Tornadoes verified in Northwest area
The National Weather Service has confirmed that three tornadoes touched down during storms Monday evening in Northwest Arkansas.
A survey team rated an EF1 twister with winds up to 110 mph in Washington County, said National Weather Service warning coordinator John Robinson of the North Little Rock office. The tornado formed in Adair County, Okla., and traveled 2.7 miles before ending 1.6 miles north of Cincinnati.
A second EF1 tornado touched down in the Rocky Branch area, about 6 miles southeast of Rogers in Benton County, Robinson said.
The weather service crew also confirmed a tornado north of Siloam Springs, but did not include its path or wind speed.
No tornadoes were confirmed in the region that the National Weather Service’s North Little Rock office covers - all but the corners of the state, Robinson said.
Crews from the North Little Rock office did inspect several locations in White County, but said damage there was caused by strong thunderstorms.
Austin Deere, 19, of Prairie Grove was killed in Springdale on Monday evening, when 70-mph winds blew a street sign off a pole and through the windshield of a car he was driving, police said.
Robinson said 15 tornadoes have been confirmed in the state this year. Last year, there were 10 tornadoes through May.
- ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Crossett teacher faces sex charges
A former Crossett High School agriculture teacher is facing sexual-assault charges after an Arkansas State Police investigation.
Amanda Leigh Reilly, 31, faces two counts of seconddegree sexual assault and one count of solicitation of first-degree sexual assault, according to court documents from Prosecuting Attorney Thomas Deen’s office in Monticello.
She will have her first appearance and be formally charged June 24 in Hamburg.
Crossett School Board President Glenn McIntyre said Thursday that the board accepted Reilly’s resignation May 13 but declined to comment further.
A number for Reilly, who now lives in Greenbrier, could not be located. She had no attorney on file as of Thursday, according to the Ashley County circuit clerk’s office.
An Arkansas State Police report dated April 22 said officials at Crossett High School were alerted by the parents of a 16-year-old male about “inappropriate” text messages between their son and Reilly “regarding hugging,” and that they “were concerned for his safety.”
When confronted about the allegations by Crossett School District Superintendent Tommy Tyler and Crossett High School Principal Alicia Brown, Reilly denied inappropriate conduct withthe student, the state police report said.
On April 3, the student’s mother told state police investigators that her son was noticeably upset, saying to his mother that Reilly “won’t leave me alone with these text messages,” the report said.
- ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Homeowner kills suspected burglar
RUSSELLVILLE - A man who authorities believe entered a Russellville home with the intent of burglarizing it died Thursday, a day after the resident shot him, police said.
Authorities had not released the name of the man, who died in a Little Rock hospital, or the resident as of Thursday afternoon.
Investigators determined shortly after the shooting, which occurred about 4 p.m. Wednesday, that a Russellville-area man with a firearm entered the home while the resident was there, Russellville police spokesman Drew Latch said.
“The resident shot the armed suspect in his home,” Latch added in a news release.
Latch said in an interview Thursday that police did not at this time believe the men knew each other. The motive for the break-in appeared to be burglary, Latch said.
Latch said the case was still under investigation.
Once the police have gathered their information, they will turn it over to the prosecuting attorney’s office for review. That office will then decide whether to charge the resident.
Latch declined to say what kind of firearm either man had. He also would not comment on details such as whether there was an exchange of gunfire or how many shots were fired.
- ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Vandals damage
Joplin city park
JOPLIN - Police in Joplin are looking for the vandals who damaged a city park on the eve of a ceremony for the second anniversary of the May 2011 tornado.
KOLR-TV reports crews were able to repair the damage in time for Wednesday’s observance, which drew U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and other dignitaries.
Police say the vandalism at Cunningham Park occurred sometime Tuesday night. Someone broke a lock on a fence around a swimming pool and opened a valve, allowing more than 200,000 gallons of water to drain out.
Large landscaping rocks around a reflecting pond were also thrown into the water. Total damage is estimated at roughly $4,000.
About 2,500 people attended Wednesday’s observance at the park, where 161 trees have been planted to honor the 161 people killed in the tornado.
- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 12 on 05/25/2013