100 YEARS AGO March 16, 1914

One stray, hungry mule nearly demoralized the Argenta police force last night, when about 9 o’clock it started to roam aimlessly along East Washington Avenue and the patrolman in that beat and several of his friends organized and went in force to put the mule under arrest. A crowd quickly formed, attracted by the voices of the pursuers, and a deputy constable and several bystanders tendered their services in the chase. Although the patrolman making the arrest declares that the animal was insulted when approached by a blue coat, he immediately became as gentle as a lamb when the same officer brought him a large bundle of hay and a sack of corn.Peace was declared by the mule, he signifying his intention to become a permanent boarder, by peacefully wagging his tail.

50 YEARS AGO March 16, 1964

EL DORADO - Rep. Oren Harris, speaking at the Arkansas Wildlife convention here yesterday, attacked a bill now pending in the Senate which would amend the federal firearms act. Harris said the second amendment to the Constitution guarantees the right of every citizen to keep and bear arms. “I intend to see that this right is safeguarded,” he said. The measure would require registration of firearms on all interstate sales and purchasers to provide affidavits as to their age, any criminal record and other information.

25 YEARS AGO March 16, 1989

The Little Rock School District’s popular proposal to permit students to attend the same schools next year that they attend now is in jeopardy of being rejected. As a result, an undetermined number of students could be mandatorily assigned next fall to schools they do not want to attend. Special Master Aubrey V. McCutcheon Jr. on Wednesday cited transportation costs and building capacity problems as hindering the plan.

10 YEARS AGO March 16, 2004

Less than a month after a federal appeals court panel affirmed the Little Rock School District’s status as partially desegregated, the district has filed documents asking for complete release from court supervision. U.S. District Judge Bill Wilson Jr., the presiding judge in the 21-year-old desegregation lawsuit, will determine whether the state’s largest district has substantially complied with a 1998 provision requiring the district to evaluate academic programs for their effectiveness in improving the achievement levels of black students.

Arkansas, Pages 16 on 03/16/2014