Whirlpool offering some residents $10,000 to allow vapor monitors to be installed on their property. He added that "no release of any claims against Whirlpool will be required.”

The testing would include indoor air monitoring, slab and crawl space monitoring, as well as soil monitoring just above the groundwater level.

Noel also provided further details of a proposed settlement offered to property owners in a class action lawsuit, noting that the company was offering to pay 100% of the devaluation amount for properties impacted by the TCE plume, plus 33% of that total and all costs associated with achieving the settlement.

In return, property owners would release Whirlpool of all property claims and allow for reasonable testing and monitoring on property and allow a deed restriction on drilling to be placed on impacted properties. Noel said it would allow property owners to reclaim as much as 75.7% of the original tax appraised value of the properties before Sebastian County Tax Assessor Becky Yandell lowered property values in the TCE plume. According to information Noel said was compiled by Whirlpool, typical TCE settlements only recover 20% of property values.

The settlement is under consideration U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes III of the U.S. Western District Court of Arkansas in Fort Smith.

U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton, R-Dardanelle, and who face each other in the U.S. Senate race had nothing significant new to provide Arkansas voters who may yet be undecided on a race that some national pundits say could be critical to which party controls the U.S. Senate.

However, the likely line of the night was related to a definition the definition of a middle class Arkansan. More on that later in the story.

The first and only live televised debate took place at the University of Arkansas’ Global Campus in Fayetteville in front of more than 300 “invited guests” and hosted by the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce. Agreed upon topics were education, economic development

Pryor was able to use almost each response and rebuttal to tag Cotton as a tool for “out-of-state billionaires.” Pryor said the billionaires “have bought” a candidate who will cut important social programs like Medicare, Social Security and Food Stamps in order to deliver tax cuts to the billionaires.

“I listen to you and he listens to the billionaires,” Pryor said of Cotton.

Likewise, Cotton used almost each response and rebuttal to tag Pryor as being in lockstep with President Barack Obama, often beginning an answer with “Mark Pryor and Barack Obama … .” Cotton, who announced during the debate that he and his new wife are expecting a baby, said the policies of President Obama are on the Arkansas ballot.

“A vote for Mark Pryor is a vote for Barack Obama,” Cotton said, adding that Pryor is a “rubber stamp for Barack Obama’s weakness” in foreign affairs.

To be fair, the fight is drawn along national lines, with the Pryor-Cotton matchup one of eight U.S. Senate races closely watched in the top political offices in Washington, D.C.

The Pryor-Cotton match was close through the summer in various polls, but in recent weeks the polling indicates a shift favorable to Cotton. Real Clear Politics noted Oct. 7 that “Mark Pryor enters the home stretch clearly behind Rep. Tom Cotton.” A September 29 note from Real Clear Politics suggested that Pryor “is in deep trouble.”

“Two months before the election, Pryor still seems to be stuck at 43 percent. There's still plenty of room for him to win this race, but he remains the most vulnerable incumbent,” noted Real Clear Politics.

Erik Dorey, deputy campaign manager for the Pryor campaign, did not dispute the race was close, but said Pryor is working each day to connect with voters.

“It us anyone’s game at this point. … When Mark gets out around the state and talks to Arkansans, the reaction is universally heartwarming,” Dorey said, adding that “Arkansans aren’t entirely as clueless as Tom Cotton thinks they are.”

As to the issues, support and solvency for social programs, jobs and healthcare were the dominant topics.

Responding to a questions about how to “define” the middle class, Pryor said he wants to grow the economy by growing the middle class, but Cotton believes he can build up the economy by supporting billionaires.

Cotton responded by saying Obamacare and other regulatory policies supported by Obama and Pryor have hurt the middle class and small businesses.

“The way we stop it (loss of jobs in Arkansas) is to get government out of the private sector,” Cotton said.

After being reminded by debate moderator Roby Brock that the question was about providing a definition of the middle class, Pryor said a middle class income is around $200,000. That amount, which is considerably more than the eventually median income of just over $40,000, would later blow up social media.

The City Wire will update this story later tonight.

It may have been a death match in Fayetteville Tuesday (Oct. 14) as the candidates for U.S. Senate duked it out in a televised debate over who should represent Arkansas for the next six years in Washington, but a candidate forum for the men vying to lead the city of Van Buren was the furthest thing from a fight to the death.

Van Buren Mayor Bob Freeman, who is seeking a third term, took the stage at the King Opera House Tuesday in a Van Buren Chamber of Commerce-sponsored forum with Alderman Max Blake as the two discussed leadership, vision and challenges facing the city they both call home.

Forum moderator Dr. Henry Rinne, dean of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith's College of Humanities, started the evening off by asking both men what they viewed the job of the mayor to be.

"In the mayor-council form of government, the mayor does serve as basically the CEO. A lot of people get confused (because of) what happens in Fort Smith. In Van Buren, we don't have a city administrator. In Van Buren, the mayor has the role of the public relations side as a cheerleader, as the leader of the community. And he's also the chief administrator," Freeman said, noting that his background as a retired Army lieutenant colonel had prepared him to lead the various city departments and manage budgets.

Freeman said while the job includes oversight of various departments and budgets, a key part of his job as a leader of the community during nearly two terms in office as been building relationships.

"It's about building relationships, it's about building partnerships, it's about reaching out to other organizations to make sure that they have whatever resources that they need that you can do within your power to make sure they're successful. Because that's what makes sure the community is successful are the partnerships.”

Blake said the job was about more than simply being the CEO, but was also about casting a vision for the community.

"The mayor should have a vision to lead Van Buren into the future with some economic development (ideas). The growth of Van Buren is critical to the (mayor's job)," he explained.

As a visionary, Blake echoed Freeman's statement regarding the mayor being a champion for the city he leads.

"With that said, we just need the mayor to be out front of every organization that we can be and just promote and cheer on and form a team that will take Van Buren into the future.”

The men also explained to the near-capacity opera house their visions for what the future of Van Buren would be should either of them win the next four years in the municipal complex's corner office.

Freeman said his goal has been to create a sense of place and leave a legacy.

"My vision for Van Buren is that everyone who lives here now, has lived here, will have that same sense of place (that brought Freeman home after retiring from the Army). My vision for Van Buren is that our heritage is not just our future. We're proud of our heritage and we're proud of who we are and we say, 'We're Van Buren, Arkansas.' We look to make the improvements and set the goals for what's going to be following on. My desire is to be the mayor for the next four years and after four years from now, I want to make this place better than (how) I found it. In four years from now, I want to hand that torch off and say, 'Here. You take it and you make it even better than it is today.' Let's continue to move forward. That's what we're doing.”

