Other days

100 YEARS AGO Feb. 16, 1919

HEBER SPRINGS — A case concerning the ownership of a calf was brought to Squire A. Kaufman’s court on a change of venue from Francis township, in this county, Wednesday. The contesting parties are Commander Hazlewood and Dash Crosby, and about 40 witnesses were summoned. The case was postponed until Thursday, and all the 40 witnesses went home, only to return the next day. Of course, the costs in the case will be many times the value of the property in controversy, but both gentlemen assert that it’s the principle of the thing they’re after, and intend to see right done.

50 YEARS AGO

Feb. 16, 1969 Although a special State Police Bureau of Narcotics has been set up to combat rising drug use in Arkansas, high school and college administrators across the state seem to be unaware of any drug problem. “If we have drugs here we don’t know it,” was the general comment of high school superintendents interviewed last week. College officials indicated there might be some on the campuses, but that it was not widespread. 25 YEARS AGO

Feb. 16, 1994 State Sen. Jay Bradford of Pine Bluff will make official Thursday what most Arkansas political observers have known for months — he’s running for Congress in the 4th District. First-term Republican Jay Dickey of Pine Bluff holds the seat. Bradford, a Democrat, will announce his candidacy at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Pine Bluff Convention Center. He will make announcements later in the day at El Dorado, Texarkana, Arkadelphia and Hot Springs. “We’ve been working hard in preparation for the race,” Bradford said Tuesday. “We’ve spent a lot of time in the district, and we think we have a good feel for the needs of the district.”

10 YEARS AGO

Feb. 16, 2009

BENTON — A defunct railroad line in south Saline County that cuts through a number of rural neighborhoods is moving closer to becoming a seven-mile thoroughfare. By year’s end, Saline County Judge Lanny Fite hopes to have acquired the 100-foot-wide swath along the old Rock Island line. He envisions a fast-moving parkway with a paved pedestrian trail to connect Bauxite, Bryant and Shannon Hills. For years, planners have seen the old rail line that stretches into Pulaski County as an important corridor for regional travel. It’s been floated as a viable path for light rail to shuttle scores of commuters to Little Rock. In 2002, planners were hoping to land federal funding to help launch the project, but complications with property ownership thwarted those efforts.