Other days

100 YEARS AGO July 28, 1920

FORT SMITH — The boilers at the city water plant are so dangerous that immediate discontinuance of their use is essential. The filtration beds are not sufficient and at least two more beds must be added. These are among the recommendations of J.H. Kiersted of Kansas City, made to Acting Mayor T.A. Bayler and Commissioner M.F. Smith today. The boilers have been in use for over 30 years and have outlived their usefulness.

50 YEARS AGO July 28, 1970

FAYETTEVILLE — Six persons were hospitalized here Monday after being overcome by chlorine gas at the Fayetteville Youth Center. Official said the gas apparently leaked from a storage tank used to supply chlorine to the center’s indoor swimming pool. Officials at the Washington General Hospital said all but one of those hospitalized were in good condition. Betty Neal, 13, of Fayetteville was in critical condition, hospital officials said.

25 YEARS AGO July 28, 1995

■ A group of corporations and unions Thursday filed the second lawsuit challenging Arkansas’ any-willing-provider law, which takes effect today. The suit seeks a preliminary court order that would prevent the state from enforcing the law. The suit was filed by opponents who fought the law during the last legislative session: the Prudential Health Care Plan of Arkansas, Arkansas AFL-CIO, Tyson Foods Inc. United Paperworkers International Union, and HMO Partners Inc., a health-maintenance organization owned by Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Baptist Health and a group of physicians. In the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Fort Smith, the plaintiffs allege that a number of federal statutes pre-empt the state law. The suit also contends the law interferes with private companies’ right to negotiate relationships with employers and health-care providers.

10 YEARS AGO July 28, 2010

■ A Pulaski County circuit judge Tuesday restricted the evidence that prosecutors can use against two men whom authorities say were members of a group that randomly shot a Jacksonville couple as part of a gang initiation. The ruling by Judge Herb Wright could seriously damage the case against the pair, a prosecutor said. Nehemiah Armstrong, 23, of Little Rock and Dominique Jamal Givens, 20, are two of four defendants charged in a pair of January shootings in Sherwood and Jacksonville, and prosecutors had sought to use evidence from both cases against the pair at trial next month over the Jacksonville shootings. Deputy prosecutor Jennifer Waymack argued at Tuesday’s hearing that the evidence in the shootings, such as shell casings and defendants’ statements to police, are so tied together that prosecutors should be allowed to use evidence from both cases against the men.