Retired colonel named director of Arkansas veterans’ agency

LITTLE ROCK — Gov. Asa Hutchinson has named a new leader for the Arkansas Department of Veteran Affairs.

The governor said Friday that he’s appointed retired U.S. Army Col. Nathaniel Todd to serve as the agency’s director. Todd will replace former director Matt Snead, who is resigning.

Todd now serves as chief financial officer of the Central Arkansas Veterans Health Care System. He’s previously worked as director of health financial policy for the U.S. Army Surgeon General and as chief financial officer for the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

He served in the U.S. Army 37 years, including 33 years active duty.

Dead bat at Arkansas high school tests positive for rabies

BRYANT — Arkansas health officials say a dead bat found at Bryant High School tested positive for rabies.

School officials told reporters that one student came near the bat, but the student’s parents said their child did not touch it.

School Principal Todd Edwards says in a letter to parents that if their children “may have handled, touched, or been bitten or scratched by the bat” they should contact the school or the Arkansas state veterinarian.

School officials said bats are a known problem in a building at the school and efforts are underway to remove them.

Proposed bills offer secrecy provisions in Arkansas

LITTLE ROCK — Arkan- sas lawmakers are considering new secrecy provisions for the State Capitol Police, some attorney-client relationships and Arkansas Community Correction.

The Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the proposals Thursday, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. The bills are among at least 10 removing coverage of records under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

Transparency concerns have been raised by the Arkansas Press Association, which represents the Democrat-Gazette and newspapers across the state.

The association’s executive director, Tom Larimer, said he isn’t concerned with a strict exemption for security plans. But the association is concerned with the bill’s overall language. Larimer said it would create a “secret police.”

He also said legislators have filed an unprecedented number of bills to strip away provisions of the Freedom of Information Law.

“It seems like it’s open season on the FOI,” Larimer said, referring to the law.

Sponsors of the bills said the proposed exemptions are necessary to prevent abusive requests from newspapers, attorneys and would-be criminals.

Republican Sen. Gary Stubblefield is sponsoring a bill that would exempt records related to State Capitol Police. He said criminals can currently request security plans to plot attacks. He also said new threats that have arisen since the public disclosure law was passed have led to the need for more exemptions.

Stubblefield told reporters he was surprised at the number of Freedom of Information-related bills that have been filed.

He said he believed frequent criticism of the press by President Donald Trump is playing into the attempts to change the records law.

“Every time you turn on the TV, there’s an argument between the administration and the press,” Stubblefield said.