He continued by saying he envisioned the city growing its transportation industry through growth on the Arkansas River's navigation channel, as well as tapping into potential resulting from possible construction of Interstate 49 through southern Crawford County.

Blake said his vision was to be "the catalyst" that helped to create jobs in the city.

"My vision would be that we need to figure out some ways that we attract those folks, whether it's through our own (city-owned industrial park separate from the current industrial park near I-540 and the Arkansas River). Everybody needs a job and I would like to see the folks from Van Buren not leave the city limits of Van Buren in order to go work. … Van Buren is a great place, it just needs to be tweaked a little bit and polished up. And I think it can be better and we can attract more folks to live and open businesses and prosper in Van Buren.”

Blake's support of a city-owned industrial park in addition to the city's privately-owned industrial neighborhood had no firm funding proposal attached with it, but instead was cast as part of his vision for developing the Lee Creek Road and Interstate 40 area into an economic engine for the community, which he said has been largely untapped of its potential.

On the issue of challenges, Freeman mentioned the wet weather overflows that have plagued Fort Smith's sewer system, leading to what could become a possible federal lawsuit at any time. Freeman said Van Buren's aging water and sewer infrastructure was facing similar issues that he said should be addressed within the next 10 years before the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Department of Justice have a chance to get involved.

Already, he said the city has conducted testing of the system for a report to be submitted to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, which will eventually come with a list of recommendations and possible timelines for correcting system deficiencies. It is an issue, Freeman said, that could be a staggering challenge within the next decade.

"The federal government may say (to Fort Smith), 'We don't care what you plan is. This is what you're going to do and this is where you're going to spend your dollars.' We don't want to get into that. We want to make sure that we submit a good plan and that we've got a plan moving forward. But that is going to be a major, major economic issue for dollars that we're going to be facing. And we may have to make some tough decisions that we don't want to make today.”

Blake said the challenge with the water and sewer issue and any other issues facing the city comes back to money and where does the city find money to address its most pressing needs.

"The money is the biggest challenge. Where do we find the money? How do we acquire the money? How do we secure it and what do we pay for first? With that said, we have to have a solid economic development plan and take a few risks and maybe spend some money on a thing we think will attract someone to Van Buren to spend some money. The biggest challenge is just finding the money to pay for the things that's going to be required, mandated now by ADEQ, the EPA.”

The non-partisan election for mayor will take place Nov. 4.

The chance of the Arkansas General Assembly providing some sort of legislative relief to benefit Fort Smith and other cities facing funding shortfalls in pension contributions fund is "less than 5%.”

That was the assessment of Sen. Jake Files, R-Fort Smith, in a frank conversation between a group of Fort Smith-area legislators and the Fort Smith Board of Directors Tuesday (Oct. 14).

The police and fire pension contribution fund maintained by the city of Fort Smith, which pays into the state pension fund for first responders, will go broke in 2019, according to projections provided by the city's finance department, if other funding sources are not found and implemented before that date.

City Administrator Ray Gosack said the trouble dated back to 2007 and 2008, when it became apparent that the city would begin drawing more out of the fund than it was putting in. He said it was a direct result of the national financial crisis of 2008.

"Interest and investment earnings went down substantially. And there's been some other factors, as well, that affect the viability of the police and fire pension fund. Now is the time to begin addressing how we get the fund back to solvency so that we don't have a crisis as we're currently projecting in 2019.”

Gosack said the legislature would be "integral" to the city being able to meet its financial obligations either by passing a constitutional amendment that would allow local voters to choose to increase millage rates for fire and police pensions or raising the cap on how much a city may charge in franchise fees.

But Files said a 2011 effort to have a very similar constitutional amendment failed and said there was no political appetite by members of the legislature to put a possibility of a tax increase to the voters.

"It's very, very difficult. In candor, I don't think this will make the cut. I don't think there's enough (cities affected). Even if the (Arkansas) Municipal League has it as their number one objective, I don't think it passes muster and it doesn't affect that many people.”

The four primary cities impacted would be Fort Smith, Hot Springs, Little Rock and Pine Bluff, which are face concerns regarding meeting retirement obligations and obligations the cities are committed to from a previous pension plan that is still paying out to retirees.

Files said even bringing up the topic of raising millages could put other funding at risk.

"People, and we're all pretty much elected by the same people, are saying 'I'm tired of this.' We start putting in jeopardy funding that's already there by continuing to push and push. … I don't think there's a good chance, I'd say less than a 5% chance of getting a constitutional amendment (placed on the ballot). And I think less than 5% of having it pass.”

Gosack continued pushing for legislative action, though, noting that the city was working "to identify all possible options and then work with our legislators to see what is legislatively possible to accomplish. I think LOPFI would like to see us take that approach.”

David Clark, executive director of LOPFI (Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System), said one option he has suggested includes taking taxes paid on insurance policies and having a larger portion of that be allocated to LOPFI funding for local municipalities. He said should the legislature agree to it and whoever is elected governor next month sign off on the plan, it could add as much as $20 million in funding to the retirement plan, though it is unknown whether the funding would alleviate Fort Smith's deficit in the pension contribution fund, which could grow to more than $10 million by Dec. 31, 2022.

Since the contributions to the plan are required under state law, Clark said LOPFI would have authority to seize state turn back funds allocated for the city in order to fulfill the city's legal obligations to the retirement system.

In order to avoid that, City Director Keith Lau has suggested finding $500,000 in the city's budget to put toward the fund in order to buy more time for a funding solution. Gosack and city of Fort Smith Finance Director Kara Bushkuhl have said no funding has been added to address the situation in a budget set to be presented to the Board in November for approval.

Lau requested that Gosack present to the Board a set of three plans that would detail what cuts in the city budget would have to be made in order to bring the city to one of three places with regard to the pension contribution fund – 100% funded, 50% funded and 25% funded.

Gosack said it would not be ready before budget meetings in November with the Board, to which Lau replied, "I'm going to say this as nicely as I can, but I'm not going to vote for a 2015 budget that doesn't have some type of money or a potential solution for this problem.”

Bushkuhl said earlier this month that solutions not requiring a vote of the public include imposing franchise fees on water and sewer customers, as well as raising franchise fees already in place to the maximum of 4.25% allowed under state law. Such a move to raise the rates already in place would net the city about $500,000 in revenue, Gosack said.

The Board also discussed adding a possible third evening of budget meetings in November, though no date has been set for the possible meeting.

Cash strapped consumers looking for the rock bottom prices and the lowest opening price points may get a better deal at Dollar General than at Wal-Mart or Aldi, according to a basket challenge recently completed by Kantar Retail.

It’s the third year Dollar General has edged Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores with the least expensive basket in the annual opening price point survey.

