Other days

100 YEARS AGO Dec. 16, 1917

Saturday night is usually a money spending night in Little Rock. Many laborers and workers of all classes receive their pay envelopes on Saturday. The merchants look forward to these workers as their regular Saturday night customers. But last night the merchants were under a handicap. The electric current did not prove strong enough for the great pull upon it and the Little Rock Electric Light Company had to take off several circuits at intervals during the night. Many stores on Main street had to be lighted by candles during the early hours of the night. Moreover since the street cars also were forced to stop at intervals during the rush hours many workers had to walk home, so they postponed their shopping until Monday.

50 YEARS AGO Dec. 16, 1967

The Commission on Co-ordination of Higher Educational Finance recommended to the Legislative Council Friday that Little Rock University and the University of Arkansas be merged. It proposed that a community junior college be established in Pulaski County under Act 404 of 1967 and that the merged UA-LRU institution accommodate only the junior and senior years and graduate students.

25 YEARS AGO Dec. 16, 1992

PINE BLUFF — Joe Thomas, 68, was sworn in Tuesday as the first black chief of the Pine Bluff Police Department. He had spent 18 years as a custodian with the city — much of his duty involving washing police cars — before becoming the department’s first black patrolman Feb. 5, 1966. His taking the chief’s job is clouded, however, by a pending federal lawsuit by fired Chief Bobby Brown, who contends the Pine Bluff City Council and Civil Service Commission violated his rights in removing him Sept. 19. Brown is seeking reinstatement. Thomas, who had been assistant chief, was named interim chief until he was given the job permanently.

10 YEARS AGO Dec. 16, 2007

By next spring, the North Little Rock Police Department hopes to have a pair of remote-controlled helicopters that it can send buzzing over the city, giving officers a bird’s eye view of parks, trails or street corners. The department has already lined up a federal grant that would cover the helicopters’ $131,000 cost. But before it can launch them, the Police Department needs approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, which is concerned about the hazards such aircraft could pose.