Other days

100 YEARS AGO March 04, 1924

■ All those practicing law are not lawyers, according to an observation by Judge Jacob Trieber in federal court yesterday. The comment was made during the hearing of A. R. Green of Cleveland County on a liquor charge. Green pleaded guilty to manufacturing and possessing wine. He told Judge Trieber that he did not know that the manufacture of wine was a violation of the law. Green had asked an attorney and had been told it was all right, he said. The man was not a lawyer, the judge responded. “He practices your honor,” Green replied. Many practice who are not lawyers, Judge Trieber retaliated, as he imposed a $25 fine.

50 YEARS AGO March 04, 1974

■ Arkansas ranks second among Southern states in the number of Black elected officials as of February, according to a voter Education Project survey, which also showed that more Blacks — 1,307 — held public office in the South than in any other region. Mississippi, with 174 Black elected officials, leads the Southern states. Arkansas has 150 Black officeholders, according to the survey. Alabama ranks third with 149 Blacks in office. The distribution of Black officials in other states surveyed was Florida, 62; Georgia, 130: Louisiana, 147; North Carolina, 106; Tennessee, 74; Texas, 109; and Virginia, 58. Arkansas has one Black state senator and three Black state representatives. The state also has eight Black mayors and 49 city councilmen, aldermen or commissioners.

25 YEARS AGO March 04, 1999

BENTONVILLE — The county collector is telling business owners if they don’t pay their back taxes they could expect a visit from a sheriff’s deputy and may have their property seized. Benton County Tax Collector Scott Douglas, who took office at the beginning of the year, said Wednesday he came into office with a promise to buckle down on tax scofflaws and he plans to keep his word. He said business owners who owe delinquent taxes could face a writ of execution for seizure of property for back taxes. If the value of the property seized does not equal the amount of tax owed, business owners could have their wages garnished as well.

10 YEARS AGO March 04, 2014

I’d never have bet (or even guessed) that over a third of the motorists arrested on the charge of driving while intoxicated in Springdale are Hispanic men. Springdale is 35 percent Hispanic. A recent news account says that that eye-popping statistic is high enough to concern Hispanic leaders in the community, including the always-energized Margarita Solorzano, who heads Hispanic Women of Arkansas. This strong-willed woman I came to know and respect a decade ago says she’d like more detailed information before reaching any conclusions. That’s just as it should be. Yet for me, these numbers do raise questions about similar arrest percentages in Arkansas cities with larger Hispanic populations. One news account says the number of DWI arrests among Springdale’s Hispanic males annually since 2008 has ranged between 44 percent and 32 percent. Census projections in Springdale reveal 17 percent of Springdale’s residents are Hispanic men, which is said to be in line with an overall 18 percent arrest rate for that population.