Greg Lutes has been hired as vice president and general manager to the Dedicated Freight Team at Van Buren-based USA Truck. Steve Kendall was hired as vice president of dedicated sales for the expanded freight team.

Lutes’ career includes 18 years with Ryder Integrated Logistics, where he most recently served as director of customer logistics. He also served as director of transportation at AutoZone and vice president of operations at Greatwide Logistics, where he provided dedicated contract carriage and freight services for a wide variety of industries nationwide and managed 1,400 employees and owner operators. Prior to joining USA Truck, Lutes was the vice president of operations at Dedicated Transportation Solutions Inc.

“Our dedicated carriage business has grown significantly over the past year as ongoing capacity shortages in our industry have prompted increasing numbers of shippers to seek dedicated capacity,” USA Truck President and CEO John Simone said in a statement. “Greg’s addition to the USA Truck team reflects our strategy of capitalizing on this trend, and will enhance our ability to provide consistent, customized capacity for this growing segment of our customer base.”

Kendall’s 25 years of industry experience includes work with UPS, Emery Worldwide and Con-Way Multimodal. He most recently served as vice president of business development-transportation logistics services at Jacobson Companies.

Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson announced Monday (Nov. 24) nine people who will be key members of his staff as he prepares to become the next Arkansas Governor.

Hutchinson defeated former U.S. Rep. Mike Ross, D-Prescott, in a race that is history making as Hutchinson will be the first Republican governor to preside over a Republican-controlled General Assembly since Reconstruction. Hutchinson won the election with 55.44% of the almost 850,000 votes cast. Ross captured 41.49%.

“I am pleased to announce additional members of my senior staff. These individuals are not only hardworking, but they bring a substantive amount of knowledge and experience to their respective positions. I have no doubt my administration and the people of Arkansas will benefit greatly from these qualities,” Hutchinson said in a statement.

He previously announced that former State Sen. Michael Lamoureux, a Republican from Russellville, would serve as chief of staff.

The positions announced Monday are:
Jon Gilmore of Little Rock, Deputy Chief-of-Staff
Gilmore previously served as Campaign Manager for the Asa for Governor Campaign.

Betty Guhman of North Little Rock, Senior Advisor
Guhman previously has served as Chief-of-Staff to former Congressman Asa Hutchinson; as well as a Senior Official for the DEA and Department of Homeland Security.

Elizabeth Smith of Little Rock, Chief Legal Counsel
Smith is Associate General Counsel for the University of Arkansas System.

Leon Jones, Jr. of Fayetteville, Director of Policy
Jones is an attorney, a graduate of UAPB and a native of Pine Bluff. He previously served as the Minority Outreach Coordinator for the Asa for Governor Campaign.

J.R. Davis of Fayetteville, Communications Director
Davis previously served as Communications Director and Spokesman for the Asa for Governor Campaign. He also served as a spokesman for the office of U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers.

Bruce Campbell of Little Rock, Director of Appointments
Campbell previously served as Political Director for the Asa for Governor Campaign.

Duncan Baird of Lowell, Budget Director
Baird is a term-limited member of the Arkansas House of Representatives where he serves as Chairman of the Joint Budget Committee.

Ateca Williams of Conway, Director of Constituent Services
Williams previously served as Director of Special Projects for the Asa for Governor Campaign.

Christian Olson of Little Rock, Policy Advisor
Olson previously served as Director of Policy for the Asa for Governor Campaign.

Families planning to provide a traditional Thanksgiving meal this holiday will shell out just under $50 to feed 10 people. The American Farm Bureau’s 29th annual informal price survey of classic Thanksgiving Day dinner items showed a cost of $49.41, a 37-cent cost increase from a year ago.

The big ticket item – a 16-pound turkey – came in at $21.65 this year. That's roughly $1.35 per pound, a decrease of less than 1 cent per pound, or a total of 11 cents per whole turkey, compared to 2013.

"Turkey production has been somewhat lower this year and wholesale prices are a little higher, but consumers should find an adequate supply of birds at their local grocery store," said AFBF Deputy Chief Economist John Anderson.

Some grocers may use turkeys as "loss leaders," a common strategy deployed to entice shoppers to come through the doors and buy other popular Thanksgiving foods. The Farm Bureau survey shopping list includes turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of carrots and celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and beverages of coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10. 

Foods showing the largest increases this year were sweet potatoes, dairy products and pumpkin pie mix. Sweet potatoes came in at $3.56 for three pounds. A half pint of whipping cream was $2.00; one gallon of whole milk, $3.76; and a 30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix, $3.12.

A one-pound relish tray of carrots and celery ($0.82) and one pound of green peas ($1.55) also increased in price. A combined group of miscellaneous items, including coffee and ingredients necessary to prepare the meal (butter, evaporated milk, onions, eggs, sugar and flour) rose to $3.48.

In addition to the turkey, other items that declined modestly in price included a 14-ounce package of cubed bread stuffing, $2.54; 12 ounces of fresh cranberries, $2.34; two nine-inch pie shells, $2.42; and a dozen brown-n-serve rolls, $2.17.

The average cost of the dinner has remained around $49 since 2011.

"America's farmers and ranchers remain committed to continuously improving the way they grow food for our tables, both for everyday meals and special occasions like Thanksgiving dinner that many of us look forward to all year," Anderson said. "We are blessed to be able to provide a special holiday meal for 10 people for about $5.00 per serving – less than the cost of most fast food meals."

The stable average price reported this year by Farm Bureau for a classic Thanksgiving dinner tracks closely with the government's Consumer Price Index for food eaten at home which indicates a 3% increase compared to a year ago.

The holiday shopping season officially kicks off Thanksgiving Day and retailers large and small are prepped and ready. But there is a growing number cynics who say the advertised deals may not be as big a deal for consumers as advertised.

According to NRF’s Thanksgiving Weekend Expectations survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, six in 10 (61.1%) say they will or may shop either Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday of the Thanksgiving weekend, which equates to more than 140.1 million unique shoppers. Expectations are similar to last year’s preliminary survey results of 140.3 million.

Some 72.5 million (31.6%) say they will wait and see if the deals are worth it before they decide, up 2% over last year’s 71 million “maybe” shoppers.

“Consumers today want more than just the discounts they’ve been showered with since the start of the recession; they want exclusive offerings and a good reason to spend their discretionary budgets,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “We could witness a sea change this holiday season as consumers’ reliance on extremely deep discounts over the biggest shopping weekend of the year shifts to more of a ‘wait-and-see’ mentality around what retailers will be offering on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday. We are positive retailers have a few tricks up their sleeve that will draw their customers to their stores and websites, deciding the deals are worth it after all.”

Wal-Mart recently unveiled a 5-day savings extravaganza for its stores beginning Thanksgiving Day. Walmart.com will kick-off its own Cyber Week Savings on Saturday Nov. 29. Macy’s also has a 5-day sale before Thanksgiving.

A number of retail experts have said much of the hoopla around Black Friday is geared around promotions of depreciating items like electronics and apparel. And on the seemingly best bargains there are often limited quantity.

“There are often limited quantities on the hottest deals and shoppers in many cases can get better bargains by waiting or shopping online,” noted Stacie Widlitz, a CNBC retail contributor.

A new study by NerdWallet finds that a number of the deals being offered for Black Friday are no better than what was offered last holiday season, or even a week or two earlier.

"Retailers keep offering the same kind of deals on Black Friday that consumers could have gotten for the same price last year," said Matthew Ong, senior retail analyst for NerdWallet.

In a NerdWallet analysis of 27 Black Friday advertisements, 25 retailers listed at least one product for the exact same price in 2014 as in their 2013 Black Friday ad. That means 93% of retailers are repeating Black Friday products – and prices – from year to year. 

