Greenwood News

A drive-through nativity scene is on display at Bell Park in Greenwood. Actors played the parts of Mary, Joseph, shepherds and the three wise men to depict the night Jesus was born in an inn in Bethlehem.

Fort Smith police said the Ez-Mart on Grand Avenue in Fort Smith was the first store to be robbed Tuesday night.

Police reports say Greenwood school officials took too long to notify police about a suicide threat by a school employee that could have endangered students and teachers.

In what has become a tradition at Greenwood High School the Beta Club along with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6527 and Auxillary and the GHS Air Force Junior ROTC will honor those that have and are currently serving their country. The Veterans Day Assembly will be held at the School's Performing Arts Center beginning at 10:30 a.m. According to Assembly coordinator Joella Skaggs this years event will be different than in years past. "We have a special feature this year. The assembly will feature a video of students interviewing 10 veterans including those from World War I, World War II, Vietnam, Korea and Desert Storm," said Skaggs. Skaggs stated that one of the men to be featured in the video, W.D. Looper a World War II Veteran, died on November 3. Looper's brother was a prisoner of war during World War II and was being held captive in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan. This year's Veterans Day Assembly will be dedicated to Looper. The God Bless America Quilt Tour will also be featured. The tour, which has been to Bagdad, Iraq, is made up of quilted squares donated to the project. Whole quilts that are donated are sent to injured soldiers in Iraq who are returning home.

Unites States District Judge Jimm Larry Hendren has dismissed the federal discrimination lawsuit filed against the City of Greenwood by former police officer Heather McCaslin. The official court document reads, "The City's Motion for Summary Judgment is granted in all respects and the plaintiff's complaint is dismissed in its entirety." Greenwood Police Chief Keith Jackson, who did not make a statement following the dismissal last month, did however make a brief statement when the thirty-day deadline to file an appeal had passed without an appeal being filed by the plaintiff's attorney. "This has been a trying time for all of those involved," said Jackson. "We placed our trust in the justice system, and then went about our business of providing the citizens of Greenwood with police services. At this point, we are just ready to move forward and put this behind us. I don't believe in dwelling on the past or remaining intent on vindication when so many people and events are involved that it clouds the truth to the point where there are no winners." Chief Jackson advised that the Arkansas Municipal League, Counsel for the City of Greenwood, will not be seeking costs and fees associated with the lawsuit from the plaintiff. "Dragging this out further by attempting to recoup fees and costs prevents all of those involved from wiping the slate clean and moving forward. "Again, this is not about winning or losing; it's about putting this very time consuming and costly event behind us and getting back to work, said Jackson. "I would like to thank the Arkansas Municipal League for their professional and legal support, the Greenwood City Council, Mayor Ken Edwards, and the officers involved for their time and attention dedicated to reaching a resolution in this case" added Jackson.

GREENWOOD — An Oct. 1 incident involving a suicide threat by a Greenwood school employee could have become a crisis and should have been better handled by school officials, according to police reports. Greenwood Police officer Brad Hobbs referred to the Columbine High School shootings a decade ago in his report on the incident and cited his training in “the active school shooters class held in Fayetteville, ... and the yearly follow-up training held by the Greenwood Police Department,” saying, “I knew this was a terrible situation to be in. A suicidal subject in the halls of a school with children and parents present left endless possibilities to consider as a law enforcement officer.” Fortunately, the situation, which occurred during school hours, was resolved without injury to the employee, students, parents, staff or emergency officials.

Students in Greenwood were given a free chance at flu shots. The clinic was a part of a state wide school vaccination initiative.

A man who claimed he was the victim of a shooting could soon be going to jail. Last week Sebastian County Deputies were called to a home south of Greenwood, on reports that a man had been shot.

A River Valley man will get a $1 a year to run the Mansfield School District, if the Arkansas Department of Education approves.

Lillie Iva Hasten Lillie Iva Hasten Abilene Lillie Iva Hasten, 96, passed away Sunday, November 1, 2009.

The following warranty deeds, representing transactions of real property, were filed with the Baxter County Clerk's office Oct.

An investigation is underway into a shooting that happened southeast of Greenwood this morning.

The state Parole Board concluded Wednesday that the request for leniency of a former Greenwood teacher convicted of sexual assault of a teenage student is without merit.

