Other days

100 YEARS AGO June 20, 1922

■ “Gray Spot” and “J.B.”, the 11-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. T. A. White … were honor guests at the White home yesterday. Gray Spot is just an ordinary white “tramp” dog, as J.B. calls him, and made friends with the lad and his two younger brothers. … While talking to a friend about half way across Rock Island Bridge, Mr. White noticed three boys wading in the water’s edge at the foot of the bridge on the North Little Rock side of the Arkansas River Sunday afternoon about 5 o’clock. One of the three suddenly jumped into a place he thought was shallow water from the dike, where the boys had been wading. He went under the water, but not until he caught a glimpse of Gray Spot did Mr. White realize that the boys were his own. … Realizing the danger to the boy, he called to J.B. … Worth, the 8-year-old son, had followed his baby brother into the water by this time, although neither could swim. … J.B. dove into the water after his two brothers, and with difficulty, made his way to water shallow enough to wade, with the two clinging to his arm.

50 YEARS AGO June 20, 1972

FAYETTEVILLE — The police were investigating the possibility of arson Monday in connection with a fire that destroyed or damaged an estimated 240,000 shirts stored in a Mar-Bax Co. warehouse near Fayetteville Sunday night. Mar-Bax is a production arm of the Capital Mercury Shirt Company of New York. The loss was reported to be insured. Officers said it appeared that some kind of flammable liquid had been poured on the first floor. Several containers were on a loading dock and at the back of the building, the police said.

25 YEARS AGO June 20, 1997

PINE BLUFF — Sparks from a cutting torch caused a fire that destroyed the Townsend Park Elementary School Wednesday afternoon, Fire Marshal David Parsley said Thursday. A worker using a torch to remove windows on the east wing of the school at 2601 Fluker St. ignited some wooden casings that surrounded windows. The flames quickly spread to the attic and soon swallowed the building, Parsley said. No charges will be brought against the worker. “It was just an accidental fire,” Parsley said. The loss of U-shaped complex was valued at $1.5 million.

10 YEARS AGO June 20, 2012

BENTONVILLE — A former administrative assistant in the Benton County clerk’s office pleaded innocent Monday to stealing $48,077 from the office. Christine Southard, 41, of Bella Vista was fired April 30 when state auditors discovered account discrepancies during an annual audit. Southard is accused of writing two $1,200 checks on an office account and stealing cash from bank deposits she made for the office, according to court documents. She had worked in the office since 1999. An affidavit states Southard admitted she took money during an April conversation with County Clerk Tena O’Brien.