Analysts predict it’s going to be a highly promotional holiday that has already begun, which likely means more discounts will be added through the month of December as the Christmas holiday approaches.

Retailers often make Black Friday deals look better by comparing them to a manufacturer's suggested retail price, even though they normally offer a discount from that price. NerdWallet found that Sears is offering the Samsung 55-inch 1080p 120Hz Smart LED HDTV at $599.99, which they compare with the list price of $1,199.99. But Sears was selling that same TV for $807.49 shortly before Black Friday, the researchers found.

"Consumers are looking for the big discounts," Ong said, adding that the smart consumer will check prices on a company's website before the promotions take effect to see if the discounts are all they seem to be.

A new report from comScore predicts total online retail spending for the November–December period will reach $61 billion, a 16% gain versus year ago.

“Although some lasting effects of the great recession still provide some overhang on the economy, many of the latest indicators point toward signs of optimism for consumer spending during the holidays. Negative economic sentiment is at a five-year low, the stock market is near all-time highs, and inflation has been kept in check,” said Gian Fulgoni, chairman emeritus of comScore.

Lori Douglas of East Texas said she’s hooked on Amazon Prime.

“I may not even go to the mall at all this year. Free shipping is a must and I am sure UPS is gonna get sick of me,” Douglas said.

Tonya Sellers enjoys shopping online from the comfort of her Benton County home. She refuses to deal with crowded shopping malls and discount stores on Black Friday. She would rather sleep late on Black Friday and take her chances on bigger sales closer to the holiday. 

“I find most of what I need online and when possible I pick up the items in-store and save the shipping cost,” she said.

Walmart.com says it’s doubling down on Cyber Monday this year, offering more than twice the number of deals compared to last year, and delivering it on a new web site that makes shopping easier and faster with free shipping on the season’s hottest gifts all week long.

The retailer believes that with Cyber Monday falling on Dec. 1, which is payday for millions of Wal-Mart customers, sales will be strong. The retailer is providing a sneak peek into the Cyber Week savings online. Wal-Mart reminds shoppers they can shop online and then pay cash in store when they take advantage of Wal-Mart’s checking cashing services Dec. 1.

A long empty downtown Fort Smith building could be coming back to life if a planned sale of the property by the Central Business Improvement District to a local developer goes through as planned.

The 1,725 square foot property, located at 701 Rogers Avenue, is under contract to be sold to Core Real Estate of Springdale for a price of $95,475. The Core Brewing Company is well known in Northwest Arkansas.

Fort Smith Deputy City Administrator Jeff Dingman, who serves as a liaison between the city and the CBID, said the buyer has not filled the city or the CBID in on what exactly its plans for the property are.

"We don't know what their intentions are, but we do know they want to create it as a place for a pub in order to market their products. He's mentioned a pub or tasting room, that sort of thing," Dingman said.

The memo was drawn up Nov. 11, with a due diligence period of 30 days being in place before the closing date, which Dingman said was not known to the city.

Rodney Ghan, a CBID member and owner of R.H. Ghan & Cooper Commercial Properties, is the listing agent for the property.

The property in question, Dingman said, has long been a part of the CBID's small collection of properties in downtown which were intended to provide rental income to fund operations.

"When the CBID was originally formed, their first project and purpose was to build the state office building across from city hall," he said. "As part of that, they had to acquire some property and this building was part of that. That's how they came to own it and have it for a long time.

"They weren't actually trying to sell it," Dingman added. "It had been vacant for a long time, but they did some roof work and HVAC and couldn't lease it out. I'm not sure how much they tried, but they didn't have any success."

He said when Jesse Core reached out to Ghan about the property, the company quickly changed the conversation from leasing to owning.

With the company possibly looking to open a pub on Rogers Avenue, it would represent one of the first commercial projects along the downtown strip of Rogers Avenue that is not tied to a hotel development. For that reason, Dingman said it could be a game changer for the neighborhood and possibly drive others to invest just a block over from Garrison Avenue, which has seen significant investments of late with Bricktown Brewery recently investing more than $500,000 in renovations to the former Varsity restaurant and bar.

"I like the idea of Rogers starting to develop a bit," Dingman said. "It's got some proximity to hotels and a lot of traffic, presumably. They walk by this building on the way to Garrison and back."

The location does not come with its own dedicated parking, though it is located along the same block as the city-owned parking garage on Rogers.

As for renovations of the property, since the property still lies within the CBID, he said some guidelines would need to be followed just as properties along Garrison must follow strict guidelines.

"The design guidelines are essentially the Garrison Avenue District Design Guidelines. Now, this building is not on Garrison, but it is in the CBID," he said. "I don't have any idea what their property dress is going to look like, but we will work with them as much as we can or are able to (in the renovation process)."

The CBID's most recent financial statements as of Nov. 2 show a balance of $86,836 in its savings account, with an additional $23,890 in checking, making its cash on hand $110,726.

Revenues for the CBID include $5,410 in monthly rent payments from the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith for use of the former Second Street Live location, now known as the Blue Lion.

Arkansas lawmakers received a report from the Bureau of Legislative Research that outlined 8 potential options to curb prison overcrowding, including a $231 million new prison bond issue, hiring a private prison firm, and alternatives to drug sentences and re-entry programs.

The Joint State Agencies committee on Monday (Nov. 24) reviewed the report that Senate Chairman Eddie Joe Williams, R-Cabot, said would be the foundation for potential legislation in January. He also said the study was intended to give Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson an “objective look” at the current crisis and possible alternatives.

More than 2,500 state prisoners are backed up in county jails costing the state money and stressing county budgets. More than 17,000 prisoners are currently housed in state prison facilities.

The recommendations included:
• Construct a 1,000 bed maximum security prison using a 30-year “wrap-around” bond issue estimated to cost $231 million (including principal and interest), excluding annual maintenance and operations expenses. The debt service would be covered by raising car tag decals by $2 annually.

• Review the successes and failures of Act 570, which altered sentencing guidelines.

• Mitigate longer sentences utilizing correctional interventions and re-entry programs.

• Consider using abandoned school buildings across the state rather than new construction to expand re-entry programs.

• Enlarge and expand the existing drug court program.

• Consider a private corrections management service provider that purports to have a lower per-inmate daily cost.

• Expand the Smarter Sentencing program in order to mitigate longer sentences.

• Consider funding the increase in the Arkansas Community Correction transitional beds program.

Arkansas Department of Corrections director Larry Norris told the panel that he’s open to all of the suggestions in the report, even if he’s not around to implement them. But he warned that a new maximum security prison would eventually have to be built – a process that could take three years to construct.

“Somewhere along the way, it’s going to have to happen,” Norris told the legislative panel.

Williams said he saw no support for the bond issue for a new prison until all other alternative approaches had been vetted.

“At the end of the day, the bad people need to go jail,” Williams said. “If we try these alternatives and we still need a 1,000 bed facility, then we’ll take that up. But until we look at alternatives to our current process, if we build a 1,000 bed facility, guess what we’re going to do? We’re going to fill it up. And then we’re going to want another 1,000 beds and another 1,000 beds.”

With a recidivism rate of 43%, Williams said there is a high number of nonviolent prison parolees who can complete their terms through transitional housing, re-entry programs and with help for drug rehabilitation.

“There’s a large percentage of that (57%) that never need to go to top security prison – they need to be in jail – they need to go to a minimum security facility,” Williams said.

He said he’s been studying the possibility of using abandoned schools or buildings across the state that could be brought up to code with minimal investments as a housing place for the minimum security population. Williams suggested that 300-500 parolees could be housed at 3-5 facilities around the state minimizing the burden now on the counties.

“We can parole people to these facilities and let them fail or succeed in a very controlled environment. We’re not doing a good job of that,” Williams said.

He also said that many of these individuals need drivers licenses, GEDs and job prospects.