For shoppers on tight budgets, the value offered by bundled solutions or multi-packs with low price to volume ratios is not relevant given the relatively high cash outlay required at the time of purchase, noted Kantar analyst Mike Paglia. He said these shoppers tend to seek out opening price points in order to make the most of their tight budgets. Kantar looked at 21 categories across edible grocery, non-edible grocery and health and beauty aids (HBA).

The overall basket purchase tallied $26.75 at Dollar General. This was 2.5% more than the same basket at Wal-Mart. Kantar said the 66-cent basket price gap widened from the 12 cents that separated the two competitors last year.

BASKET RESULTS
$26.75: Dollar General
$27.41: Wal-Mart
$29.80: Family Dollar
$35.26: Aldi
$40.61:Target

In a change from previous years, Kantar notes the non­edible basket drove Dollar General’s total basket lead over Wal-Mart. They also note that Wal-Mart’s edible grocery and HBA sub­baskets were less expensive than at Dollar General this year.

Kantar said while the total basket was cheapest at Dollar General, the lowest entry price differed in each sub-basket. Aldi proved to have the lowest prices in the edible category at $9.77, a full $2.78 cheaper than Dollar General and $1.34 cheaper than at Wal-Mart. The edible foods purchased included: Cereal, dry spaghetti, canned tuna, bread, milk, peanut butter, canned vegetable, ketchup and pasta sauce.

Wal-Mart and Target were the two most expensive among the five retailers for cereal. Wal-Mart had the lowest opening prices on dry pasta, peanut butter, canned vegetable and ketchup. For milk and bread Aldi was the price leader at $1.49 and 89 cents, respectively. Aldi’s milk price was 85% cheaper than the Dollar General price, equating to a savings of $1.26. The savings were 87 cents over the cost of milk at Wal-Mart and $1.71 for milk at Family Dollar.

Bread was another item with wide price swings. Shoppers saved 49 cents on bread at Aldi, over Wal-Mart’s opening price of $1.38. The cost for bread at Dollar General was $1.25, while Target’s lowest bread price was $2.39.

Kantar notes there were eight price promotions at multiple retailers in the edible category. Price promotional activity was believed to help Dollar General the most with large mark downs in dry pasta and peanut butter. The study said without those promotions Wal-Mart would have achieved the lowest overall basket.

Dollar General was the clear winner in the non-edible category with a sub-basket total of $9.50. That was $2.29 less expensive than Wal-Mart and $1.94 cheaper than Aldi. Target’s sub-basket cost $7.05 more than Dollar General. The sub-category included: Toilet paper, paper towel, liquid dish soap, liquid laundry soap, blue window cleaner and diapers. Kantar said there were no promotions in this category.

Wal-Mart took the lead in the HBA category with a sub-basket of $4.51. The items included: Bar of soap, tooth paste, shampoo, pain reliever and a disposable razor. The Wal-Mart price was 49 cents cheaper than Dollar General and a whopping $9.54 cheaper than Aldi. Kantar said this is the third year that Family Dollar and Dollar General had identical prices in this category which is indicative of the running fight for opening price point leadership between the two competitors.

Paglia said although Dollar General’s basket continued its overall opening price leadership, its lead is by no means commanding. He said retailers in the study are each focused on competitive pricing whether using promotions like Target and Dollar General or price roll backs and private label options like Wal-Mart.

Taken together, the low-income shopper has an array of credible options when it comes to selecting outlets that meet her basket requirements, Kantar reported. Given the variability among retailers in leading each of the three sub-baskets, shoppers appear best served by cherry picking multiple retailers rather than leveraging a one-stop shop.

Such a routine favors the shopper who is willing to compare prices on a regular basis and swap destinations for a particular item as necessary. Retailers who are able to provide actual and perceived price leadership, in part through opening price points, will win wallet share with this large shopper segment.

Wal-Mart’s Savings Catcher program is not a catch-all tool for the most frugal of shoppers as the program only compares sale prices of competitors and it does not include private label products.

The shift of capital allocation for fiscal 2016 favors e-commerce and convenience formats at Walmart U.S., and for good reason, according to the retailer’s top executives who outlined their future plans during an investor meeting on Wednesday (Oct. 15) in Bentonville.

“Today, a customer has a desire for more items, more assortment, more choice than ever before,” said CEO Doug McMillon. “We have tens of millions of customers visiting us weekly online and through our mobile apps looking for information, product options and then buying merchandise from us in stores and online. We’re known for assortment and we will be in the future.”

He said the methods customers access Wal-Mart is being redefined.

“There is a growing consensus that the future of retail is not just in-store and not just online. The winners in retail will be those that can put them together. Frankly, we think we’re already doing the harder part. Locations matter because convenience matters. We have the stores, the associates, and the expertise in the physical world that others will need to build,” McMillon said.

Wal-Mart said it plans to add two more large-scale online fulfillment centers in the coming year, giving it five e-commerce dedicated distribution facilities in the U.S. Neil Ashe, CEO of Wal-Mart Global e-Commerce, said the new centers will be located in Bethlehem, Penn., and Atlanta, and each will be approximately 1.2 million square feet.

The centers are the latest addition to Wal-Mart’s next-generation fulfillment network which the retailer said is a combination of dedicated e-commerce fulfillment centers with store distribution centers and 4,300 Wal-Mart stores across the U.S., as well as its transportation fleet. 

“By leveraging all of these assets, we can ship orders quickly and cost-effectively to customers, and give them more choices for how they want their orders delivered – pick them up in a store as quickly as the same day, or we can ship to their door,” Ashe said.

Wal-Mart said investments in e-commerce and digital initiatives are expected to range between $1.2 and $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2016, up from approximately $1 billion, estimated for this year. 

Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club have scaled back their new store openings for the coming year each saying they are being more thoughtful and focusing on quality and e-commerce engagement versus shear quantity.

Spending on traditional brick and mortar stores has been trimmed by nearly $500 million this year to $11.5 billion. Next year Wal-Mart said it plans to spend between $10.4 billion and $11.4 billion, a reduction of another $600 million.

Walmart U.S. CEO Greg Foran said it makes no sense to add hundreds of supercenters when there is so much work to be done refining the operations in the 4.300 stores already open. He said Walmart U.S. will add between 60 and 70 new supercenters in fiscal 2016, down from 120 new locations this year.

“We are thinking about these big boxes and how we can get close to what Neil (Ashe) is doing in the dotcom space,” Foran said. "We know that we can do better with the (supercenters). We're going to lean in there, and we're going to get that right. We're being thoughtful."

Wal-Mart is accelerating the growth of its Neighborhood Market stores to 160 new locations in fiscal 2016, which includes the smaller footprint formerly labeled Express, according to Judith McKenna, Walmart U.S. chief development officer. McKenna said Walmart U.S. has shuttered its tethering initiative announced last year by former CEO Bill Simon. She said the results from the tests in North Carolina proved unsustainable on a cost and logistical sense. However, the company is working to tether some of the back-office costs between stores located near a supercenter.

