The state in brief

Man jailed in domestic incident

NORTH LITTLE ROCK — A man was arrested Friday evening in a domestic disturbance involving his ex-girlfriend, according to an arrest report. Officers were sent just after 6 p.m. to the 2600 block of West 58th Street to investigate after receiving a call from a woman who said her ex-boyfriend, Brad Deweese, 36, was trying to break into her residence, the report said. The woman said she had just been released from a hospital after an altercation Wednesday in which Deweese held her in her apartment for several hours and beat her, the report said. Deweese was arrested and taken to the Pulaski County jail, where he was being held without bail. He is charged with felony kidnapping, felony aggravated assault and felony domestic battery.

— ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Donation boosts breast cancer screening

HOT SPRINGS — The Arvest Foundation has made a $10,000 donation to the St. Vincent Infirmary Development Foundation to improve breast cancer screenings at the Breast Center at CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs. A news release said the donation to the St. Vincent Infirmary Development Foundation will be used to purchase and install four 3D mammography systems to the breast center and the mammography bus; serve more women who visit the breast center at CHI St. Vincent in Hot Springs; and improve the process of breast cancer screening with updated technology. The CHI St. Vincent Foundation is the nonprofit branch of the CHI St. Vincent regional health network. The foundation is in Little Rock, but serves all of central and southwest Arkansas as part of CHI St. Vincent’s healing ministry and mission to provide high quality, compassionate care. “We are incredibly grateful to the Arvest Foundation for this donation,” Kathy Taylor, CHI St Vincent Foundation’s market director of development, said in the release.

— THE SENTINEL-RECORD

Award recognizes museum program

LITTLE ROCK — The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History received the “Outstanding Achievement in Education Award” at the Arkansas Museums Association annual business meeting, the city announced last week. The museum was given the award for the Reading Brigade, its youth literacy program for students in pre-kindergarten-through-fifth grade. Lessons consist of reading a book about U.S. military history aloud to students followed by activities that meet common core standards in literacy. These activities include crafts, drawing, character analysis and plot mapping, among others. Last year, the program served more than 11,000 students, coordinating with the Little Rock School District and the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.

— ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

District signs next superintendent

NORTH LITTLE ROCK — The School Board agreed to contract terms with the next superintendent of the 8,000-student district. Board President Dorothy Williams last week signed the contract after the board met in executive session, completing the hiring of Gregory Pilewski. Pilewski was deputy superintendent of Queen Anne’s County School District in Maryland when he was offered the job last month. He is expected to take over the new position at the end of the semester. The other finalists were Keith McGee, interim superintendent of the School District, and John Tharpe, executive director of Hamilton County Schools in Tennessee. The finalists did live interviews with the public using the Zoom online platform, with board members receiving public input before making their decision.

— ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Sheriff’s office seeks help in 2019 death

HOT SPRINGS — The Garland County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help on any information regarding the homicide of Calvin Ward, 37, of Hot Springs, whose body was found in August 2019 in a home on Black Bear Lane after a fire. According to a news release, on Aug. 10, 2019, shortly after 1:30 a.m., sheriff’s deputies and Morningstar Fire Department firefighters responded to a fire at 113 Black Bear Lane. After extinguishing the blaze, firefighters found a body later identified as Ward’s. “This is an active investigation and those with information are urged to contact Investigator Cpl. Kenny Ford at

(501) 622-3690 or [email protected]. You may also leave a message on our anonymous tip line at (501) 622-3674,” the release said.

— THE SENTINEL-RECORD

Road work bids total $106 million

EL DORADO — A $33.5 million project to widen a section of U.S. 82 in Union County was among 16 projects on which the Arkansas Department of Transportation opened low bids totaling $106 million. D&J Construction Co. of West Monroe, La., bested bids by McGeorge Contracting Co. of Pine Bluff and JB James Construction LLC of Baton Rouge, La., to win the right to widen to four lanes a 6.1-mile section of U.S. 82 from U.S. 82B in El Dorado west to Airport Drive. The project is part of the $1.8 billion Connecting Arkansas Program, a road construction initiative focusing on regionally significant corridors, including U.S. 82 between El Dorado and Texarkana. It’s the second project on which bids have been opened under the program.JB James Construction is widening a 5.5-mile section of U.S. 82 in Columbia County between U.S. 79 and Columbia County Road 27 under a $34.2 million contract awarded earlier this year.

— ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

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