“If we’re going to parole these people, we should demand that they have these things and we can do that today.”

Williams also was optimistic and said he plans to pursue a private jail management firm that is currently running a facility in Homer, Louisiana. He contends that the company is spending $28.50 a day per inmate, far below Arkansas’ prison cost at Wrightsville of $58 a day.

“Nothing’s off the table at this point,” he said.

NorthWest Arkansas Community College will host two open house events during the first week of December as part of a statewide emphasis known as Community College Work$.
 
The college’s events are slated for:
• 9 to 10:30 a.m. Dec. 2 at the Washington County Center, 693 White Road in Springdale

• Noon to 1:30 p.m. Dec. 3 at the Shewmaker Center for Global Business Development on the Bentonville campus.
 
The 22 member institutions of Arkansas Community Colleges (formerly the Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges) will participate in the statewide celebration.
 
A proclamation by Gov. Mike Beebe declaring Dec. 1-5 as Community College Work$ Week states that the special celebration promotes community colleges in Arkansas by increasing public awareness of each college’s mission and vital role in meeting local economic development and workforce needs.
 
Government and business leaders and the public are invited to attend.

Turkey is often the overlooked protein by consumers perusing their grocery meat case – except, of course, for the Thanksgiving Holidays when the big birds take center stage. But, turkey processing is big business in Arkansas. The Natural State will rank second only to Minnesota in pounds processed annually this year, according to the National Turkey Federation.

Cargill Meat Solutions operates a large processing center in Springdale, employing 1,000 workers and running at full capacity this time of year, according to Mike Martin, corporate spokesman with Cargill.

“The Springdale plant will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2015. More than 250 million pounds of turkey products are processed at Cargill’s Springdale plant annually – more than 1 billion 4-ounce servings,” Martin said.

He said Cargill relies on 80 turkey growers in Arkansas and a few in Missouri to supply the local plant with the birds it processes. Susan Watkins, poultry specialist at the University of Arkansas, said the whole birds making their way into local grocers this week marked as “fresh” began their lives in the spring in Cargill’s hatchery in Gentry.

Watkins said this time of year the local Cargill plant and two Butterball plants — Huntsville and Ozark — are running “fresh” whole birds that range from 15 to 20 pounds.  

FRESH LIFE CYCLE
“The fresh season is dominated by whole bird production. Cargill started planning for Thanksgiving demand back in the spring with the number egg placements. The genetic selection for whole birds includes their white color and a balanced size between breast meat and dark meat,” Watkins said.

There is a 28-to 30-day incubation period in the hatchery. The turkey poults are moved to a growout house a couple of days after hatching, where they are fed a diet of corn and soybean meal to yield their final weights over a 16-week period, according to Watkins.

It is usually the hens that are sold as whole birds, while the toms are processed into cutlets, deli meats, turkey franks, sausages and tenderloins.

Fresh turkey signifies that it has not been frozen below 26 degrees and was recently slaughtered and processed. Fresh varieties sell for a premium as opposed to frozen birds.

“The grocer takes on more risk for handling these birds. There is a fairly short window to sell them before you smell them. Many times grocers require a preorder for fresh turkey because they will not want to end up with an excess supply,” said Dr. John Marcy, processing specialist at the University of Arkansas.

Marcy said the fresh birds are processed whole which is more labor intensive than traditional broiler operations. He said turkey plants employ up to twice as many workers as a chicken plant because so little of the processing is automated because of the heavy bird weight and the variances in sizes from flock to flock. 

On the large end, toms can weigh up to 35 pounds, where as a fresh whole turkey hen could be as small as 12 to 15 pounds.

Watkins said by Tuesday (Nov. 25) most turkey plants running fresh whole birds will shift to other runs because birds coming off the line after Tuesday won’t end up in a retailer by Thanksgiving Day. 

TURKEY CONSUMPTION
Watkins said the turkey is by far the most efficient of all meat proteins. It takes just 35 pounds of feed to yield a 16 pound turkey, and the grain they eat is not suitable for human consumption.

“When compared to growing a chicken we can get twice the amount of weight in a turkey using the same amount feed as an 8-pound chicken. Feed is 70% of the cost of growing a life turkey,” she said.

Despite the value turkey holds compared to other proteins, consumer preference for the meat is stagnant. Turkey consumption per capita is about 16 pounds annually, which has been flat since 2011 and declining from 17.7 pounds a decade earlier, according to the National Turkey Federation. Although 50% of all turkey consumed in 1970 was during the holidays, today that number is around 31% as more people eat turkey year-round.

That said, turkey consumption ranks a distant fourth at 16 pounds, behind pork with a 46.8 pound consumption per capita last year. Per capita, consumers ate 56.3 pounds of beef and 81.8 pounds of chicken.

Watkins said the turkey industry has not properly marketed their new products and are not pushing higher margin items like the chicken industry.

“I expect that will change now that Tyson Foods has acquired Hillshire’s turkey business. I can’t wait to see what happens when Tyson puts its innovation insights into Hillshire’s turkey operations. I look for there to be some innovative new turkey products coming down the pike. It’s been a long time coming,” Watkins said.

The corporate shuffle continues at Wal-Mart with news that Duncan MacNaughton, chief merchandising officer for the retailer’s U.S. division has resigned just ahead of the Black Friday. This news comes as the reporting structure within the marketing division recently shifted to the new Walmart U.S. CEO Greg Foran.


Mac Naugton’s bio has been removed from Wal-Mart’s corporate website. Rumors have swirled about Mac Naughton’s future with the company when Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon selected Foran for the U.S. CEO job. Local sources confirmed that Mac Naughton’s wife moved to Texas more than two months ago in preparation for his departure.


Wal-Mart confirmed Mac Naughton’s departure with the following statement from Foran: “Today, I’m going to share with you leadership changes within our Walmart U.S. Merchandising organization. Duncan Mac Naughton, Chief Merchandising Officer – Walmart U.S., has decided to leave the company to pursue new opportunities. I’d like to thank him for everything he’s done for Walmart, and specifically our U.S. business.
 
Duncan’s departure has allowed me to relook at our Merchandising structure and the incredible talent within the team. At this time, I have chosen not to name a new Chief Merchant. I would like to use this opportunity to get closer to the Merchandising organization, so effective immediately, these leaders will report directly to me with the following responsibilities.”

The exit is not unexpected as Mac Naughton was once believed to be the shoo-in for the top U.S. job back in July when CEO Bill Simon parted ways with the retailer. McMillon’s selection of Foran for the job was a surprise, but has since won favor with Wall Street analysts given Foran’s aggressive operational strategy to improve U.S. sales.

“If you look at some of the recent talent selections in the C-suite it’s apparent that Wal-Mart is looking for something different, casting a broader net to gather people with varying experiences,” said Allan Ellstrand, expert in corporate leadership and professor at the University of Arkansas.

He adds that if companies always do things the same way with the same people it’s hard to get different results. McMillon and Foran have each said they are after higher sales and better performing supercenters.

“Research shows that bringing in outside talent can be more contentious, but overall, companies that do it often get richer, better and more compelling results,” Ellstrand said. 

Mac Naughton joined the company in 2009 as chief merchandising officer of Wal-Mart Canada and moved to the merchandising operations at the U.S. business in 2010.

While a popular figure, Mac Naughton and Simon struggled with sagging same-store sales for seven quarters. Those figures just recently returned to positive territory.

“I am a little surprised by the timing of the departure given this is the busiest time of year for a retailer,” Ellstrand said.

With Foran at the helm all eyes will be on his leadership through the holiday season. Wal-Mart execs warned there could be negative financial pressure this quarter from the macro economic standpoint, but they expressed hope that lower gas prices will equate to more merchandise sold.

