Other days
100 YEARS AGO Feb. 9, 1918
BIGELOW — G. W. Hawks, aged 76, a mountaineer of this county, charged with having murdered Jim Weaver the latter part of 1916, was acquitted yesterday, following his trial in Perry Circuit Court at Perryville. The killing is said to have occurred following a quarrel over a fence separating the property of the two men. Hawks said he shot Weaver in self-defense. He said that he fired as Weaver was drawing his pistol. A gun was found on Weaver’s body at the time, it is said.
50 YEARS AGO Feb. 9, 1968
Three bills relating to penitentiary reform, one of the main purposes of Governor Rockefeller’s calling a special session of the legislature, were introduced Thursday in the House and Senate. In the House, State Representative H. Allen Dishongh of Little Rock objected to a second reading for two bills, thus delaying their process for a day. Senator Guy H. Jones of Conway started to do the same thing in the Senate but was persuaded not to by Senator Olen Hendrix of Prescott, the sponsor of the Senate bills.
25 YEARS AGO Feb. 9, 1993 Homosexuals, the disabled, and women deserve the same protection from discrimination in Arkansas law that racial minorities may be given, a host of activists and others told a legislative task force Monday. Overtis Harris, who is black, disabled, and gay testified before the Task Force on Civil Rights, which is developing legislation to protect minorities from discrimination. “I no longer have to try to hide my homosexuality. I no longer have to be afraid because I’m black.” Harris said. But he said he has been discriminated against several times when applying for jobs in Arkansas.
10 YEARS AGO Feb. 9, 2008
The December beating death of a Crossett toddler has prompted the state to adopt a new practice and require additional training for more than 1,000 child-welfare workers. State Department of Human Services spokesman Julie Munsell said Friday that the state wants child-welfare workers to call the child-abuse hot line after asking the person who reported the abuse to do so. The new practice is the result of a six-week internal investigation into the Ashley County branch’s actions before the Dec. 15 death of 17-monthold Joshua Robinson, who police say was killed by his mother’s boyfriend, James Lavert Johnson.