Other days

100 YEARS AGO Feb. 12, 1916

With the exception of the White and Black River branches of the Rock Island and the Cotton Belt line through Clarendon, railroad traffic in Arkansas practically is back to normal. The Valley division of the Iron Mountain, between Little Rock and Alexandria, La., was opened Thursday night, train No. 106 arriving from Alexandria with only reasonable delay. Train No. 105 left Little Rock at 8:30 o’clock yesterday morning and all trains on this line are back in operation.

50 YEARS AGO Feb. 12, 1966

The latest month for which data is available on the levels of radioactive Strontium 90 at Little Rock was September. The Little Rock count continued to be one of the highest in the nation, the federal Department of Health, Education and Welfare announced. The count was 28 picocuries, twice the average for all of the 63 reporting stations throughout the nation. Only New Orleans, with a count of 31 and Minot, N.D., 31, exceeded Little Rock’s count.

25 YEARS AGO Feb. 12, 1991

BENTON — A proposed 16-bed juvenile detention facility in Benton is falling victim to party politics, Sen. Charlie Cole Chaffin said Monday — a charge the facility’s chief critic denies. “The opposition to this is split down party lines” in the Saline County Quorum Court, Chaffin said. “We’ve never had such partisanship in the General Assembly.” She said she hopes the Quorum Court will reject the budget committee’s recommendation not to fund the project.

10 YEARS AGO Feb. 12, 2006

MONTICELLO — Brute strength may not be a requirement for modern-day foresters, but members of the University of Arkansas Monticello Forestry Club displayed plenty of muscle power combined with precision during Saturday’s Field Day events. The competition, which took place next to the university’s Weevil Pond, ranged from ax-throwing to log-rolling to pole-felling. The Saturday competition of physical events wrapped up a week of technical tests such as determining the volume of timber in a 10-acre area and identifying wildlife. About 60 participants and spectators braved the stiff winds, which made a noon temperature of 43 feel like 19, according to the National Weather Service.