The last time Mac Naughton spoke publicly was walking reporters through the Black Friday sales plan. During the October investor meeting, Foran fielded questions on Wal-Mart’s store operations in a candid manner. He admitted that inventory was too high, store staffing too short in some cases and there was much work to do in the area of “fresh” merchandising. 

Mac Naughton chimed in to say that inventory was up largely because of new store additions and the Port of Long Beach issues which had the retailer ordering earlier than normal for the holidays. While the exchange was cordial enough there was a sense of tension in Mac Naughton’s effort to justify the higher inventory levels.

“Looking at Bentonville you can see Wal-Mart is looking for something different. It’s visible in their varying formats — pickup, convenience and explosion in Neighborhood Markets. Bentonville has become a lab for formats because they see this as the next potential growth engine. This innovation requires risk taking and diverse talent selection,” Ellstrand said.

He said an executive of Mac Naughton’s caliber and experience level has a great deal of options when he does finish his tenure at Wal-Mart.

Foran’s email to Wal-Mart employees also laid out other details in the management shuffle.

Steve Bratspies will transition from his role as executive vice president of general merchandise and food, which includes a focus on fresh.

Andy Barron will retain his role as executive vice president of softlines and will assume responsibility for general merchandise.

Michelle Gloeckler will remain executive vice president of consumables and U.S. manufacturing.

Labeed Diab, senior vice president, and his health & wellness team will transition to report to Gloeckler.

John Aden will remain in his role as executive vice president of sales innovation.

Scott Huff will remain in his role as executive vice president of merchandising operations.

Jack Sinclair will help to transition the food business over the coming weeks before taking another role within Wal-Mart, to be announced at a later date.
 
“Through Duncan’s leadership, we have focused on developing our merchants while also driving stronger collaboration between marketing and merchandising. This has made us more relevant to and focused on our customers. I also think it’s important to recognize Duncan for his leadership in re-engaging with our suppliers to develop joint business plans. This work is resulting in better and more localized assortment in our stores.
 
In partnership with the operations team, Duncan has driven customer-centric innovations that we will build from to move forward. He’s always been, and I’m sure always will be, an advocate for our customers and our stores. We’ll miss his creativity and energy. Please join me in thanking him and wishing him well,” Foran concluded in the email.

Carol Spieckerman, CEO of NewMartketBuilders, applauded the retailer's recent efforts to steer a new course.

"The great news is that Wal-Mart is doing a great job of incubating talent and building executive bench strength. The other side of that coin is that not every leader will complete their career trajectory at Wal-Mart. There are only so many slots. Wal-Mart is clearly heading in a fresh direction when it comes to its merchandising initiatives, particularly at the store level, and Greg Foran is messaging that clearly."

Spieckerman said over the past few years most retailers have found themselves dumping resources into playing a mean game of digital catch-up. As a result, some are awakening – or soon will – to the fact that their stores have become a bit musty.

"In this climate, Greg Foran is sending an important message by making it clear that the next wave of store-level block and tackle work will have Wal-Mart fully leveraging its physical assets at a time when doing so has never been more critical to the company’s overall omni-channel strategy. Although Wal-Mart may have gone ditch to ditch on some initiatives in the past, Foran isn’t talking about driving in-store efficiencies at the expense of digital, he is making sure that the stores don’t get lost in the equation. That kind of synergistic thinking will put Wal-Mart ahead of the pack as others struggle with balancing bricks and clicks," Spieckerman said.

Sebastian County Judge David Hudson hopes Tuesday's (Nov. 25) meeting of the quorum court is the last related to the upcoming 2015 budget, but at least one justice of the peace may throw a wrench in Hudson's plans.

Hudson said budget meetings held this month have resulted in a collective decision of the court to add a 2% cost of living adjustment (COLA) to the budget for all county employees, as well as deferring $528,000 in capital until February 2015. The only capital that has been included in the latest revisions to the budget include $223,000 for sheriff's department fleet vehicles.

The delays, Hudson said, include computer equipment, vehicles for other county departments, approval of the second year lease payment on golf carts at Ben Geren Regional Park and other small equipment, including mowers.

"We will reevaluate those based on year end balances," Hudson said, adding that the court had also identified about $80,000 to $96,000 in operating cuts for the budget.

"There's a lot of those we reviewed with different department heads and officials to see if cuts could have been made. It could have been utilities, a variety of things. … There was analysis of some areas where some of the operations increases could be reduced. We continue to meet with people and evaluate that."

Hudson said with the cuts and deferrals made to the budget, with revenues estimated at $21.286 million in the general fund next year, he hoped to wrap up the budget reviews before Thanksgiving.

"I'm hoping that that will be the final discussion (on Tuesday) and then work can begin on putting an exhibit together that will be adopted in ordinance on December 16," he said. "We're trying to get final discussions by Thanksgiving, but we take this to exhibit form and to ordinance for adoption, so it takes several days."

Justice of the Peace Danny Aldridge said while Hudson may be ready to wrap up discussions, he has "several things I'm wanting to talk about." The most pressing, he said, was what to do about the Sebastian County EMS service.

In the budget documents provided by Hudson's office, it is shown that the EMS budget has increased by $300,743 from 2009 to 2013. The only other department in county government to see a higher increase was the jail, whose budget increased by $1.085 million. The jail is under a consent decree from the United States Department of Justice which has necessitated much of the increase in funding.

From 2014 to 2024, the county has reallocated how it spends its portion of the countywide one cent sales tax proceeds, upping the jail's portion by 10.5%, the EMS budget by 2%, the parks department by 1% and rural fire by a half percent, while reducing capital expenditures from the sales tax proceeds by 14%. But Aldridge said the ambulance service, which serves as the only EMS provider in communities like Hackett and Lavaca, is putting a drain on the general fund.

"One of the things that we've got to face is the fact that the ambulance service in Sebastian County is creating a huge financial drain on the general fund and we're going to have to look at reducing services, getting rid of the ambulance service or changing the way in which they're operating in order to reduce that drain. It doesn't have to make money, but it's got to be not such a burden on the county general fund."

The service is pulling about $650,000 per year from the general fund and that is after county residents in service areas pay an annual fee of $18 to support the ambulance services. Another revenue source is insurance payments, though Aldridge said he is unsure how vigorously the county pursues payment from insurance following the transport of patients.

An area he said could save money is by cutting the more than $160,000 in overtime costs to staff at Sebastian County EMS.

"I content that we could hire several more people on a part-time basis and pay out less overtime. There's always some overtime, yes. … But not $160,000 plus in overtime. Maybe we can reduce that by half by hiring additional personnel. Maybe more. That would create a morale problem with (current staff) because they love this overtime they're getting. But we can't afford it. It's a terrible way to say it, but the county general fund is being held hostage by the Sebastian County ambulance service."

Aldridge said services are needed in rural Sebastian County, but he may propose going as far as privatizing the service to save the county money.

Hudson said Friday (Nov. 21) that "adjustments are still being looked at," adding that options to reduce the county's budget could still be implemented before the final ordinance is presented on Dec. 16.

The Nov. 25 meeting will be held at 6 p.m. in the Quorum Courtroom located on the second floor of the Sebastian County Courthouse in Fort Smith.

Home sales in the region were up double digits in October, the second month in a row that Crawford and Sebastian Counties posted such growth, more than doubling the growth rate both counties had posted in September.

In Crawford County, home sales were up 52.93% in October 2014 compared to the same month last year, while September saw an increase of 13.75% over the same period in 2013. Sebastian County posted even higher numbers coming in at 65.6% for October over the previous month. In September, Sebastian County's growth over August stood at 18.74%.

Looking at the sales volume, Crawford County posted $7.572 million in sales last month compared to $5.069 million in October 2013. Sebastian County saw sales of $21.581 million in October 2014 compared to $13.032 million in October 2013.