McKenna said the tethering concept created operational complexities in the backrooms of supercenters – something they did not want to do in the midst of trying to improve store operations as they are working to restore topline growth.

She said the motto is “fail fast, learn and move on,” and that’s what they did with tethering. McKenna said delivering the item directly from the distribution center makes more fiscal sense, which the test proved.

Greg Foran has had an “unvarnished” view of store operations at Walmart U.S., and he said restoring balance between inventory and sales is needed to improve lackluster margins. He admitted that such balance will take a lot of work, and it won’t be easy.

Foran is just 100 days into his job as the new Walmart U.S. CEO. The New Zealander and retail veteran replaced Bill Simon with an edict from Wal-Mart Stores CEO Doug McMillon to grow top line sales at Walmart U.S.

Foran has spent most of the last three months in the stores surveying the army of 1.2 million employees on their ideas for how the laggard segment can improve store performance, grow top line sales while staying focused on the changing needs of consumers.

Walmart U.S. has reported flat to negative same-store sales for the past several quarters. Foran said the problem can be fixed by better store operations as well as home office and logistics dialing into the details which is the heart and secret sauce for retail. He said past cuts did more harm than good.

‘A LOT OF WORK TO DO’
“We have cut muscle instead of fat. I have gotten some 3,000 emails around 260 a day from my teams in the field. I can sense new energy because they have a voice they want to share and I have learned tons,” Foran said. “It’s been an unvarnished appraisal, a diagnostic review of our business from Springfield to Dallas, Atlanta to Grand Rapids and Detroit this past Sunday.”

An operator at heart, Foran said began his career in retail at age 15 as a night stocker and managed his first store by 19.

“Retail is detail. ... We’ve got a lot of work to do, one store at a time,” he added.

One of the first moves by Foran was setting the meeting cadence which is he said critical in retail. He said it goes back to the days of Sam Walton, with operational management meetings on Friday to make sure they are ready to maximize sales on Saturday and Sunday which will be reviewed on Monday.

“It reminds us each week about the urgency of every weekend. Sales have got to come up and traffic must also improve,” Foran said.

THE INVENTORY PROBLEM
In the first half of this year net sales were up 2.3% or $3.2 billion, but operating income fell 3.3% He said the focus has been on improving store standards and service offerings. An area he intends to analyze is the 5% increase in inventory levels.

“Inventory has been growing at twice the rate of sales. ... In some cases stores may  only have room for 80 items and we are sending them 120. More stock is coming in than what is going out. We are over-SKU’d in some cases,” Foran said. “Simplifying the inventory management process actions were started this year but it has continued to grow. I have a cross-functional team working on it.”

A backroom manager in mid-Tennessee told The City Wire in June that his store was continually over-shipped on every thing from fishing poles to school supplies. He said the problem was growing worse in each of the past three years and negatively impacting that store’s profitability. Foran said Wednesday that these are the kinds of issues he has witnessed in his 100-day cross country store tour.

‘FRESH’ CLUTTER
Duncan Mac Naughton, chief merchandising officer for Walmart U.S., said possible port issues on the West Coast caused retailers to order earlier and store longer, which is requiring additional containers. He said new stores are responsible for about half of the overall increase. Foran believes inventory can be managed better. He said there is not enough enough discipline involved in accurately counting the inventory.

“There are opportunities upstream and downstream – it takes time, it’s not easy
but we do know how to do it,” Foran said.

Veteran store management has responded to Foran’s call for advice and he has put together about 40 tasks including work in competitive pricing, more private label offerings, and returning store labor where it’s needed and trimming areas where it’s not.

“We can do more. On my tour it looks like we might be getting somewhat cluttered in ‘fresh.’ There is great opportunity here, but the last thing a shopper wants to do is trip over two pallets of Coca Cola or a display of Halloween candy in order to get to the fresh apples. We have done a pretty good job with fruit, but we need to work on our vegetables. ... I think we may be carrying one, two or three days too much product in produce,” Foran said.

He said competencies in “fresh” take time to develop, something he intends to do along with better meat and deli offerings. Wal-Mart said its most loyal customer only spends 40% of their fresh grocery budget there each week, and that’s an opportunity store officials are exploring.

Mac Naughton said the retailer is resurrecting the “Would I buy it” training program around selecting fresh produce. They are also working with suppliers to get fresher products with longer shelf lives in the stores at competitive prices with a “Guaranteed by me” label.

“We have to do a better job with customer service which is why we are adding 60,000 seasonal workers this holiday,” said Gisel Ruiz, chief operating officer for Walmart U.S.

She said in-stock issues continue to be high on the list for the retailer. She said in recent months, 20 million man hours have been repurposed to stock products after the company simplified the procedures this spring.

‘GOLDEN NUGGETS’
Foran acknowledged that prior efforts had barely moved the needle in reducing in-stocks across the company. He said in-stock issues, mark downs, inventory damages, outlier stores and merchandise returns were all weighing on margins. 

When asked how he will reverse the trend, Foran said the answer lies in lots of little things done better in stores all across the nation. He said his tour across the country also unveiled several “golden nuggets” within the business, namely in the expertise he intends to tap out in the trenches.

“I don’t underestimate for one moment that army that is Walmart. We must get them to march in sync,” Foran said. “The supercenter, well managed and well run, is a great growth driver.”

Ruiz said about half of the 500 discount stores evaluated over the past year have plans for updates or expansions. 

Wal-Mart also talked about the upcoming holiday season but deferred any sales guidance until the November earnings call. That said, the retailer did update its overall fiscal 2015 sales guidance by trimming the expected gains to between 2% and 3% from the 3% to 5% forecast in October 2013.

Topline revenue is forecast to grow between 2.5% and 3.5% this year and next from the $483 billion recorded last year. Operating income is expected to remain flat at $28 billion through next year. Walmart U.S. is roughly 58% of the total sales for the global retailer. Last year those sales totaled $279 billion, with a 3% gain estimated this year.

The city of Fort Smith may have seen a victory last week with the dismissal of a lawsuit alleging violations of the Freedom of Information Act, but the issue for the city is not over as it seeks legislative action to clarify sections of the Arkansas law the city finds ambiguous.

A letter dated Aug. 26 from Fort Smith City Administrator Ray Gosack to Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, Rep. Andrea Lea of the State Agencies & Governmental Affairs Committee, Executive Director Tom Larimer of the Arkansas Press Association and Executive Director Don Zimmerman of the Arkansas Municipal League outlines the city's request for clarification through legislative action.

Gosack noted a series of lawsuits leveled against the city regarding violations of the state law regarding open meetings under the FOIA, with some having been successful while others were not.

