The Arkansas Project

The First Rule of Fight Club…

By David Kinkade - August 26, 2008 9:45 am

What would Tyler Durden do?

…is that you probably shouldn’t pit 3- and 4-year old kids against one another in some kind of Toddler Time Death Match.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Michelle Bradford reports that two teachers at a church pre-school in Fayetteville have lost their jobs after it was learned that they were having students fight one another during “circle time” while everyone else watched:

Fayetteville police Sgt. John Warren said the investigation was launched Thursday after a parent reported teachers forcing 3- and 4-year-old students to fight during “circle time.” The kids had to fight while the rest of the class watched, and the teachers told them not to tell their parents, Warren said.

The teachers’ names have not been released, but they may face charges of endangering the welfare of minors. In addition, state health officials will be reviewing the facility’s child-care license.

Pop Quiz, Hotshot!

By David Kinkade - August 23, 2008 11:06 am

You’re in a high speed chase and you realize that you’re low on fuel. What do you do? What do you do?

Well, I suppose you could have one of your passengers climb into the back of the truck and refill the tank from a gas can. Here’s how that works out, as detailed by reporter Noel Oman in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette today (full story available to subscribers only):

Stopping at a service station wasn’t an option and so the truck’s occupants did the next best thing. While the truck was speeding down Interstate 40, one of the men climbed from the cab into the truck bed, opened a container of gasoline and started refilling the truck’s tank. All the while the truck was reaching speeds exceeding 80 mph….

Alas, the effort to refill the thirsty truck wasn’t enough. A truck doesn’t get great gas mileage at excessive speed while towing a trailer. North Little Rock police eventually picked up the chase on South Kerr Road into rural Lonoke County, where the truck ran out of gas in the parking lot of the Panola Missionary Baptist Church.

The perps were being pursued by a North Little Rock businessman, Steve Jenkins, after he found them on his property and suspected them of being “up to no good.” And he was right: They allegedly stole some copper from a building on his property. Police picked up the suspects for questioning shortly thereafter.

By the way, I’m adding a new category listing for “Arkansas Criminal Masterminds” to keep track of all these gems.

CSI: Gentry: Man Fishing for Clues

By David Kinkade - August 22, 2008 10:30 am

Eldon Cripps of Gentry is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever emptied several buckets of fish guts inside his car on August 16, the Benton County Daily Record reports:

“The fish were most likely caught at Grand Lake or Lake Eucha on Saturday, or possibly Friday night,” Cripps said. “There was a mixture of catfish, white bass and crappie.”….

Cripps said that someone out there may know who did this and not even know it.

“Whoever did this may not be bragging about what they did to me, but you don’t catch that many fish and not brag about it to someone,” he said.

Former Centerton Mayor Faces Forgery Charge

By David Kinkade - August 8, 2008 9:49 am

Williams: "I was brainwashed, I tells ya!"

Remember that kooky story that broke last year about then-Centerton Mayor Ken Williams? Turns out his real name was Don LaRose and “Ken Williams” was an assumed identity he’d been living under for some 20 years after, as he tells it, having been abducted in Maine, N.Y., and brainwashed.

He then ended up living in Indiana and starting a family there, before disappearing again and ending up in Arkansas working in radio, then getting elected mayor of Centerton…until his dark secret was revealed by intrepid reporters from the Benton County Daily Record. (And really, you should read the entire saga, compiled here by former BCDR reporter Jennifer Turner. This synopsis doesn’t do the story justice).

Oh, and he’s now facing second-degree forgery charges in Benton County, according to this report from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Michelle Bradford.

I can only assume that a Lifetime movie about this tale is forthcoming.