Kevin Clifton, owner and broker at Kevin Clifton Realty in Van Buren, said two factors were at play in the region. The first factor in Van Buren's favor was the expected expiration of the FDA's Rural Development Loan program in the city. He said the one year moratorium that lent the program an extra year of life did not stop sales already in motion. Thus Van Buren and Crawford County's real estate market were the direct beneficiaries, according to Clifton, with homeowners rushing to secure the no money down mortgages.

"When it was (a real possibility of losing the Rural Development Loans, there was) that scare factor, even in my office," he said. "We've closed 91 homes in the last six months just in my office. Of those, 41 of those were in the last month. For an office of five people, that's amazing to see the difference."

The second factor at play in Sebastian County's favor is development taking place in Chaffee Crossing which is expected to grow as ArcBest locates its new corporate headquarters on a site at the former U.S. Army installation.

"We have a bit of a better job force going now and there are a number of new construction versus used. It has been several years since it's been a choice for buyers for new construction in multiple areas and multiple price ranges (in Fort Smith)," he explained.

"There is the typical growth (helping Fort Smith) and then the new construction. When you have two or three new subdivisions in Sebastian County pushing new homes onto the market, especially comparing 2008 numbers to now, it's a night and day difference from where we were just a few years ago."

With the growth both markets have experienced, the average sale price in Crawford and Sebastian Counties increased substantially from last year to this year. In Crawford County, the average price in October 2013 was $112,641 while October 2014 saw $135,214, an increase of 20.04%. Sebastian County saw a rise from October 2013's average of $121,796 to an average of $172,648 in October 2014. The figure represents a rise in average sales price of 41.75%.

The new construction, Clifton said, helped drive Sebastian County's numbers higher while the rush to buy in Van Buren pushed Crawford County's numbers higher.

"Sales price numbers were up because of the number of homes on the market," he said, adding that the number of pending sales or under contract limited the supply.

As for next year, he said it is hard to tell what will happen in Sebastian County though he said Crawford County will see another rush at the end of the year as the Rural Development Loan's moratorium comes to a close and the fear of losing the loan altogether drives sales.

"I foresee us having that same situation happen. … You have a whole new set of buyers look at that time compared to where we are right now in this year. We will have that rush again just like this year and numbers for the last quarter of the year will be tied to the scare factor of losing Rural Development for Van Buren."

Of course, before agents get to the last quarter of next year, they have to make it through the typically slow winter months and the summer. But the winter months, he said, could create a slump agents will be working all year to get out of.

"The weather will play a big part in that first quarter for us," Clifton said. "Consumers just don't want to get out in that (cold, snow and ice). As long as the weather stays steady, we'll still have a good first quarter."

Home Sales Data (January - October)
• Crawford County
Unit Sales
2014: 525
2013: 422

Total Sales Volume
2014: $62.334 million
2013: $47.071 million

Median Sales Price
2014: $108,750
2013: $106,500

• Sebastian County
Unit Sales
2014: 1,161
2013: 1,055

Total Sales Volume
2014: $158.792 million
2013: $145.515 million

Median Sales Price
2014: $115,000
2013: $115,000

City and countywide sales tax revenue has improved in recent months, but is struggling to meet or exceed budget estimates. The city's sales taxes (1% for streets and 1% combined for water and sewer projects and fire and parks and recreation) collected $3.363 million in the October report. The figure is 4.76% above October 2013 and 2.27% ahead of budget projections for the month of October.

For the first 10 reporting months of the year, the total tax collections including the October report from the city's sales tax collections are up 2.21% but below budget projections by 0.22%. (Because the state of Arkansas has a two-month delay in reporting collections back to the cities, the city of Fort Smith — for budgeting purposes — has historically reflected the collections on a one-month delay. Which is to say, the tax collections remitted to cities in October are from taxes collected in August and transferred by merchants to the state in September.)

Collections so far in the 2014 reporting period of the city's sales taxes were $33.45 million, up from collections of $32.726 million during the same period in 2013. The same 10 months in 2012 saw collections of $33.064 million. The city sales tax for fire and parks did not begin collecting revenues until 2012.

Total collections of the Fort Smith city sales taxes in 2013 was $38.938. Collections in 2012 totaled $39.21 million, just ahead of the $38.684 million collected in 2011. The 2011 collections were 3.9% above the 2010 revenues of $37.23 million.

Fort Smith's share of the countywide sales tax in the October report was $1.323 million, which was an increase of 6.01% over $1.248 million in October 2013. The figure was also 5.51% above the budget estimate.

The countywide tax collection is critical because the revenue is a little more than 40% of the city’s general fund operating budget of roughly $48 million. A majority of the general fund budget supports fire, police and other critical city functions. The dip in collections compared to budget estimates has resulted in city officials seeking 4% budget cuts from all departments.

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

The Fort Smith Board of Directors is expected to conduct a third review of the 2015 during a Tuesday night (Nov. 25) meeting. Public hearing and adoption of the budget is set for 6 p.m., Dec. 6, at the Fort Smith School Service Center.

Board members and city staff have proposed various methods to balance the budget while also providing cost-of-living raises for employees and meeting a potential shortfall in a pension fund for police and fire department employees.

PREVIOUS ANNUAL COLLECTION INFO
Fort Smith 2% sales tax collection (1% for streets; 1% for water/sewer bonds)

2013: $38.937 million

2012: $39.210 million

2011: $38.683 million

2010: $37.229 million

2009: $37.554 million

2008: $41.226 million

2007: $37.858 million

2006: $36.840 million

Fort Smith portion of 1% countywide sales tax

2013: $15.353 million

2012: $15.279 million

2011: $15.15 million

2010: $14.89 million

2009: $15.04 million

2008: $16.61 million

2007: $15.15 million

2006: $14.71 million

Officials with Houston-based Oxane Materials plan to close their Van Buren proppant manufacturing facility on Jan. 23, 2015. The closure will result in the loss of an estimated 70 jobs.

Notice of the closure was a letter dated Nov. 24 to Van Buren Mayor Bob Freeman from Chris Coker, president of Oxane Materials.

“Please be advised that on January, 23, 2015, Oxane Material, Inc. expects to permanently close its business operations located at 3003 Industrial Park Road, Van Buren. ... The result of this action will result in the termination of employment for all employees working for the Company at this location,” Coker wrote.

Freeman told The City Wire that he was shocked at the news. Prior to the letter, there was no hint of problems at the company.

“We received notification this morning that Oxane Materials expects to close the facility in Van Buren on January 23, 2015. The news was completely unexpected. Oxane has been a vital part of our community and we have been proud to be the home of their operations. It is most unfortunate for their employees and the families affected and our thoughts and prayers go out to them,” Freeman noted in a statement. 

Jackie Krutsch, president of the Van Buren Chamber of Commerce, also said the news was a surprise.

“The notice received this morning that Oxane Materials is closing its operation in January is both unexpected and disappointing. We had no prior knowledge of any planned closing. Oxane Materials has been an important part of the community since opening here in Van Buren. The Van Buren Chamber has not received  information on the details of the closure. We will work closely with all parties as more information becomes available regarding the circumstances of this closure,” Krutsch said in a statement.

The company uses a patented nanotechnology process to produce ceramic proppants that are injected into geologic formations to “prop” open fissures and allow oil and natural gas to be drawn out. The technology was first developed at Rice University. Company officials have said the Oxane proppant is lighter and stronger than most other proppants and is often used with traditional proppants to reach deeper into shale formations.

News of the closure is certainly a departure from what Coker was saying earlier in 2014. In a May story at Rigzone, Coker said the company was unveiling its new “OxThor” proppant product for use in high-pressure, high temperature wells. Many of those type of wells are drilled by deepwater rigs.

