Boozman honors fallen law officers
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. John Boozman paid tribute last week to Arkansas law enforcement officials who have died in the line of duty.
In a speech on the Senate floor, he paid tribute to Drew County Sheriff's Deputy Timothy Braden, Newport Police Lt. Patrick Weatherford, Yell County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Mainhart and Turrell Police Chief Keith Bradford Sr.
Each of the men, Boozman said, had demonstrated "courage and determination in the face of danger."
"These heroes, like all members of the law enforcement community, commit their lives to protecting the public. In their profession there is no such thing as an off-duty officer. Answering a call for help is ingrained in who they are," he said.
The Arkansas men's names have been added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial; they join more than 21,000 other Americans who have given their lives in the line of duty.
Tuesday was National Peace Officers Memorial Day.
Braden, Weatherford and Mainhart died in 2017. Bradford suffered a heart attack while on duty in 2014, two hours after helping with a high-speed chase.
Overall, 360 names were added to the memorial, which is located in downtown Washington.
In his speech, Boozman noted that he had co-sponsored the Honoring Hometown Heroes Act, which allows governors to have flags lowered to half-staff when a first responder dies in the line of duty.
The provision was included in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which is now law, he noted.
Arkansan: Fund cancer research
Abbie Luzius of Lowell traveled to Capitol Hill last week to urge members of the Arkansas congressional delegation to support funding for cancer research.
Luzius, who volunteers for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, was one of more than 100 people who participated in the 19th annual One Voice Against Cancer lobby day.
The activists are seeking $39.3 billion for the National Institutes of Health, $6.375 billion for the National Cancer Institute and $514 million for cancer programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"This money is needed because cancer is still very much a real issue today," she said. "This year alone we're going to see 1.7 million new cases of people diagnosed with cancer and over 600,000 cancer-related deaths."
Hope Cancer is a nonprofit organization. "Everything we do is free of charge for cancer patients and their families," Luzius said. "We have a lot of people that come from all over the state."
Luzius, a prevention education specialist at Hope Cancer Resources in Springdale, met with U.S. Sen. John Boozman, U.S. Rep. Steve Womack and with staff members for U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton.
Israel visit came at turbulent time
Connor Flocks, a student at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, picked a historic week to travel to Israel.
The former University of Arkansas, Fayetteville student body president arrived Monday, one hour before the dedication of the new American Embassy in Jerusalem.
He knew there was trouble as soon as he was able to establish an Internet connection.
The BBC headline stated: "Deadliest clashes in weeks as nine Palestinians killed by Israeli troops ahead of new US Jerusalem embassy ceremony."
The death toll, Flocks noted in an email, was ultimately far higher.
Some counts put it at 60 or higher.
While the embassy dedication angered many Palestinians, it was welcomed by many Israelis.
Flocks said he passed banners reading "Trump is a Friend of Zion" and "Trump Make Israel great." American flags were also fluttering along the roadway as he passed.
He also encountered people wearing "Make America Great Again" hats, he noted.
Flocks, who is from Greenwood, will be working this summer with a company called MassChallenge. "It's a nonprofit startup accelerator that delivers curriculum, mentorship, and funding in a competition based platform to early stage high-impact startup businesses in the region," he wrote. "My project is simply completing an internship where I will help them run the program and conduct real-time surveys to ensure [programming] meets the needs of the 52 companies that are participating in their program this summer."
Cotton misses bid to again be fastest
For years, U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton was the fastest lawmaker -- as in running -- on Capitol Hill, but the title was stripped from him last year by U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, a first-term Republican from Wisconsin.
Cotton, 41, had hoped to reclaim bragging rights from Gallagher, 34, at Wednesday's ACLI Capital Challenge.
Instead, the Republican from Dardanelle spent the morning at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, where he voted to confirm Gina Haspel's nomination as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Gallagher, who completed the 3-mile race in 18 minutes and 55 second, was the fastest lawmaker again this year.
In an interview, Cotton said he regretted missing the competition.
"It's a great race every year for a very good cause, for seeing-eye dogs for wounded veterans. I had to be at work to ensure that Gina was confirmed but wish I could have been at the race to support a good cause. I will be back next year," he said.
Cotton topped the field of lawmakers his first four years on Capitol Hill. His best time, 17 minutes and 55 seconds, was in 2013.
The record, 16 minutes and 59 seconds, was set by then-U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon of Tennessee in 1995.
Planning to visit the nation's capital? Know something happening in Washington, D.C.? Please contact Frank Lockwood at (202) 662-7690 or [email protected]. Want the latest from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Washington bureau? It's available on Twitter, @LockwoodFrank.
SundayMonday on 05/20/2018