100 YEARS AGO Jan. 16, 1914
Anti-license advocates in Little Rock are circulating cards on which is printed the statement that during the first 15 days in January, 1913, there were 270 cases in the Little Rock Police Court, 86 of which were charged with drunkenness. During the first 15 days of January, 1914, the card states there were 138 cases in the court and five were charges of drunkenness. “Business is good in Little Rock,” is the final statement.
50 YEARS AGO Jan. 16, 1964
Newport Chief of Police Tom Stroud has stepped up security at the city hall after it was robbed last week. Here’s what happened: Somebody called in a fire alarm early one morning. Police and firemen usually on duty at the building left to make the fire call. They were gone eight minutes. While they were out, thieves smashed a window and entered the city clerk’s off ice, went straight to the vault, which had a faulty lock, and picked up four sacks containing 150 pounds of parking meter pennies. They left through the main entrance of the office. Night radio operator Ben Lindsay was the only man on duty, and from his completely enclosed room, he could hear nothing. The fire? It was a false alarm.
25 YEARS AGO Jan. 16, 1989
Little Rock restaurateur Robert “Say” McIntosh began a vigil Sunday evening on the steps of the state Capitol to raise $30,000 for the beleaguered Urban League of Arkansas Inc. Wearing a knit cap, a sweater and gloves, McIntosh arrived at the state Capitol about 7:15 p.m. He brought a large cushioned chair, a pot of poinsettias, because he said he loves flowers, and a 30-gallon plastic trash can for donations. He said he would sit in the chair for 12 hours every night until he either collects the money or “until I freeze to death.”
10 YEARS AGO Jan. 16, 2004
The Arkansas House of Representatives, a bulwark against enrollment-based school district consolidation for 38 days, passed a bill Thursday that would consolidate districts on the basis of enrollment. Those with fewer than 350 students are targeted. Sponsors said they hope the Senate, to which the bill now moves, will agree, settling the current special legislative session’s most contentious issue. On Thursday, the 39th day, this became the longest special legislative session in Arkansas at least since 1953. House Bill 1109 by Rep. Will Bond, D-Jacksonville, passed 65-28 after just 13 minutes of discussion.
Arkansas, Pages 12 on 01/16/2014