Coker said in the story that the new proppant would be produced in Van Buren beginning in June. He also said the company posted record production of 40 million pounds of proppant in 2014.

As of August 2011, Oxane employed 60 at the plant which produces proppants for the energy exploration (natural gas and oil) sector. The company said in 2010 it would initially invest $15 million in the Van Buren plant. In late 2011 the company said it had plans to invest up to $100 million in Van Buren and possibly employ 350 by the end of 2013. That expansion never fully materialized.

Obviously, the closing will not help a Fort Smith metro labor market that has not recovered from the Great Recession.

The size of the Fort Smith regional workforce during September was 126,104, up from 125,739 during August, but below the 130,684 during September 2013. The labor force reached a revised high of 140,253 in June 2007, meaning the September workforce size is down 10% from the peak number.

The number of employed in the Fort Smith region totaled 118,911 in September, up from 118,030 in August, and an estimated 1,987 jobs below the 120,893 employed in September 2013. The September employment is also 11.1% below peak metro employment of 132,779 in November 2007.

Cynthia and Dennis Smiley were in bankruptcy court on Tuesday (Nov. 25) to face creditors in a routine meeting ahead of a discharge hearing. Craig Campbell, counsel for Arvest Bank, which is at the center of the Dennis Smiley fraud allegations, was the only creditor to attend the meeting in federal court held in Fayetteville.

Former Arvest banker Dennis Smiley has not filed bankruptcy but he was there in support of his wife, Cynthia, who filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy last month. She is seeking to discharge $2.29 million in debts that are deemed business related. 

Dennis Smiley was forced to retire as president of Arvest Bank-Benton County in March when loan fraud was discovered. Smiley reportedly borrowed an estimated $4.5 million from more than a dozen Arkansas banks dating back to 2009, according to Uniform Commercial Code filings with Arkansas Security of State.

Campbell asked Smiley if she had any recollection of signing over stock certificates for 682 shares of stock in First State Bank of DeQueen as collateral on a $215,000 loan made to her business, Design for the Home. He showed her the certificate of stock to which he was referring. Smiley said she had not seen that certificate before. He said she signed documents pledging that stock against the loan made by Arvest. 

Smiley replied that she has no memory of it, but she could have signed documents. Campbell asked her if she had any jewelry in the couple’s lock box or anything of value. 

“I’ve never looked in that lock box so I don’t know what’s in there,” Smiley said.

Smiley’s lawyer, Jill Jacoway, told the court that she would let them know if there were any valuable jewelry found in the box. 

Dennis Smiley declined to speak at the creditors’ meeting as he was advised not to by the court trustee. The trustee questioned Smiley about Dennis’ Arvest Bank retirement stock which was pledged for collateral to at least 18 banks across the state.

“You are beneficiary on this retirement bank stock plan, but I understand the asset(roughly $500,000) has been pledged to Benton County Court for debts there. Is that right?,” the trustee asked her.

Smiley agreed. 

The trustee concluded that her right to the pledged funds in her husband’s account is only relevant upon Dennis Smiley’s death. Unless he dies before April 19, 2015 the court has no right to these funds. (April 19, is the slated charge-off date for Smiley’s bankruptcy.) She agreed with that assessment. 

The trustee asked Smiley about her employment status. Smiley said she has continued her design consultant work on a contract basis and is doing that out of her home. She also answered that she did not have any interest in any other stocks or securities not already disclosed to the court.

The trustee said he concludes that Smiley’s bankruptcy is a minimal asset case given that he could only get about $2,600 which is merely pennies against the $2.9 million posted in debts. He then approved the Chapter 7 bankruptcy and concluded the case.

Campbell said he would refile the Arvest case against other debtor (Dennis Smiley) at a later date. 

Creditors wishing to dispute the dischargeabiity of Smiley’s bankruptcy have until Jan. 26 to file with the court.

Civil lawsuits that named Cynthia Smiley as co-defendant were recently closed because of the bankruptcy order filed by Jacoway. As previously stated, Arvest plans to refile its cases 04-CIV-2014-1185-2 where it’s owed $181,782 for a loan made to Dennis and Cynthia Smiley. Case 04-CIV-2014-1135 involves two outstanding loans ($31,103) and ($50,614) made to Dennis and Cynthia Smiley for Design for the Home business.

Other cases closed in Benton County per the bankruptcy order include:
• First State Bank 04-CIV-2014-0522 against Dennis and Cynthia Smiley and Design for  the Home. This case claims debts owed of ($40,450) ($80,298) and ($38,336).

• Community First Bank of Harrison 04-CIV-2014-1288 against Dennis and Cynthia Smiley and Design for the Home. This creditor claims outstanding balances ($67,650) ($28,199) ($11,613) at the time of the filing. 

The orders closing these cases indicated the creditor can reopen and file against the other debtor in the future.

Other civil cases against Dennis Smiley have been slated for trials in 2015.
• Arvest versus Smiley Revocable Trust is seeking $311,700 from four outstanding loans. Trial is set for Aug. 17-18, 2015. 

• First Federal Bank versus HDS Holdings, is seeking $20,000. This trial date is slated for Sept. 3-4, 2015.

• First National Bank Fort Smith versus Dennis Smiley is seeking $194,258 in payment or judgment. That trail date is Aug. 24-25, 2015.

• Delta Trust & Bank (Now Simmons First National) is suing Smiley and his father Henry D. Smiley Sr. for $245,126. That trial date is slated for Aug. 3-4, 2015.

Let’s be honest. Since Arkansas joined the SEC back in 1992, we have not had a true “hate” rival. LSU and “The Boot” were forced upon us by David Bazzel. And a rivalry has to go both ways. LSU has never considered us a true rival.

If Ole Miss didn’t have Mississippi State, I think that would have been our best bet. But now with the addition of Missouri to the conference, and this game being moved to the last weekend of the year, I think we have it. The campuses are only 300 miles apart, making Mizzou our closest SEC neighbor.

For me, the hate is already there. It started back in the late 80’s and early 90’s when the Razorbacks and Tigers were both top 15 powers in basketball. Norm Stewart brought his fourth-ranked Tigers in to Barnhill to face Nolan’s 7th-ranked Hogs. I was a student then, and we got into Barnhill at 7 a.m. to claim our seats in the student section. There was already a line from the night before, and we got 4th row seats.

The day of the game most students would skip class or have a buddy hold your seat. Most of us chose the skip selection. Norm walked in a few hours before tip and walked over to the student section, who was nationally known as one of the loudest and rowdiest in the country. He smiled, took out a pack of gum, and proceeded to throw sticks of gum up to us, saying, “Why don’t you chew on this instead of my ass all night?”

Then they beat us 89-88. That’s where my hate began.

The Hogs didn’t lose very often back then in Barnhill. Arkansas proceeded to go 8-1 against the Tigers for the rest of the 90’s, including the legendary 120-68 nationally televised whooping in the Bud Walton Arena dedication game. It was Missouri’s worst loss in school history. Mizzou chose not to renew the series after 1997. I wonder why?

The series began again in 2004 and the Hogs beat them in their arena dedication, 62-52. The teams split the series 4-4 in the 2000‘s.

Now, enough basketball. Let’s talk football. The Hogs and Tigers have met a total of five times since 1906. Missouri leads the series 3-2.

Where the football hate for me really began was after the 2008 Cotton Bowl debacle. The Hogs lost 38-7 with DMAC, Felix Jones, and Peyton Hillis in the backfield. Mizzou fans came out of the woodwork in Northwest Arkansas and Southwest Missouri, acting like they had won the national championship.

The Hogs had just beaten No. 1 LSU 50-48 in three overtimes a month before. Then we canned Houston Dale Nutt and named Reggie Herring interim head coach for the bowl game. The Hogs had no sense of direction, and by all accounts, no respect for a lame duck interim coach. The night before the game, we saw half the team partying out in Dallas at 3:30 in the morning.

