John Worthen
Arkansas Online
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Past articles by John:
Holiday display's wiring pilfered
PINE BLUFF -- Organizers of the Enchanted Land of Lights event at Pine Bluff's Regional Park said someone recently caused more than $3,000 in damage to the attraction featuring 280 illuminated seasonal scenes along a 1.3-mile path, which draws thousands of adults and children annually. → Read More
JPs table jailer pay, new hires proposal
The Jefferson County Quorum Court's Public Safety Committee voted to table a proposal Monday night that provides raises for jailers at the Jefferson County jail and would add 12 more guards at the facility. → Read More
County jailers' pay raise on table
The Jefferson County Quorum Court will consider tonight whether to approve raises for jailers, along with a request to expand the number of workers at the Jefferson County jail. → Read More
Cleanup to begin Sunday at PB sites
At least three aging buildings in Pine Bluff have collapsed over the past year, spilling rubble onto Main Street's sidewalks. Another is in danger of toppling any day, city inspectors say. → Read More
$340,000 chipped in to ease county's woes
Jefferson County's elected officials came up with nearly $340,000 from their collective budgets Tuesday to bolster the county's budget for the rest of the year. → Read More
Jefferson County to tighten belt
Jefferson County's elected officials have a tall task to tackle on Tuesday in aiming to trim their collective spending by about $350,000 monthly so the county's budget won't break before year's end. → Read More
District calls off search for chief
The Pine Bluff School Board has halted its search for a new superintendent, saying members were unsatisfied with the qualifications of the 15 candidates who applied. → Read More
County holds off budget decision
Jefferson County officials failed Tuesday night to come up with a way to solve their financial emergency. → Read More
PB demolition plan slow to set up
A program that will put parolees to work tearing down condemned homes in Pine Bluff has hit another delay. → Read More
Can't meet payroll, JPs told, so cut
Jefferson County justices of the peace will discuss tonight how the county can make its July 15 payroll after experiencing a steady decline in revenue because of population losses over the past two decades. → Read More
Residents left cleaning mess from flooding
Hundreds of Jefferson County residents have been busy over the past week, cleaning up their homes after floodwaters that had crept into them abated. → Read More
PB fix-up proposal delayed
A proposal by Pine Bluff-based Simmons First National Bank to help revitalize the city has been slowed by scheduling conflicts and a need for further research, Simmons President George Makris said. → Read More
Slow swell arrives at PB homes
Dozens of Pine Bluff residents who live along the Arkansas River spent Friday defending their homes from rising water, with some sandbagging them and others praying that the flood will spare them. → Read More
Students' costs set to rise after boards vote at Tech, HSU
Trustees for Arkansas Tech University in Russellville and Henderson State University in Arkadelphia met separately Thursday and raised the cost of attendance at each university. → Read More
Planning resumes on new PB center
Plans for a multimillion-dollar aquatics center are being finalized more than four years after Pine Bluff voters approved partial funding for it. → Read More
Aldermen tiff in Pine Bluff hinders work
PINE BLUFF -- City business in Pine Bluff has slowed, and a quarter-million-dollar grant is in limbo after four aldermen say they refuse to work with one of their colleagues over the use of an online racial slur, Pine Bluff Mayor Debe Hollingsworth said. → Read More
68 to lose job at PB schools
The Pine Bluff School District is laying off 68 employees in June in an effort to save money after years of financial and enrollment declines, interim Superintendent T.C. Wallace Jr. said Wednesday. → Read More
Council: No faith in official
PINE BLUFF -- The Pine Bluff City Council unanimously passed a no confidence vote against absent Alderman Bill Brumett on Monday night and asked that he resign over what council members believe was the intentional use of a racial slur during a recent online debate. → Read More
Camdenite's reign as world's oldest ends
Camden resident Gertrude Weaver, who held the title of world's oldest person for less than a week, died Monday surrounded by family at Ouachita County Medical Center after a short battle with pneumonia. She was 116. → Read More
2nd protest set seeking ouster of PB official
PINE BLUFF -- Protesters plan to gather at Pine Bluff City Hall before tonight's City Council meeting to call for Alderman Bill Brumett's resignation in the second protest in less than a week over what Brumett has said was the unintentional use of a racial slur online. → Read More