Other days

100 YEARS AGO

OCT. 17, 1922

MENA — Catholics of western Arkansas held an important gathering today, the principal events being the dedication of the new St. Agnes church and the celebration of the silver jubilee of the Rev. A. P. Gallagher, priest of the local parish. The new church, constructed of mossy boulder stones, is rated as the prettiest in the Southwest, and the only one of its kind in Arkansas. The Rev. Mr. Gallagher, a former Little Rock resident, is the first native Arkansan to enter the priesthood.

50 YEARS AGO

OCT. 17, 1972

WASHINGTON — The Senate approved, 75 to 5, Friday a tough noise control bill, but chances were slim it could be reconciled with a less stringent House-passed bill before Congress adjourns. The measure would empower the Environmental Protection Agency to begin regulating noise levels for virtually every machine, engine and electrical gadget. All new or rebuilt items would have to meet the standards within 3 1/2 years. The bill also bans all flights of supersonic transport planes over the United States. Senator Alan Cranston (Dem., Calif.) said one such plane would cut a swath of sonic booms 50 miles wide and 3,000 miles long, causing up to $100 million in property damage during a single flight across the United States.

25 YEARS AGO

OCT. 17, 1997

■ The Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission has won a 13-year, multimillion-dollar campaign to rid the state of brucellosis in cattle, the agency said Thursday. No herd in Arkansas has tested positive for the disease in the last year — the first step in getting federal animal health agencies to declare the state brucellosis-free… Devoe Bollinger, a cattle rancher from Horatio, has been active in brucellosis eradication efforts since 1984. Bollinger’s motion, which was passed unanimously, has no immediate effect on federal regulations. But it is a required step in getting federal recognition… Arkansas had 691 infected herds when the eradication program began — when President Clinton served as governor.

10 YEARS AGO

OCT. 17, 2012

■ U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday recognized members of Arkansas’ Operation Delta Blues Task Force for distinguished public service… Operation Delta Blues began five years ago, when federal and state investigators started looking into allegations of long-standing public corruption in the Arkansas Delta, primarily in Phillips County. Their undercover operation - which included wiretaps, video surveillance and controlled drug buys - exposed police officers taking bribes, multistate drug-trafficking, violent gang activity, weapons offenses and illegal gambling. Just before dawn on Oct. 11, 2011, more than 700 law enforcement officers descended on Helena-West Helena, Marianna and nearby communities. The Justice Department described the sting as the largest law-enforcement operation ever conducted in Arkansas, as well as one of the largest in FBI history. A federal grand jury indicted more than 70 people, five of whom were police officers.