Election season is over
Election season is over
Maumelle City Council report, Veterans Day ceremony this Friday, Football playoffs begin Friday plus headlines
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On to the next one.
Death toll keeps dropping
The total number of dead Arkansans this past week was 17.
Last week, it was 54 and the week before that it was 56.
The total number of dead Arkansans is now at 12,523
Covid toolkit
There’s now a one-stop shop to learn about vaccination sites and other Covid related information. Click here to learn more.
If you don’t want to get sick and die, there’s some things you can do:
Get vaccinated
Get boosted
Wear a mask
Avoid crowdsThe Headlines
Upcoming meetings: The North Little Rock City Council will meet next Monday and the School Board for the Pulaski County Special School District had its meeting moved to this Tuesday night.
Upcoming events: The City of Maumelle is having a Veterans Day Ceremony at the Veterans Memorial on Lake Willastein at 10 a.m. this Friday. Among those attending will the students at Maumelle Charter Middle School and retired Judge Roger Harrod will be the speaker. In case of inclement weather, the event will be at the Jess Odom Community Center.
Shows, shows, shows: The theater department at North Little Rock High School is putting Wizard of Oz on this week. Click here to buy tickets or the flyer below for more information. Also, personal favorite Amanda Shires has a concert this Tuesday at the Rev Room in downtown Little Rock. Click here for tickets. Her husband, Jason Isbell, will not be playing backup that night as he and his band are currently touring Europe. If sports are more your thing, Little Rock is hosting Ole Miss at 1 p.m. this Sunday in a women’s college basketball game. Buy tickets here. The game also features the Joe Foley Court Dedication. Foley is the long-time women’s coach there and was previously at Arkansas Tech where he won multiple national titles. The following Sunday, Little Rock hosts the Arkansas Razorbacks in another must-watch women’s game. Both games will also be on ESPN+.
Maumelle Civil Service Commission vacancy
The Maumelle City Council is accepting resumes from residents interested in service on the Maumelle Civil Service Commission. An appointment will be made to fill the remainder a six year term ending May, 2023.
An applicant must be a good citizen and a resident of Maumelle for more than three years, not holding or being a candidate for political office or be connected in any official capacity with any political party or organization.
Resumes should be submitted to the City Clerk/Treasurer’s Office, 550 Edgewood Drive, Maumelle, Arkansas 72113 no later than 4 p.m., Nov. 16. Applicants will be interviewed by the City Council at the regular City Council meeting Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. at City Hall. An appointment will be made following the interviews.
For more information, contact City Clerk/Treasurer Tina Timmons at 851-2500.
Election Night, glad that’s done
Election Night saw some unsurprising wins as the power of incumbency prevailed in the Maumelle Mayor’s race between Mayor Caleb Norris and challenger Jodie Mahony.
Election Night saw some unsurprising wins as the power of incumbency prevailed in the Maumelle Mayor’s race between Mayor Caleb Norris and challenger Jodie Mahony as Norris won easily.
So did Pulaski County Sheriff Eric Higgins who beat Paul “Blue” Keller and North Little Rock Council Member Linda Robinson also won easily.
It wasn’t so good for School Board President Lindsey Gustafson, who lost her Zone 5 race to Wendy Potter nor North Little Rock Council Member Jane Ginn who lost a nail-biter to challenger Vince Insalaco III by all of three votes.
In other races we tracked on Election Night, political newcomer Christine Gronwald won her race for Maumelle City Council. And so did Brandon Achor, who claimed a seat in the state legislature as the Republican easily defeated John Pack and Aaron Raatz.
“Me and Kaley are incredibly humbled and enthusiastic for the opportunity to serve our hometown beyond the pharmacy counter,” Achor wrote in an email. “The outpouring of encouragement from this district has been constant and we will honor their trust to represent all of District 71 with tangible accessibility and transparency. We want to congratulate Mr. Pack and Mr. Raatz on their commitment to public service and hope they remain active advocates in our communities. From the bottom of our hearts we sincerely Thank all of you.”
These results are still unofficial and will be certified later this month by the Pulaski County Election Commission. Some late-arriving ballots could come in the mail but with the exception of Insalaco’s win, they won’t have sufficient numbers to change any of Tuesday’s results.