Gosack’s letter specifically mentioned the case of Harris vs. City of Fort Smith, in which Fort Smith resident David Harris' lawsuit, on an appeal to the Arkansas Supreme Court, said a meeting occurred out of public view. According to the city administrator, the court determined "ten years ago that a public meeting occurred when a non board member contacted the seven members of the Fort Smith Board of Directors one-on-one serially where the 'purpose of the one-on-one meetings was to obtain the decision of the board as a whole' on a substantive issue."

Since then, a variety of other lawsuits have followed in which Gosack said conflicting opinions had been issued and said a lot of the issue rests in the lack of a meeting definition within the FOIA law passed in the 1960s.

"More than 30 other states, plus the District of Columbia, include in their Sunshine Laws a clear and distinct definition for the word 'meeting.' To date, the Arkansas General Assembly has failed to provide that definition and, as a consequence, the Arkansas Supreme Court, on a case-by-base basis, has determined whether a specific set of facts presented to it constitutes a 'meeting' under the FOIA."

He said as a result, the state Supreme Court is having to decide what constitutes a meeting on a "case-by-case basis." Gosack also said the definition of a meeting should not change based on "ever changing sets of facts and ensuing court decisions."

"… The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act has provided a great public service and benefit to the people of Arkansas. However, the uncertainty created by the lack of definition of 'meeting' poses a significant constitutional risk to the public benefit of the FOIA's requirement of open public meetings," Gosack wrote.

One of those addressed in the letter, Rep. Andrea Lea, R-Russellville, said she could not recall specific details of the letter but said she has always erred on the side of transparency during her three terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives. Lea, who is the Republican nominee for Arkansas state auditor, did not recall the matter of Fort Smith's request for an update to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act being addressed with other members of the governmental affairs committee who will continue service in the General Assembly in 2015 and said she had referred the letter to local Fort Smith legislators.

Sen. Jake Files, R-Fort Smith, said he was familiar with Fort Smith's previous lawsuits alleging FOIA violations and said questions regarding FOIA are common during each legislative session.

"Each session, there are different things that come up as it relates to FOIA," he said. "What I would like to see is more transparency and more openness as it relates to local governments across the (state)."

Files said the issue of an open and transparent government "will be considered with each request," though he did not confirm that he would pursue legislative action at the request of the city.

"I'm interested to get to the bottom of it, but (the legislature must) be careful that whatever is proposed doesn't limit the citizen's access to information."

Gosack's letter said while the city wants a firm definition of a meeting, "(the) City of Fort Smith does not have a predetermined position as to the full extent of the definition of public meetings ..."

"I respectfully urge that our respective offices and organizations accept the responsibility to provide leadership in addressing this issue with the Arkansas General Assembly," he added.

Home sales in the region were up double digits in September, with Crawford County posting a 13.75% improvement in sales volume over the same month in 2013 while Sebastian County posted an 18.74% gain.

Crawford County's home sales totaled $7.734 million for the month, while Sebastian County rang in at $16.47 million.

For the first three quarters of the year, Crawford County reported strong figures, as well, with $54.762 million in sales, a 30.38% jump from the same period last year when $42.002 million in sales were reported. In Sebastian County, the first three quarters of this year saw $137.191 million in volume, a 3.55% increase over the same period's sales of $132.483 million last year.

Sandra Heiner, executive director of the Crawford County Board of Realtors and the broker/owner of Turner Realty in Van Buren, said there were several factors at play in both counties.

In Sebastian County, Heiner said new home construction in Chaffee Crossing drove home sales up for the entire county while in Crawford County, Rural Development Loans were continuing to be a driving force in the local housing market.

"It is (helping," she said of the loans, noting that residents are still trying to get loans locked in before a moratorium on RDLs are set to expire in September 2015. The loan program had originally been slated to expire before U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack imposed the moratorium for Arkansas' impacted communities, which included Van Buren and five other communities statewide.

Heiner said during the moratorium, lobbyists and locals in the real estate business would continue making the case for RDL in Van Buren.

"We keep fighting for that (in the regional USDA office) in Little Rock. The lobbyists that we have in Little Rock keep fighting for it. They keep trying to do away with it, but we've still got it. We're able to retain it (until next year)."

She said the county would continue benefitting from the RDLs even if Van Buren loses access to it, largely because of its proximity to both the Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas metropolitan areas.

"People want to live in small towns," she said. "Van Buren is the closest to Fort Smith, but we get a lot of people that come to Crawford County to buy because of its smaller towns."

In August, Larry Stanfill, a broker with Chuck Fawcett Realty's Greenwood office said the fall and winter months typically slow down in the real estate market due to a variety of factors, such as the weather, a busy holiday season and parents not wanting to move their children during the school year.

But with Crawford and Sebastian Counties volume performing so well in September, Heiner was asked what could be behind the numbers and she said it was largely sales from the summer months still trickling into the fall.

"If they are going to move, they will be getting ready to move in August before school starts. But sometimes that rolls into September and makes it a good month. They can't sometimes close until September, though many want to move and get into a district before school starts."

She added that with many districts, including Fort Smith, having open enrollment it is becoming less and less of an issue, though.

"Many of them have an open door policy if you bring your child to school (and do not rely on school-provided transportation)."

Home Sales Data (January - September)
• Crawford County
Unit Sales
2014: 469
2013: 377

Total Sales Volume
2014: $54.762 million
2013: $42.002 million

Median Sales Price
2014: $107,000
2013: $109,900

• Sebastian County
Unit Sales
2014: 1,035
2013: 948

Total Sales Volume
2014: $137.191 million
2013: $132.483 million

Median Sales Price
2014: $114.450
2013: $116,000

The Arkansas Supreme Court unanimously upheld a lower court ruling and overturned a controversial voter ID law passed in the 2013 General Assembly.

The Republican-led legislature passed the voter ID law, which requires proof of identity to vote, that was vetoed by Gov. Mike Beebe and overridden by lawmakers along party lines.

At the time of his veto, Beebe raised constitutional concerns and said the action was “an expensive solution in search of a problem” and was “an unnecessary measure that would negatively impact one of our most precious rights as citizens.”

In striking down the law on Wednesday (Oct. 15), the state’s high court said the voter ID law, Act 595, did not pass constitutional muster because it required an “additional qualification” beyond four requirements in the state’s Constitution. Those four requirements state that “any person may vote in an election in this state who is:
(1) A citizen of the United States;
(2) A resident of the State of Arkansas;
(3) At least eighteen (18) years of age; and
(4) Lawfully registered to vote in the election.

