The state/region in brief
Posted on Saturday, August 2, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/233059/
Scholarship program available from state Officials hope a new statesupported scholarship program for students at historically black colleges and universities will bolster Arkansas’ black college enrollment and graduation rates. State Sen. Tracy Steele, DNorth Little Rock, said $ 115, 000 in state money is now available to fund 94 scholarships at one of the state’s three historically black schools: the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Philander Smith College and Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock. Students can qualify for one-time payments of up to $ 1, 000, $ 2, 500 or $ 5, 000 per year. The state Legislature created the scholarship program with Act 1721 of 2007. Last fall, black students accounted for 19 percent of the 121, 183 public college students in Arkansas, according to data from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. And only 20 percent of black students who enrolled in 2001 in an Arkansas college or university graduated with a bachelor’s degree in six years or less, according to the department.
—ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Woman pulled from fire on the mend FAYETTEVILLE — A Fayetteville woman is recovering after being pulled from a fire at her apartment Friday. Police said the blaze at 833 W. Sycamore St., No. 12, is suspicious. Firefighters arrived about 5: 30 a. m. and found the woman unconscious and face down on the floor of a back bedroom, said Mario Campos, a Fayetteville Fire Department battalion chief. Campos did not the woman’s name. The fire is under investigation, he said. Police Sgt. Bill Phelan said the woman said she saw a man in her apartment before the fire started. The woman was taken to Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville where she is listed in good condition, Phelan said. —ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Fight at club leads to 3 arrests SPRINGDALE — Three men were arrested after a fight Friday at Club Congo in Springdale. Jacob Benavides, 22, and Jose Benavides, 20, both of Springdale, were arrested on misdemeanor charges of battery and public intoxication, according to a news release. Luis Delatorre, 28, of Springdale was arrested on a felony charge of aggravated assault and a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated, second offense. Police were called to the club at 1408. S. Thompson St. just after midnight. A security guard told police he had been “jumped” in the parking lot by the three men who had been inside the club. The men sped away in a pickup but were arrested shortly thereafter.
—ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Trucker charged after cocaine bust WEST MEMPHIS — A trucker was charged Friday after Arkansas Highway Police discovered 116 pounds of cocaine concealed in his tractortrailer Wednesday. Joaquin Lopez, 60, of Vinton, Texas, is being held in the Crittenden County jail in lieu of $ 20 million bond. He may face additional charges from the Arkansas Drug Enforcement Agency. Lopez was charged Friday with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, said Capt. Paul Claunch of the Arkansas Highway Police. Police found 53 bundles of cocaine weighing 2 kilograms each hidden in suitcases in the sleeper berth of his truck cab during a routine inspection, Claunch said. Officers stopped Lopez on Interstate 40 on the edge of West Memphis.