Read our Tuesday night coverage by clicking here.
The percentage of voters doesn’t reflect the number of over and under votes in reach race. Over votes are typically rare, but under votes, where a voter didn’t select a candidate in that race. Under votes had a significant impact on some races.
For example, voters didn’t pick a candidate in the PCSSD race at a rate of 24 percent. It isn’t anything nefarious or underhanded, very few voters select a candidate in every race. Pulaski County had under votes in every race on the ballot.
Results are broken down by candidate, total votes and percentage, winner in bold
State Representative District 71
LIB Aaron Robert Raatz … 256 … 2.60%
REP Brandon Achor … 5,566 … 56.58
DEM John J. Pack … 3,790 … 38.52%
Pulaski County Sheriff
REP Paul "Blue" Keller … 48,493 ... 38.99%
DEM Sheriff Eric Higgins … 73,185 ... 58.84%
Maumelle Mayor
Jodie Mahony … 2,608 … 33.98%
Mayor Caleb Norris … 4,596 … 59.87%
Maumelle Council Member Ward 1 Position 2
Christine Gronwald 1,223 … 59.28%
David Cole ... 512 … 24.82%
North Little Rock Council Member Ward 2, Position 2
Council Member Linda Robinson 1,914 … 53.08%
Nicole Hart 1,382 … 38.32%
North Little Rock Council Member Ward 4, Position 2
Jane Ginn, City Council Member.. 2,853 ... 46.63%
Vince Insalaco III.. 2,856 ... 46.68%
Pulaski County Special School Board Zone 5
Lindsey Gustafson … 1,634 … 34.02%
Wendy Potter … 2,012 … 41.89%
North Little Rock: Leaf removal begins Monday
The best thing about living in North Little Rock begins this Monday, Nov. 14, and best thing means the leaf pickup trucks that rumble around the city, vacuuming up those hated leaves.
The city’s Sanitation Department will begin leaf pickup this Monday, Nov. 14 in Ward 4 this year.
For more information, call 501-906-6327.
Maumelle: City Council report
Council updates animal registration fee and fine schedule for animals; Pickleball in Maumelle moves to the next step with approval for engineering and design work.
This week’s council meeting was relatively brief with quick action taken on several ordinances that were up for a vote.
The first item of old business was the final reading of an ordinance that will change the annual animal registration fee for pets in Maumelle. For sterilized and microchipped pets, there are no changes and the annual fee remains $5. The new rules would require a higher $75 annual fee if a pet is unsterilized. Additionally, the fine structure had not been adjusted in many years so the fees for loose pets, and animals that cause injuries were increased. Most pet owners will not see any changes to their annual registration fee of $5 as long as their pet is sterilized and is microchipped. These changes passed by a 6-2 vote of the council.
The next item of business was an ordinance that cleaned up and clarified language regarding land use and rezoning amendments that go through our planning process. With the existing ordinance, there was some ambiguity with how it could be interpreted, so this language was further clarified to align with how the city handles these requests. This passed 6-2.
Next, the council approved a change to the city’s Master Street Plan to update the preferred route for a future street. The area in question would be from the White Oak Crossing interchange going east towards Hwy 365. This change in the street plan aligns the future road better with the area and is more suitable for a future connection with Hwy 365. This passed 6-2.
Finally in new business, the council approved another ordinance to clarify language and filing procedures for submissions to our planning department. Like the earlier ordinance we passed, this change aligns our city code with bylaws put in place by the Planning Commission. It passed 6-2.
In new business, was a request for a hearing at the Nov. 21 council meeting where we will review a proposed Property Owner Multi-purpose Improvement District. This will be for the Devoe Bend neighborhood that’s currently under development. This hearing was approved.
Also in new business, was an ordinance sponsored by Council Member Michael Tierney which would double the current business licensing fees the city collects annually.
Home-based businesses would go from $25 to $50.
Commercial, Retail and Professional businesses would go from $50 to $100.
Industrial businesses would go from $100 to $200.