“For approximately 150 years, this court has remained steadfast in its adherence to the strict interpretation of the requisite voter qualifications articulated in the Arkansas Constitution,” Justice Don Corbin wrote in the opinion. “[W]ith the legislature’s passage of Act 595 requiring this additional qualification, we cannot determine any ‘set of circumstances exists under which [Act 595] would be valid.’”

In a concurring opinion, Justice Courtney Goodson wrote that the voter ID law was unconstitutional because it did not receive a two-thirds vote of the state Legislature – a requirement she said was necessary to alter the constitutional provision. The law was passed in 2013 along party lines, which consisted of only 51 votes in the 100-member House of Representatives.

“Because the Act failed to obtain a two-thirds vote, it is invalid. As a consequence, it is wholly unnecessary to decide whether the Act added a new qualification to voting as prohibited by article 3. Therefore, I concur in the decision striking down the Act,” she wrote.

Arkansas Democratic and Republican leaders quickly responded to the decision.

Democratic Party of Arkansas Chairman Vincent Insalaco noted in a statement, “We are thrilled that the Republican Voter ID law was unanimously struck down as unconstitutional by the Arkansas Supreme Court. This law only made it harder for voters to exercise their most sacred right. While a thousand votes were thrown out during May’s primary when the Voter ID law was in place, every vote will be justly counted in November’s election. Today’s decision is a win for all Arkansas voters.”

Republican Party of Arkansas Chairman Doyle Webb issued this statement: “We had hoped that the Supreme Court would affirm the Voter ID Law and help restore the integrity of the ballot in Arkansas; unfortunately, the Court failed to do so. We do not anticipate that this will have any impact on Republican victories in November since the people of Arkansas now identify with the views and values of the Republican Party as reflected in the last two election cycles.”

Land that once fostered agriculture will cultivate a different kind of growth now that NorthWest Arkansas Community College purchased 20 acres in Springdale to construct an instructional center. The land, located off Watkins Road, was once home to vineyards in one area and the land where the neighboring Arvest Ball Park now sits was an orchard.

NWACC officials and members of the Springdale community were on hand Wednesday (Oct. 15) to unveil the sign that announces the new location for the Washington County Center. NWACC purchased the land from Springdale resident Philip Taldo for $2.4 million. The land was valued at $2.5 million.

First identified in 2012, the location provides access from Interstate 49 and is easily accessible from all parts of Washington County.

“We are pleased to gather here today to celebrate this important day in the life of NorthWest Arkansas Community College,” said NWACC President Evelyn Jorgenson. “We want especially to thank Mr. Philip Taldo for his patience as we completed the negotiation process, and we are especially appreciative of his willingness to sell the land below appraised value to the College. We will be launching a fundraising campaign that will fund the construction and equipping of a permanent center to provide career and technical education supporting the workforce needs of Washington County.”

Closing on the purchase of the property follows the issuance of tuition revenue bonds to finance the acquisition of the property. The maturity date for the bonds is Oct. 1, 2034. The NWACC Board of Trustees approved a Parameters Resolution on June 9, which authorized up to “$3 million in aggregate principal amount of NWACC District Student Tuition Revenue bonds to finance the acquisition, construction, and equipping of capital improvements in Washington County (the center).”

Tuition revenue bonds must be used because the millage the college receives comes only from the Bentonville and Rogers school districts and therefore cannot be used to serve Washington County. If approved, tuition paid by students in Washington County would be the funding source for paying back the bonds.

UNDERSTANDING THE NEED
NWACC’s number of students coming from Washington County has steadily risen over the years and the college leases multiple facilities including Farmington High School, The Jones Center for Families and a Washington County center at 693 White Road in Springdale.

Hinds provided the following information regarding NWACC’s enrollment:
• 2014 Enrollment from Benton County: 4,439 students which is 54.8% of total credit enrollment and a 1.3% increase over 2013.

• 2013 Enrollment from Benton County:  4,383 students which is 54.7% of total credit enrollment.

• 2014 Enrollment from Washington County:  3,052 students which is 37.7% of total credit enrollment and a 0.7% increase over 2013.

• 2013 Enrollment from Washington County:  3,032 students which is 37.8% of total credit enrollment.

Hinds clarified that while the number of students increased, the percentage saw a slight decrease because of the overall enrollment increase.

Even though nearly 40% of NWACC’s students come from Washington County, those students still pay a higher tuition rate than some of their Benton County counterparts. NWACC currently offers “in-district” tuition ($75/credit hour) to students living in the Bentonville and Rogers school districts because residents in those areas pay a millage to support the college. Washington County students are considered out of district and they pay a different rate ($122.50/credit hour). The college did not raise tuition or fees for the 2014-2015 school year, Hinds said.

Jorgenson explained Wednesday that the college will not seek a millage from Washington County residents in the near future.

“We feel like that we need to have the center built first,” she said. “It will be tangible proof of the value the college brings to the community.”

Taldo was on hand for the festivities and said the center is important for Springdale. Many students might feel intimidated by the idea of a large, four-year college but traveling to the Bentonville NWACC campus is not feasible for many, especially some non-traditional students.

Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse agreed that the center will be a valuable asset for the area. It will help provide training for jobs that are coming to the region, as well as be another economic investment in the area.

NEXT STEPS
Now that the land has been purchased, architects will develop plans for the three-story building, which is expected to be about 40,000 square feet (slightly smaller than the Shewmaker Centers located on the Bentonville campus). The estimated square footage is based on the programs expected to be housed in the center combined with the amount of space the college currently leases throughout Washington County.

Money must also be raised for the center’s construction.

“We look forward to partnering with business and industry and the community at large to make this center a reality,” said Dr. Meredith Brunen, executive director of development for the NWACC Foundation.

Making decisions on what will be in the center is another part of the process. College officials do know that career and technical training will be a focus.

“The academic programing for the Washington County Instructional Center is being developed based upon feedback from the three focus groups that included business and industry leaders, surveys, input from regional business leaders, and U.S. Department of Labor data,” said Steven Hinds, NWACC director of public relations. “The center will focus on career and technical training, but will also offer general education courses.  While the career and technical training is geared toward meeting the needs of business and industry located in Springdale and greater Washington County, the classes would be open to individuals from any area. The general education course offerings would mirror those classes now offered at our Washington County Center.  Those classes are typically offered at the NWACC campus in Bentonville, although the times of the classes might vary.”

The college has recently seen increased enrollment from students living in the Siloam Springs area. While it’s technically in Benton County, Siloam Springs is much closer to Springdale than to Bentonville so it is anticipated that this center might also serve their needs.

Foreclosures are not the factor they once were in local real estate markets across the state and nation. The local rates continue to decline faster and farther than the nation as a whole.

In Benton and Washington counties there were 38 households slated for auction in the third quarter of 2014, down from 82 reported in second quarter of 2014, and 169 filed in the third quarter last year, according to Irvine, Calif.,-based RealtyTrac.