Mizzou fans thought they had beaten the same team that beat No. 1 LSU a month earlier. They didn’t. That team didn’t show up.

Tiger fans still talk about it to this day and how they are a superior program to Arkansas. Let’s see ... they haven’t won a Big 12 title since 1969. They have won one division title. They haven’t been to a BCS game.

The Hogs have no SEC titles, but last won the SWC title in 1988 and 1989. Division championships? The Hogs have three in the toughest conference and division in America. Check. BCS game? Check. Mizzou fans even seem to have amnesia on the Razorbacks 27-14 Independence Bowl victory over them just five years before.

Missouri has had success in its first few years in some down years in the SEC Least, I mean East, which we haven’t seen in our 22 years in the league until recently. Good timing. Now the Tigers are one win away from being in the SEC championship game again after beating the likes of Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

They haven’t had to play Alabama, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Auburn, or LSU, who were all ranked when facing the Hogs. The one top-25 team Missouri played was Georgia, and they got rolled 34-0. Georgia ran all over them. Let’s hope the Hogs can do the same.

The Hogs are coming off two of the most impressive back-to-back wins in school history over LSU and Ole Miss. They became the first unranked team in the modern era to shut out ranked teams in consecutive weeks. And the defense is playing out of its mind. The Razorbacks are 6-5 and going bowling. They look to get seven wins and maybe go a notch up in the bowl pickings and jump into the top 25.

So here we are three days before this series starts. The game has been named The “Battle Line Rivalry,” which I think a UA intern must have coined. Might as well have been “The Hillbilly Brawl.” Someone suggested “Battle of the Ozarks” which I really liked.

A true rivalry will be born Friday. A border war starts Friday. The hate starts Friday. Tusk to Tail will be 25 strong on Friday. Cars begin heading out from Fayetteville and Little Rock at 3:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving.

We will find a nice place on the Mizzou campus Friday morning, pick up some chicken biscuits and nuggets for eats, and of course have plenty to drink on hand. Happy Thanksgiving from Tusk to Tail in Columbia.

Go Hogs! Beat Tigers!

A federal judge has struck down Arkansas’ ban on same-sex marriages, but she issued a stay in the ruling as it is expected to be appealed.

U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker said Amendment 83, a 2004 voter-approved measure defining marriage as between a man and a woman, was unconstitutional under the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“The Court declares that Arkansas’s marriage laws — Amendment 83 of the Arkansas Constitution and Arkansas Code Annotated §§ 9-11-107, 9-11-109, and 9-11-208 — violate the Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution by precluding same-sex couples from exercising their fundamental right to marry in Arkansas, by not recognizing valid same-sex marriages from other states, and by discriminating on the basis of gender,” Baker wrote in her 45-page decision.

“This Court finds that the Arkansas marriage laws at issue here overstep this constitutional limit. The Due Process Clause prevents the government from infringing upon a fundamental right “unless the infringement is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest.” Likewise, under the Equal Protection Clause, if a state makes a classification that “impinge[s] upon the exercise of a fundamental right,” then the state must “demonstrate that its classification has been precisely tailored to serve a compelling governmental interest,”” the ruling said.

Baker’s ruling is expected to be appealed, leading the judge to stay her decision.

The federal lawsuit was brought by two gay couples, Rita and Pam Jernigan and Becca and Tara Austin. The Arkansas Supreme Court is also reviewing a case regarding same-sex marriage, but has not issued a ruling yet. That review is of a May 8 ruling by  Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza that Amendment 8s was unconstitutional.

Piazza’s ruling followed a January 2014 ruling by U.S. Federal Judge Terence Kern that struck down Oklahoma’s ban on gay marriage. Kern, based in Tulsa, said the gay marriage ban approved by Oklahoma voters in 2004 violated the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment under the equal protection clause.

Baker acknowledged that her decision would be controversial in undoing the 2004 law that passed with nearly 75% of the vote.

“This Court does not take lightly a request to declare that a state law is unconstitutional,” Baker said in her ruling. “Statutes are passed by the duly elected representatives of the people. It is not on a whim that the Court supplants the will of the voters or the decisions of the legislature. Even so, these interests do not address any specific reasons for the marriage laws at issue; instead, they represent the type of generalized, post hoc, and litigation-reactive justifications that strict scrutiny disallows.”

Jerry Cox, head of the Arkansas Family Council, did not like the ruling but was happy the ruling was suspended pending the appeal process. The AFC pushed the campaign that resulted in passage of Amendment 83.

"At least with this ruling, we know what we have and it's not unexpected in light of how other federal courts have ruled. It's our hope that eventually the will of the people of Arkansas will be upheld rather than the wishes of judges,” Cox said in this report from ABC News.

Chad Griffin, an Arkansas native and president of the national Human Rights Coalition, praised the ruling.

"More than five hundred committed and loving gay and lesbian couples have already married in the state of Arkansas, and two separate courts have now both declared that the state's ban on marriage equality is unconstitutional,” Griffin said in a statement. “There's no excuse for delaying justice even one more day. I am proud to be an Arkansan by birth, but I'll be even prouder when this shameful stain on the state Constitution is erased once and for all. Thanks to today's historic ruling and the courageous plaintiffs and attorneys who made it possible, that day is closer than ever before."

Coincidentally, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves overturned on Tuesday a same-sex marriage ban in Mississippi. Attorneys for the state said they would pursue an appeal of Reeves’ injunction against the ruling. Mississippi voters approved in 2004 a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and woman.

Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. (AECC) announced Tuesday (Nov. 25) that it plans to add 150 megawatts of potential “green power” to its energy portfolio after reaching a long-term purchase agreement with an Oklahoma wind producer.

The deal with The Origin Wind Farm located in Murray and Carter counties in southeast Oklahoma will enhance the Arkansas cooperative’s long-term commitment to “generation diversity,” said Duane Highley, president and CEO of AECC.

“With the addition of this wind energy, AECC has 201 megawatts of wind energy in its generation assets,” Highley said. “AECC has access to more than 459 megawatts of energy via hydroelectric generating stations and power purchase agreements in addition to our baseload assets. We continue to explore energy options to provide the 500,000 electric cooperative members in Arkansas with reliable, affordable energy.”

The Origin Wind Farm is owned by the North American subsidiary of the Enel Group, the Europe-based conglomerate that mainly focuses on energy generation from renewables sources. Enel operates some 750 plants in 16 countries across Europe and North America.

Enel’s installed capacity amounts to about 8,900 megawatts of wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal and biomass, company officials said. The global green energy supplier has announced plans to up its installed capacity to 13,400 megawatts by 2018, with a forecasted generation of about 45 billion kilowatts.

The Origin Wind Farm’s expected output from the 75 turbines on the 17,600 acre Oklahoma wind farm is 650,000 megawatt-hours, approximately enough energy to serve 50,000 homes. AECC will be the sole recipient of that power generation.

The Arkansas cooperative also has a long-term power purchase agreement with BP and Sempra U.S. Gas and Power for 51 megawatts from the Flat Ridge 2 South Wind Farm in Kansas.

“AECC has a diverse mix of energy including coal, natural gas, hydroelectric, biomass and wind to shield our members from potential spikes in generation fuel costs,” said Andrew Lachowsky, vice president of planning, rates and market operations for AECC. “The cooperative also works to secure the lowest cost power via the wholesale energy markets.”

Little Rock-based AECC said its agreement with Enel’s Oklahoma wind farm was made possible through the National Renewables Cooperative Organization (NRCO), which enables cooperatives nationwide to pool the ownership and benefits of renewable resources. The Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas comprise 17 electric distribution cooperatives across the state.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. The school celebrated the start of the holiday season on Tuesday (Nov. 25) evening by hosting its annual Campus Lighting Ceremony.