Additionally, this ordinance would dedicate 50% of the business license fees to go directly to the Police/Fire Fund. Lastly, this ordinance would require the city to display a list on our city’s website home page of all businesses that are past due. Currently, annual fees are due on Jan 31 and this ordinance would require the city to post a list on February 1 of all businesses who have not registered and paid their annual fee. There was a little bit of discussion among council members of not wanting to raise taxes or fees on businesses in our city. I also had concerns about automatically dedicating half of these fees to police/fire since that would restrict the ability of the council to use city funds for other purposes in the future. One other concern I had was the image this would project to current and future businesses by having a “Past-due Business Registration” list prominently displayed on our city’s home page. The timing of when this list would be published on Feb 1 would also be complicated by the fact that registration fees aren’t due until the end of January. This ordinance will be read two more times and voted on Dec 5th.
Next in new business was a budget resolution to approve an additional $25,000 in this year’s street budget so that our Public Works Department can continue making needed repairs to Champs Boulevard in our Industrial Park. This road has seen a lot of construction traffic this year which has caused parts of the roadway to fail. It’s important for the city to keep this vital roadway in good shape to support our city’s partners in the Industrial Park. This request was approved 6-2.
Finally in new business, Mayor Caleb Norris presented a request to use $100,000 in funds we received from the American Rescue Plan to design and engineer pickleball courts in Maumelle. A few weeks ago, the city held an event for the public to come out and learn about this popular and growing sport. This event was very well attended and exceeded the numbers we expected to participate. In a survey afterwards, 64 residents left positive comments about Pickleball and were supportive of moving forward. The council approved the funds for design and engineering by a 6-2 vote.
That was the extent of our council agenda this week. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Chad, 501-529-1336, chad4maumelle@gmail.com
Steve Mosley: Update on dog legislation
Council Member Steve Mosley sends along an update on the Oct. 17 meeting of the Maumelle City Council along with some observations from the Monday night meeting.
In the October 17th meeting, we had the 2nd reading of Council Member Jess Holt's proposed Ordinance No. 1078 that contained provisions raising animal fines and fees. During the discussion, I reminded the Council of the recent Pit Bull attack in Maumelle this past summer and brought up an even more tragic attack from the Memphis area recently in which 2 small children were attacked and killed by the family's 2 Pit Bull dogs. I found out about this latest attack from several residents who emailed questioning our Council's judgement in lifting our own longstanding ban against such dogs. I said that because the Council lifted our longstanding ban in 2021 without allowing the residents vote on the matter, the Pit Bull subject would very likely continue to be a hot button topic. I suggested that we again consider settling this matter once and for all by allowing the residents to vote on whether they wanted Pit Bulls here in Maumelle.
After some discussion, those Council Members who were present voted unanimously to ask the City Attorney to research how to put such a referendum on the ballot in the March 2024 Presidential Primary Election.
In last Monday's Council meeting, the Council unanimously passed Council Member Holt's ordinance on animal fines and fees. As to the possibility of a referendum on the Pit Bull subject, City Attorney reported back on the procedure it would take to put that question on the March 2024 ballot. After much discussion on the pros and cons, I asked City Attorney Missi Krebs to go ahead and prepare the necessary resolution and associated paperwork to be presented at the next Council meeting on November 21.
It is my hope that Council Members and residents can agree that putting this subject to a vote by residents on the 2024 ballot is the best way to put this safety issue to rest once and for all. Basically, if the Council votes to pass the resolution for the referendum at our Nov. 21 Council meeting, the matter will be referred to the Pulaski County Election Commission, and Maumelle residents will have a chance to vote "yes" or "no" to decide the issue in March 2024.
Sports
Football: North Little Rock hosts Southside as playoffs start
Maumelle and Central Arkansas Christian both lost last week in the regular season finales and those seasons are complete and on to basketball.
North Little Rock also lost to Cabot but the ‘Cats were already assured of a playoff bid and will host Fort Smith Southside this Friday.
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Maumelle’s season is over
Record: Maumelle (3-7)
Streamer: Natural State Sports
Hootens.com Rankings: Maumelle ends the season ranked No. 24 in 5A.