Sebastian County Sheriff Frank Atkinson denied Friday that politics was involved in the transfer of one patrol deputy to the jail and the promotion of another patrol deputy to sergeant. Cpl. John Miller was informed Thursday that he would report to the Adult Detention Center on Monday, said Chief Deputy Tom Young. Miller made comments about the department on the social networking page of William Hollenbeck. Hollenbeck, who is on a leave of absence from the Sheriff’s Office, announced last month he is running for Sebastian County Sheriff. Another patrol deputy, Cpl. Jackie Davis, who supports Sheriff Frank Atkinson and is listed as the administrator for Atkinson’s Facebook page, has been promoted to sergeant. Davis takes on a new sergeant’s position because the department is moving to 12-hour shifts, temporarily, Atkinson said. Atkinson said the transfer and promotion are not related to politics. Neither position will have an increase or decrease in salary, he said. Asked about a political motive, Atkinson said, “That’s entirely incorrect. That’s what they are trying to make it look like.” Atkinson added that there are other officers in the department who support Hollenbeck, and the sheriff is not taking their pay away and giving it to his supporters. “I am not going to play politics with this man,” Atkinson said. “I have never had any other opponent do the things he’s been doing. It’s getting old, real quick.” Miller of Greenwood has worked for the Sheriff’s Office since August 2001. He is the only officer trained in accident reconstruction, Young said. Miller will keep his take-home vehicle because he will still be called out to work vehicle accidents when there is a fatality or a life-threatening injury. Administrators at the Sheriff’s Office objected to a comment Miller posted at 4:51 a.m. Wednesday on the “Bill Hollenbeck for Sheriff” Facebook page.

Drivers in Fort Smith will soon see changes to the speed limit on several highly-traveled streets, after city directors voted this week to increase some limits.

For Mary Ann Greenwood, Greg Lee and Frank Sharp, Thursday was a special day indeed as each was inducted into the Fayetteville Schools Hall of Honor as the 2009 class.

Greenwood Mayor Kenneth Edwards’ residence is in foreclosure once again and is scheduled for auction next month, according to a mortgage notice. According to Wilson & Associates, PLLC in Little Rock, the company listed in the legal notice, the payments are at least 90 days past due for it to be up for auction. A nonjudicial foreclosure auction of Edwards’ home is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Oct. 8 at the Sebastian County Courthouse in Greenwood, according to a mortgagee notice filed in the Times Record classifieds. Edwards could make a payment up to the time the residence is scheduled for auction and it would stop the process, a representative at Wilson & Associates said Thursday. The home at 129 N. Gov. Bass Little St., previously Bass Street, is owned by a family trust for which another family member serves as trustee. It was purchased in December 2003 and had previously been slated for foreclosure auction about two times each year in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. Edwards has repeatedly told the Times Record,

“It’s not my debt, not my house, ... and I’m not the one who makes the payments.

“He has said the trust makes payments monthly and sometimes quarterly, as it has income.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) recently held the 15th annual Training Conference on Alcohol, Drugs, and Impaired Driving in Little Rock. The conference brought together certified Drug Recognition Experts (DRE) and DRE candidates from across the nation and the world to discuss trends and solutions for reducing impaired driving. An integral part of the strategy to reduce impaired driving is NHTSA’s Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) program. The SFST program comprises the three nationally recognized field sobriety tests, which have been recognized by our nation’s court system as accurate measures of impairment. Officers across the country are taught the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN), one leg stand, and the walk and turn based on the curriculum and standards put forth by NHTSA. In an effort to keep the training up to date and relevant, NHTSA sent a film crew to the IACP conference in Little Rock to update the curriculum videos for the SFST program. Cpl Tim Gossett participated in the filming of the videos which will be used in the nationwide curriculum for the SFST program.

“It is an honor for one of our officers to appear in a nationwide program”

said Lt James Flynn.

“Officers everywhere are going to view these videos and learn these tests”

Flynn continued,

“and I’m proud that the Greenwood Police Department can contribute and assist in this great program”.

The Greenwood High School Class of 2009 averaged higher scores on their ACT tests than state and nationwide test results according to a report prepared by ACT to measure the college readiness of high school graduates. The ACT test reflects the achievement of graduates over time and act as an indication of the extent to which they are prepared for college level work.