There were 86 total filings in Northwest Arkansas which includes bank-owned properties at the end of September, down 81% from 463 filings reported a year ago.

The Fort Smith metro area registered 16 local homes slated for auction in the third quarter, well below the 57 properties entering foreclosure in the year-ago period. Sebastian and Crawford counties report 38 total filings, which includes bank-owned properties at the end for the third quarter. Filings are down 24% from the second quarter. Crawford County’s total filings declined 30% from a year ago, while Sebastian County experienced a 70% reduction in that annual period.

Jim Long, a real estate agent for Crye-Leike in Bentonville, said there are 192 property listings in the MLS – Northwest Arkansas and the Fort Smith areas – considered foreclosures. Those properties range from 42 HUD properties near $100,000 to upper end homes nearing $200,000 stretched from Fort Smith to Bella Vista.

“Two years ago there were four times that number. We were getting new listings each week. That slowed to nearly nothing from the spring through August and since September we have started to see more of bank-owned listings hit the market,” Long said.

He closed a foreclosure property sale in Bentonville late last month. Long said the buyer paid list price of $112,000 for the home that was listed just seven days.

“We wrote an offer sight unseen and took it with us to the showing. This buyer said she had lost out on two other deals and she was taking no chances this time. The foreclosures are not staying on the market long, especially those that are competitively priced. We have no trouble moving these properties,” Long added.

RealtyTrac reports 317,171 U.S. properties had foreclosure filings in the third quarter. Activity is down 16% from a year ago but up 0.42 % from the previous quarter — the first quarterly increase since the third quarter of 2011. The quarterly increase in overall foreclosure activity was driven by a 2% increase in default notices, and a 7% quarterly increase in scheduled foreclosure auctions. Bank repossessions declined 12% from the previous quarter.

“September foreclosure activity was back to pre-housing bubble levels nationwide, in large part thanks to a continued slide in bank repossessions,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “However, a recent rise in scheduled foreclosure auctions in many markets across the country shows lenders are continuing to clean house of lingering delinquent loans. This rise in scheduled auctions foreshadows a corresponding rise in bank repossessions and auction sales to third party buyers in the coming months.”

Arkansas ranks near the bottom on the national scale (45) in total foreclosure activity in the third quarter. There were 308 homes receiving foreclosure filing in the quarter across the Natural State. The pace is down 43.78% from the second quarter and 68% lower than a year ago.

AVERTING FORECLOSURE
The Department of the Treasury reports 1 in 17 homeowners are behind on their mortgages as of Sept. 24. For that reason the government recently chose to extend the Making Home Affordable Program through Dec. 31, 2016.

Since launched in 2009, Making Home Affordable (HAMP) has helped more than 1.5 million families nationwide avert foreclosure. From those approved for modifications roughly 1 million are still active, more than 460,000 of them have been disqualified. About 35,500 of those loans have been paid off, according to the most recent report by the Treasury Department.

“As the economy continues to heal from the Great Recession, many homeowners still struggle to make their mortgage payments,” said Deputy Treasury Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin. “The good news is that help is still available. This new public sevice campaign is our latest effort to raise awareness of the free government resources available through Making Home Affordable to assist struggling homeowners in avoiding foreclosure.”

In the recent quarter 88,250 homeowners had forebearance actions begun on their loans, that was 6% lower than the prior quarter. Modifications under the Treasury Department’s FHA and Rural Development Programs totaled 9,807 in the recent quarter. The agency said these modification programs for lower income families rose 68% from a year ago.

Freight tonnage moved along the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System is down 4% for the year, but a local port operator said it is not necessarily resulting in reduced business or cash flow for businesses using the river system to move goods.

Marty Shell, owner of Five Rivers Distribution in Van Buren and the operator of the Ports of Fort Smith and Van Buren, said part of the reason for the decline in freight movement along the river in an increase in transportation prices along the river.

"I can tell you that three months ago, you could take a barge of freight from Catoosa, Okla., to New Orleans for $9 per net ton," Shell said. "In 90 days, that same barge is selling for $40 to $45 a ton."

He said part of the reason for the increase in transport costs and a decline in local freight movements along the river channel is a good harvest in the northern plains, where goods are transported down the Mississippi River.

The key for ports along the northern section of the Mississippi is getting harvests and other goods moved out before the hard winter freeze sets in and barge traffic is shut down along the Mississippi. With the solid harvest, more barges have been taken off the Arkansas River and other rivers across the nation to meet demand along the upper Mississippi, Shell said.

"That has driven barge (usage) through the roof, along with rail," he said, noting that the two forms of transportation are staying busy.

With the coming freeze in the north, Shell said it was vital to get the freight moved out of the north because once the river is shut down, barges could be in place on the river for months on end. He said when that happens, it again impacts areas like Arkansas and Oklahoma that need the barges to move product to the Mississippi and down to New Orleans.

In addition to the supply and demand issue for barges, Shell also noted that locks 14 and 17 in Oklahoma were down for two weeks during the last quarter, which meant no barges were moving into or coming out of the state and negatively affecting overall tonnage for the year.

To better understand how that can drag down the year's total tonnage, Shell noted that between 300,000 and 350,000 tons of product moves up and down the Arkansas River's navigation system each week.

"That would be equivalent to 15,217 tractor trailers. That's the capacity we're taking off the roads."

But with Oklahoma closed to movements for two weeks, coupled with the barge supply and demand situation along the upper Mississippi, Shell said the numbers could remain down for some if not all of the last part of the year.

Industries down the most in terms of tonnage moved along the river include petrol products (down 45%), other chemicals (down 21%), wheat (down 19%), food/farm products (down 27%) and manufactured equipment (down 82%).

Industries posting positive tonnage rates include iron and steel (up 10%), chemical fertilizer (up 6%), sand/gravel and rock (up 12%), minerals and building supplies (up 13%) and soy beans (up 59%).

In terms of inbound movements (freight arriving from the Mississippi River), total tonnage is up 12% to 3.551 million tons, with internal freight movements up 7% to 1.963 million tons.

It is the outbound tonnage dragging down totals, though, with freight movements to the Mississippi River down 20% to only 3.129 tons compared to the same nine months of last year (January through September).

Shell reiterated that in spite of the drop in freight, local businesses are not necessarily hurting thanks to the rise in transport costs in the last three months.

"Tonnage wise, it might be down. But monetarily, we are staying busy and we have no complaints. We've been happy with 2014."

Fort Smith-based ArcBest Corp. (formerly Arkansas Best Corp.) is buying an additional 30 acres for its corporate headquarter expansion at Chaffee Crossing. The transportation holding company also announced Thursday that Roy Slagle has retired as president and CEO of ABF Freight System – the company’s largest subsidiary.

