Stories from Friday, January 29, 2016

The following are reports from the Blytheville Police Department. Wednesday, Jan. 27 -- Police arrested Grant Richardson in the area of 13th Street and Main on driving while intoxicated charges. According to the report, officers noticed a stalled Nissan Altima in the eastbound lanes stopped on the side road with one headlight. ...

Intake Report for Mississippi County Sheriff's Department -- 1/18 through 1/24...

The Blytheville City Council voted 4-2 to adopt the 2016 budget, and pulled an ordinance that would have allowed $80,000 in fire tax revenue to avoid laying off four firemen and the de-manning of the Arkansas Aeroplex fire station. In a special meeting that lasted just five minutes, the Council approved the budget that includes some deep cuts for the city...

Monthly financial reports for the county were released this week and indicate that the "county general" portion of the county's one-cent sales tax for the month of December 2015 was down, as was the "Economic Development Tax" collections portion. The "county general" portion of the one-cent sales tax for December 2015 was $106,151.35. That amount is down 5.5 percent from November's $112,335.95 and down 0.52 percent from December 2014's revenues of $106,701.52...

By AARON FITZPATRICK Blytheville Courier News BLYTHEVILLE-The Blytheville Chickasaws and Lady Chickasaws split a double-header with Forrest City as the Lady Chicks picked up their first 5A-East win with a 50-43 victory over the Forrest City Lady Mustangs. In the final game of the night, the No. 2 ranked team in the 5A, Mustangs, had too much fire power for the Chicks running away with an 87-67 win...

Registration for the 2016 Blytheville Baseball Softball Boosters (BBSB) Cal Ripken baseball and ASA softball will begin Saturday, Feb. 13 at the Greater Blytheville Chamber of Commerce building. Registration will take place on the Saturday the 13th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesday, Feb. 16 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.; and Thursday, Feb. 18 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m...

HIGHLAND -- The Gosnell Pirates remained in second place in the 3-4A conference after knocking off host Highland, 58-50, Friday night. The Pirates trailed 14-10 at the end of the first period and 24-22 at halftime. However, Gosnell bounced back in the third quarter, outscoring Highland 17-10 in the period to hold a 39-34 advantage going into the final frame...

In an effort to be abundantly cautious regarding procedural compliance, Mayor James W. Sanders called yet another special session of the Blytheville City Council Friday evening to re-vote for the 2016 city budget. The council voted 4-2 Thursday evening to pass the budget, yet the council failed to read the resolution prior to passage. ...

PEARLAND, Texas -- The U.S. Mile, the team behind infamous 1-Mile land speed racing events, such as The Texas Mile and The Colorado Mile, announced its second expansion and third 1-mile racing event, The Arkansas Mile. According to event organizers, The Arkansas Mile will attract gear heads, car enthusiasts and spectators alike to gather at the Arkansas International Airport in Blytheville on June 3-5. ...

Because of some circulation issues, the new Courier News publication schedule will begin in March, not February as originally planned. I won't bore you with the details, but to put it mildly the process is quite involved and requires more than just punching a few buttons...