100 YEARS AGO Sept. 24, 1913
A bold attempt to break jail was made Tuesday night by Joe Johnson, a white man, held for trial in the circuit court on three charges of forgery. Jailer Clifton Evans was forewarned of Johnson’s intentions, and when he retired Tuesday night he told Night Jailer Syd Thomas to keep an eye on him. Jailer Thomas heard Johnson when he set to work, but permitted him to continue his operations, as he knew it would be impossible for him to saw through the bars in one night. A few days ago J. W. Rogers, a white man awaiting trial on a grand larceny charge, informed Jailer Clifton Evans that Johnson had secured a piece of steel and was making a saw. From that time on, a close watch was kept on Johnson.
50 YEARS AGO Sept. 24, 1963 FORT SMITH - The Fort Smith School Board legal committee told a meeting of the board last night that it has recommended to board attorneys that any move to digress from the school’s grade-a-year integration program be resisted. The legal committee’s action followed the filing of a suit in U.S. District Court here attacking the plan. At this time, one student is enrolled in one of Fort Smith’s two junior high schools and 26 are currently attending elementary schools.
25 YEARS AGO Sept. 24, 1988
Not all of the calls made from the state Highway and Transportation Department these days deal with paving materials. A check of the department’s phone bills for nine months of 1988 by the Arkansas Democrat showed regular calls to “adult message services,” more commonly called dial-a-porn. The calls show up monthly, except for August, on the department’s bills from AT&T. “I wasn’t aware of this,” Maurice Smith, state highway director, said when asked about the phone bills Friday. Smith said he planned to check into the situation and that taxpayers should not be paying for those types of calls.
10 YEARS AGO Sept. 24, 2003
Air travelers in Arkansas and elsewhere are taking a shine to the industry’s increasing reliance on self-service check-in options. Efficiency is the reason that options like automated kiosks and Web sites are gaining popularity, airlines say. Delta Air Lines has six new self-service kiosks and four special telephones at Little Rock National Airport, Adams Field, in addition to traditional lines for agents. At the kiosks travelers can perform such tasks as getting a boarding a pass and changing a seat.
Arkansas, Pages 10 on 09/24/2013