Hundreds of visitors made their way to UAFS to enjoy the holiday festivities and see the grounds transform with thousands of glowing lights. Hosted between the women and men's basketball games, the ceremony took place on the campus green, with the school's Bell Tower in the backdrop.

Miss UAFS 2013 Emily McCollom kicked off the evening by welcoming the crowd and introducing Chancellor Paul Beran. During the short program, visitors heard  a number of carols  sung by local performers. Members of the Academy of the Arts, a children's visual and performing arts program offered through the university, also took part in the festivities, singing several upbeat Christmas tunes for the crowd.

Homecoming Queen Annsley Garner and King Tony Jones led the countdown to the lights. The audience cheered as the campus lit up for the first time of the season.

Following the flipping of the switch, visitors were given the chance to roam throughout the grounds while enjoying hot chocolate. Guests also enjoyed a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus, and some elves from the North Pole. Many of the characters took time to snap photos with the children in attendance and talk with them about their Christmas wish lists.

This year's display includes several holiday scenes, including a traditional Christmas candlestick, prancing reindeer, and gift boxes topped with red bows. The school's signature UAFS blue Christmas tree stands in the center of the green, leading up to the bell tower. Lights are located throughout the center of campus, as well as along the perimeter facing Waldron Avenue. The lights will remain on display until the start of the new year.

A budget deficit of $229,000 the fiscal year 2015 Crawford County general fund budget has been narrowed to only a $91,064 gap between anticipated revenues and budget requests as the county's quorum court prepares to meet Thursday night (Dec. 4) to determine where to make cuts.

A planned meeting Monday (Dec. 1) did not have a quorum, meaning discussions could take place but no official business could be conducted.

According to Crawford County Judge John Hall, the remaining cuts to the county's budget have come from a few different areas.

"They took $100,000 from the election commission for an off-year election, so they won't have any expense for that," he said. "Actually, very little if any. They left $12,000 in there if they need anything else."

He said $10,000 was also cut from his office budget, as well as from the public defender's office. An additional $20,000 was cut from juvenile court. The only county department to not see cuts, Hall said, was the sheriff's department.

"Now they didn't touch the sheriff's department and never have. They've got over $1 million in unappropriated funds."

Requests for expenditures by all county departments totaled $7.226 million at the start of the budget cycle in October, but County Treasurer Beverly Pyle said the county only has anticipated revenues of $6.817 million.

The largest portion of the budget, 64.3%, goes to fund the sheriff's department and other law enforcement obligations. Requests by Sheriff Ron Brown in the 2015 budget include $2.263 million for the sheriff's department and $2.121 million for the county jail for a collective request of $4.384 million.

Brown said on Nov. 19 that his requests were reduced to help the county balance its budget this year, in spite of the fact that the majority of his requests include salaries. The personnel requests from his budget requests total $2.719 million. An additional $240,285 to hire six new jailers, he said, come from a portion of the quarter cent sales tax passed earlier this year to fund law enforcement operations.

"I made $140,000 (in cuts) at the last meeting (in November). What I basically did was cut the operations out of the general fund and just used the remaining balances of the automation funds and the Act 209 money and the sheriff's communications fund and that just leave salaries coming out of that (general fund)," he said at the time.

Hall said Monday that the county's new quarter-cent sales tax to fund law enforcement operations were expected to bring in the $1 million of unappropriated revenues next year and $1.5 million in 2016 before the jail opens. He added that it is unknown whether the court will seek to use any of the funds to shift budgetary burdens associated with the sheriff's department off the general fund.

"Out of that (unappropriated funds), if they use some of it to balance the budget or some of it to get (funding off) the back of the county, it's their (the quorum court's) decision," Hall said. "That's basically the only place there is money that is not (appropriated)."

He said the layoffs of county employees that had been discussed with the media earlier in the budget cycle are now off the table since the county has been able to find more than $140,000 in available cuts.

"There are several ways they can go after it, but it just depends on how the Quorum Court decides to do it," Hall said. "But we're not cutting the staffing positions. That ($90,000) would only cut two people."

As for how many more meetings of the court will be required to pin down a budget, Hall said it is an unknown at this point.

"It depends on where they try to cut, what type of argument ensues from where they're going to get it," he said. "But it does not involve cutting personnel, just where the cuts are going to come from and where they're going to try to find the money. There'll be different ideas from people on the court on where to try to find the money."

Thursday's Crawford County Quorum Court budget meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Crawford County Circuit Court, Courtroom 2 at 220 S. 4th St. in Van Buren.

Arkansas tax collections for the first five months of the fiscal year are up almost 3% with a healthy 8% gain in November gross revenue resulting primarily from “calendar-related shift effects from payroll timing.” However, consumer spending is almost flat based on some of the year-to-date tax collection totals.

Year-to-date gross revenue (July 2014-November 2014) totaled $2.456 billion, up $67.4 million, or 2.8%, over the 2013 period. The year-to-date tally is 0.5% above forecast, according to the report issued Tuesday (Dec. 2) by the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.

Individual income tax collections for the fiscal year totaled $1.171 billion, up 5% from last year and 1.1% above the budget forecast. Year-to-date sales and use tax collections were $921.8 million, up 0.8% compared to last year and 0.1% below the budget forecast. Income taxes and the sales and use tax collections are the two primary sources of state revenue.

“November results were above forecast in the two largest categories of collections. Individual Income tax collections were up 14.9 percent from year ago results and above forecast by 5.7 percent, reflecting calendar-related shift effects from payroll timing,” John Shelnutt, head of the Department of Finance and Administration’s Economic (DFA) Analysis & Tax Research division, explained in the report.

Corporate income tax collections for the first five reporting months of the fiscal year totaled $131.1 million, down 0.6% compared to last year and 0.8% below forecast.

NOVEMBER NUMBERS
November gross revenue was $464.6 million, up 8% from last year and 2.8% above forecast.

Individual income tax collections during November totaled $227.1 million, up 14.9% compared to November 2013 and above forecast by 5.7%.

November sales and use tax revenue was $180.5 million, up 3% compared to November 2013. The collections were 0.4% above budget forecast. Sales tax collections are a reflection of consumer spending and consumer confidence.

Corporate income tax collections in November totaled $6.4 million, which was below forecast by 15.2%, and off last year’s collections by about $200,000.

OTHER TAX COLLECTIONS
Alcoholic beverage
July 2014 - Nov. 2014: $22.3 million
July 2013 - Nov. 2013: $21.7 million

Games of skill
July 2014 - Nov. 2014: $17.1 million
July 2013 - Nov. 2013: $15.8 million

Tobacco
July 2014 - Nov. 2014: $94.6 million
July 2013 - Nov. 2013: $94.3 million

Insurance
July 2014 - Nov. 2014: $44.2 million
July 2013 - Nov. 2013: $43.5 million

COLLECTIONS HISTORY
Tax collections during fiscal year 2014 (July 2013-June 2014) totaled $6.242 billion, up 0.5% above the previous fiscal year and up just 0.2% compared to budget estimates. The year marked the fourth consecutive year of revenue increases. The fiscal year ended with a budget surplus of $78.7 million.

Tax collections during fiscal year 2013 (November 2012-November 2013) totaled $6.214 billion, up 4.9% above the previous fiscal year and up 2.5% compared to budget estimates. One result of the gains was a budget surplus of $299.5 million.

Arkansas tax collections reversed a negative two-year slide in the 2011 fiscal year, with collections up 4.5% in the November 2010-November 2011 period. State tax collections for fiscal year 2011 totaled $5.673 billion, up 4.5% above the $5.43 billion in the 2010 period.

The biggest declines in the 2009 and 2010 fiscal years were with individual income tax collections and sales and use tax collections.