Slagle’s retirement was effective Oct. 15. He had been with the company 37 years and rose through the ranks of ABF’s sales and marketing side. Some of his early jobs with ABF Freight were in Ohio and Pennsylvania. ABF is one of the largest less-than-truckload carriers in the U.S.

In a note to employees, ArcBest President and CEO Judy McReynolds said Slagle’s retirement is “well-deserved,” and that Slagle leaves ABF positioned for success.

“After several difficult years during the great recession, lengthy negotiations to secure a new five-year labor agreement and the ongoing network optimization, ABF Freight is well-positioned to succeed in a marketplace that continues to become more competitive,” McReynolds noted in the employee note. “It’s up to all of us to execute on our goal for ABF Freight to return to historic levels of profitability and regain market share. We must ensure that it’s easy for our customers to do business with us and that we earn their trust, every day.”

Succeeding Slagle is Tim Thorne, a 24-year ABF Freight employee who moves up from the job of vice president of linehaul operations. Thorne joined ABF in 1990 after serving as a U.S. Army captain. He rose through the ranks, and in addition to overseeing linehaul operations served as the regional vice president of Operations and was based in Salt Lake City.

“Through his many experiences, Tim has become a highly regarded leader at ABF Freight with a strong customer focus and deep knowledge of our freight operations across the country,” McReynolds said in the employee note. “As we look for ways to better serve our customers, I am confident Tim will work tirelessly to ensure the ABF Freight experience exceeds their expectations.”

Thorne earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Oklahoma and master’s degree in business administration from the University of North Alabama.

MORE PROPERTY
ArcBest has already purchased 30 acres for a planned $30 million corporate headquarters relocation at Chaffee Crossing in Fort Smith and at a specially called Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority meeting, the company bought an additional 30 acres of land.

Ivy Owen, executive director of the FCRA, said the 30 acres lies to the east of ArcBest's planned corporate headquarters. Ten acres of land near the McClure Amphitheater adjacent to the proposed headquarters is also under option for ArcBest, meaning the company could end up with 70 acres in Chaffee Crossing.

"In their planning for the future, they need some additional acres and looked at a couple of alternatives," he said. "They ended up with an additional 30 acres east of their planned location."

Owen said FCRA is charging $10,000 per acre for the land, or $300,000 total, the same as the original 30 acres that will house the planned ArcBest headquarters relocation.

As for other development in the area, Owen said high end housing developers have expressed interest in building subdivisions around the new headquarters. He said preliminary plans call for a walkable community with tree-lined streets and walking trails, similar to neighborhoods in and around the ArcBest headquarters on Old Greenwood Road.

He said no deals are yet in place for housing developments, just interest expressed by developers.

Groundbreaking of a new ArcBest Corp. headquarters is expected in the first quarter of 2015, with an expected opening in 2016.

EARNINGS REPORT
ArcBest is set to announce third quarter earnings on Nov. 3. The consensus of analyst estimates is earnings of 77 cents per share, well ahead of 52 cents per share in the third quarter of 2014. Total revenue for the quarter could be around $700 million, also ahead of the $623 million in the third quarter of 2014.

The company may be on its way to two consecutive years of positive financial results. Net income for the first six months of 2014 was $12.015 million, a big improvement over the $8.517 million loss during the same period in 2013. Total revenue for the first half of 2014 totaled $1.236 billion, better than the $1.097 billion during the same period of 2013.

Shares of ArcBest (NASDAQ: ARCB) closed Thursday at $32.45, up 32 cents. During the past 52 weeks the share price has ranged from a $45.68 high to a $24.06 low.

Through what have been more than $6.55 million in investments that began in 2006, Pinnacle Communications is now offering one gigabit Internet service to its about 1,000 customers in and around Lavaca. It’s the only exchange in Arkansas to offer the speed to all customers.

The service in the Sebastian County city west of Fort Smith was rolled out on Thursday (Oct. 16). Pinnacle President Keith Gibson said the service puts Lavaca on the map with much bigger cities.

“Google has rolled out 1 Gig service in Kansas City, and AT&T has plans to provide the service in Atlanta, St. Louis, Miami, Chicago and other cities,” Gibson said in a statement. “Because we made the decision several years ago to rebuild our territory with fiber to every home and business, we are now in a position, after significant investment in upgrades, to offer Gigabit service to our customers in the beautiful rural community of Lavaca.”

The Arkansas Telecommunications Association confirmed that Pinnacle is the only telecom company in Arkansas to provide the service to all customers. Some companies may offer a gigabit to some customers, but not across their entire network.

A gigabit, in terms of Internet service, allows for 1 billion bits of information to be transferred each second.

John Zeiler, general manager at Pinnacle, said the work that allowed for a gigabit of speed began in 2006 when the company invested $6 million in a “Fiber to The Home” project. The worked pushed a fiber optic cable to each home or business in the Pinnacle system.

Another $550,000 was spent on switching platforms, a new fiber drive and other components needed to better connect customers on Pinnacle’s network to the Internet.

The basic charge for phone service through Pinnacle is $20 per month. The charge for phone and the new Internet service is $199 per month.

“We have not developed Gigabit pricing without phone service due to complex pricing mechanism within the National Exchange Carriers Association (NECA) that necessitates a higher price to us for than wholesale option of Internet only,” Zeiler said in an e-mail interview with The City Wire.

Zeiler said in Arkansas the company has about 870 residential customers and about 130 business customers. He said 63% of the total customer base subscribes to their Internet service.

Gibson said in his statement that the new service also has an economic development bonus for the region.

“In a community like Lavaca, having this service provides easy and immediate access to the information and tools necessary to allow doctors, lawyers, salespersons, and others to be productive from home. It also is an exciting service opportunity for those businesses who desire satellite or remote offices, such as a local health care provider who can be connected to a main clinic or hospital.”

Telecoms like Cox Communications and CenturyLink make 1 gigabit service available in certain communities or on a case-by-case basis. For example, on Aug. 5, CenturyLink announced that 1 gigabit service was available in 16 cities. None of those cities were in Arkansas.

In its “Game of Gig: You Upgrade or You Die,” report made public in August, Gig.U said momentum is growing behind efforts to provide 1 gigabit service around the country. Gig.U began three years ago by 36 “research university communities” with a goal “to accelerate the deployment of next-generation broadband networks to enhance educational and economic development.”

The report noted that “radical” recent moves are pushing that goal toward reality.

“Through a combination of efforts, scores of American communities, including over a dozen Gig.U communities, are now deeply engaged in deploying of such networks. Many of these, like our own efforts, were initiated by communities. Now, however, in a radical change in the past 12 months, multiple service providers are initiating their own efforts.”