100 years ago
Aug. 21, 1921
HOT SPRINGS -- Announcement was made here tonight by Earl Witt of Mt. Ida, attorney for the Reverend Harding Hughes, charged with the murder of Mrs. Anna McKennon, whose trial is scheduled for September 12, that a petition would be presented to the county judge of Montgomery county, requesting that official to designate the schoolhouse at Mt. Ida as the place in which to hold the trial. The courthouse at that place has been condemned. Anticipating the greatest crowd that ever attended a criminal trial in the history of Montgomery county, officials believe that were the courthouse used, an accident would occur, hence the effort to secure the schoolhouse.
50 years ago
Aug. 21, 1971
• Arkansas Power and Light Company did not violate rules of the state Public Service Commission in its policies on extending electrical service to the all-black community of New Hope in Columbia County, according to a staff report to the Commission. Roy Nix, an engineer for the Commission, reported in a memorandum to the Commission that investigators had determined that AP and L could not extend service to the New Hope customers at a cheaper rate than it had proposed to the residents without discriminating against its other customers.
25 years ago
Aug. 21, 1996
• Arkansans at the lowest end of the pay scale were on their way to a raise Tuesday after President Clinton signed the 90-cent minimum wage increase into law, but some businessmen said they aren't looking forward to it. A union official said, however, that the new wage should be of broad help. Effective Oct. 1, the federal minimum wage will go from $4.25 an hour to $4.75 an hour and to $5.15 an hour on Sept. 1, 1997. "It's a definite improvement," said Don Beavers, secretary-treasurer of the Arkansas AFL-CIO.
10 years ago
Aug. 21, 2011
• When an Arkansas 911 dispatcher answers a call, he knows little more than the phone number and, in some cases, the location of the caller. A Massachusetts company and an emergency management advocate from North Little Rock want to increase what dispatchers see when someone calls in, which they say could lead to faster responses by emergency personnel, more accurate medical service and the ability to locate missing children more quickly. It would cost the state about $1 million the first year and $600,000 a year thereafter, said Todd Miller, vice president of public safety for Rave Mobile Safety in Framingham, Mass.