Last week: Maumelle rallied in the second half against Beebe last week but it wasn’t enough as the Badgers held on for the 29-22 win. Quarterback Weston Pierce threw for 120 yards in the loss and the senior now has 1,295 yards on the season, while Alan Timmons led the team in receptions with five catches for 45 yards and a touchdown. Timmons now has 501 yards on the season.
Class 5A Playoff bracket: The Hornets, with just one win in conference play, finished No. 8 in the nine-team 5A-Central.
For highlights click here.
Season schedule
Aug. 26: Maumelle 28, Sylvan Hills 27 (OT)
Sept. 1: Maumelle 35, Batesville 0
Sept. 9: White Hall 44, Maumelle 24
Sept. 23: Pine Bluff 26, Maumelle 0
Sept. 30: Mills 30, Maumelle 0
Oct. 7: Robinson 35, Maumelle 30
Oct. 14: At Morrilton 35, Maumelle 14
Oct. 21: Maumelle 39, Watson Chapel 38 (OT)
Oct. 28: Vilonia 49, Beebe 28
Nov. 4: At Beebe 29, Maumelle 22
For the roster, click here.
CAC’s season is over
Records: CAC (2-8), Lamar (7-2)
Hootens.com Rankings: CAC ends the season at No. 37 in 4A.
Last week: CAC lost last week to Lamar, 59-28, and whiule the Mustangs only managed two wins this season, they lost in style averaging 25.5 points a game with an offense highlighted by sophomore quarterback Grayson Wilson, who passed for 1,737 yards and 19 touchdowns, while rushing for 530 yards and seven more scores. Wilson already has Division I scholarship offers from Illinois, among others.
Class 4A Playoff bracket: Five teams get in the 4A-4 and they’ll be: Harmony Grove, Pottsville, Bauxite, Lamar and Clinton.
Highlights
Season schedule
Aug. 26: Lonoke 41, CAC 13
Sept. 2: Perryville 35, CAC 31
Sept. 9: Bauxite 37, CAC 14
Sept. 16 Harmony Grove 35, CAC 14
Sept. 23: CAC 21, Little Rock Hall 19
Sept. 30: Mayflower 33, CAC 14
Oct. 7: Pottsville 35, CAC 34
Oct. 14 Clinton 63, CAC 45
Oct. 21: CAC 41, Dover 14
Nov. 4: At Lamar 59, CAC 28
For the roster, click here
Fort Smith Southside at North Little Rock
Records: North Little Rock (5-5, No. 4 seed from the 7A-Central), Fort Smith Southside (4-6, No. 5 seed from the 7A-West)
Streamer: NLRTV
Hootens.com Rankings: North Little Rock stays at No. 8 in Class 7A, while Southside is No. 10.
Last week: Cabot jumped out early and the Panthers were up 35-0 in the third quarter to activate the running clock. North Little Rock scored a late touchdown to set the final margin at 35-7. Senior quarterback Malachi Gober threw for 108 yards in the
Class 7A Playoff bracket: North Little Rock is the No. 4 seed from the 7A-Central and will host Fort Smith Southside this Friday. In terms of common opponents, both teams lost to Fayetteville in the regular season but North Little Rock beat Fort Smith Northside, while Southside lost the season-opening Battle of Rogers Avenue.
For stats, click here.
Highlights
Season schedule
Aug. 26: Little Rock Catholic 23, North Little Rock 6
Sept. 2: Fayetteville 28, North Little Rock 10
Sept. 16: North Little Rock 28, Little Rock Parkview 27 (2 OT)
Sept. 23: North Little Rock 53, Little Rock Central 8
Sept. 30: At Conway 35, North Little Rock 0
Oct. 7: North Little Rock 50, Little Rock Southwest 8
Oct. 14: North Little Rock 28, Jonesboro 14
Oct. 21: North Little Rock 38, Fort Smith Northside 14
Oct. 28: Bryant 45, North Little Rock 14
Friday Cabot 35, North Little Rock 7
Nov. 11: First round of the Class 7A playoffs | Fort Smith Southside at North Little Rock … 7 p.m.
Nov. 18: Second round of the Class 7A playoffs | Winner travels to Bentonville… 7 p.m.
For the roster, click here.