Arkansas

BOONEVILLE, Ark. — It has been one week since the Cargill meat processing plant in Booneville exploded, leaving much of the city without jobs and without direction.

Sunday, the spiritual healing for many residents began. Sunday morning’s services were much different than those one week ago.

That Cargill plant employed 800 people out of a total population of about 4,000. (Read the full post about ‘Former Cargill Employees Get Spiritual Support From Local Church’…)

OZARK, Ark. — Schools are supposed to be drug-free environments, but after a sweep at Ozark’s high school, four students have been suspended and could be charged with drug possession.

The high school requested the sweep, which involves a trained drug-sniffing dog.

The drug dog zeroed in on four different locations, all just outside the school’s front door. (Read the full post about ‘Sweep Turns Up Drugs At Ozark High School’…)

ALMA, Ark. — Official issued warrants Friday for an Alma doctor accused of sexually assaulting two women.

Alma police have been investigating Dr. Clarence Jay Arendall since two women came forward claiming he assaulted them, police said.

Arendall is a family doctor who has been practicing at his office on Highway 71 in Alma.

According to a national physician database, he graduated from the University of Arkansas for Medical Science in 2000.

Arendall had not been arrested by Friday afternoon, and the case is under investigation, investigators said.

VIAN, Okla. — Two local high school teachers are on paid suspension while police investigate allegations of improper relationships with students, officials said Friday.

Female teachers Tracy Boshers and Jennifer Cowart also face pre-termination hearings next month, said Vian superintendent Lawrence Barnes.

In February, Vian Police Chief Danny Hoover told 40/29 his office was investigating a teacher accused of sending text messages to a male student, but said the messages were not sexual.

An arrest warrant for sexual battery for one of the teachers was taken to the district attorney’s office, Hoover said.

FORT SMITH, Ark. — A Fort Smith man died Friday after he rode his bicycle into the path of an oncoming car, police said.

Larry Hamilton, 45, rode into the path of a car near the intersection of Towson Avenue and Zero Street, police said.

Hamilton was flown to St. Francis Medical Center in Tulsa Thursday, but died overnight, investigators said.

The driver of the car was not ticketed, police said.

So here I sit, technically on vacation but reluctant to neglect you, my faithful and recently-returned readers, searching my brain for ideas for this week’s column.

Once again, thank the gods for television! A commercial for Stanley Steemer carpet cleaners came on, and within seconds I found myself reaching a Lewis Black-level rage. The voiceover on the commercial asks, “Do you have kids, pets or a husband? How do you ever keep your carpet clean?” The accompanying montage shows a child dumping something, a dog tracking something and an excessively clueless-looking man (one presumes the “husband” in the voiceover) turning on a blender full of a pink, milky substance without the lid on.

Just imagine for a moment this same commercial was done substituting a wife for the husband. (Read the full post about ‘Weird Chronicles: Good For The Soul’…)

LOS ANGELES — Former “Quincy, M.E.” star Jack Klugman is suing NBC Universal, claiming the studio is lying about the show’s profits and owes him money.

Klugman’s suit says his 1976 contract with NBC entitled him and his company, Sweater Productions, to 25 percent of the show’s “net profits.”

The lawsuit aims to force NBC to divulge the contract and award Klugman attorneys’ fees. It also asks the court to clarify the terms of the agreement.

The show ran on the network from 1976 to 1983.

The suit says NBC provided Klugman, 85, with an accounting statement showing the series had lost $66 million through 2006.

Klugman said that that he’s heard NBC made $250 million and that the show’s still running in Germany. (Read the full post about ‘Jack Klugman Sues Over ‘Quincy’ Profits’…)

PHILADELPHIA — Rapper Beanie Sigel is back in prison.

A federal judge in Philadelphia sentenced Sigel to three months in prison Friday after authorities said he gave a false urine sample to probation officials.

Officials also said the rapper tested positive five times this month for Xanax and Percocet.

In 2004, U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick sentenced Sigel to a year in prison and two years of supervised release after Sigel pleaded guilty to weapons and drug charges.

He was acquitted in September 2005 of attempted-murder charges in connection with a shooting.

Sigel, whose real name is Dwight Grant, was already serving a six-month term in a halfway house for having previously violated supervised release.

Sigel told the judge he was an addict and had a relapse when he was sent to the halfway house. (Read the full post about ‘False Urine Sample Lands Rap Star In Prison’…)

LOS ANGELES — Movie-goers dealt the gambling romp “21″ a winning hand at the box office, where it raked in nearly $24 million over the weekend.

“21″ bumped off “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!” which drops to second place. The family film made more than $17 million, pushing its total past $117 million. “Horton” is the first movie this year to pass the $100 million mark.

This weekend’s other new movies had so-so openings. Those included the spoof “Superhero Movie,” which was in third place with $9.5 million.

Rounding out the top five were “Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns,” at $7.8 million. “Drillbit Taylor” was in fifth place, with $5.8 million.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. “21,” $23.7 million.

2. “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!”, $17.4 million.

3. “Superhero Movie,” $9.5 million.

4. “Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns,” $7.8 million.

5. “Drillbit Taylor,” $5.8 million.

6. “Shutter,” $5.3 million.

7. “10,000 B.C.”, $4.9 million.

8. “Stop-Loss,” $4.5 million.

9. “College Road Trip,” $3.5 million.

10. “The Bank Job,” $2.8 million.

LOS ANGELES — Miley Cyrus, Jack Black and Usher were among the big stars who headlined Saturday night’s Kids Choice awards — along with a whole lot of Nickelodeon’s trademark slime.

Cyrus took home trophies for favorite female singer and TV actress. The star of the hit Disney Channel program “Hannah Montana” rocked the crowd of teens and tweens in Los Angeles with a live performance.

Jack Black hosted this year’s event, which included singer Usher blasting a sumo wrestler with a slime cannon and model Heidi Klum throwing herself into a wall covered with slime-filled balloons. (Read the full post about ‘Miley Cyrus Rocks Kid’s Choice Awards’…)