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Vol. 157, No. 279©2011 The Daily Citizen

“ ”We owe a lot to Thomas Edison — if it wasn’t for him, we’d be watching

television by candlelight.MILTON BERLE

American Actor

Contact us: 3000 E. Race, Searcy, AR 72143, (Phone) 501-268-8621, (Fax) 501-268-6277

NATION & STATE, 2A OPINIONS, 4A LIFESTYLES, 5ACALENDAR/OBITUARIES, 6A SPORTS, 1B CLASSIFIEDS, 5B

I N D E X

SEARCIANS CONCERNED ABOUT ROUTE

When visiting friends or family next week over the Thanksgiving holiday, the Searcy Police Department re-minds residents to wear their seat belts or face a fi ne.

Searcy police are teaming up with the Arkansas State Police Highway Safety Offi ce to rein-force the state seat belt law as

part of the Click-It or Ticket campaign.

Some Searcy offi cers will be specifi cally assigned to watch for seat belt violators from Nov. 21-27.

Major Tim Webb said that the department is able to par-ticipate in the program because of a $25,000 grant it received from the police highway safety offi ce. The grant also covers

similar programs where offi -cers watch for people driving over the speed limit and people driving while under the infl u-ence or drugs or alcohol.

“The grant doesn’t pay for any extra offi cers on the street during this time,” Webb said. “It simply covers the overtime they may work while they are

Police watch for seat belt violatorsSince 2010, seat belts are primary offense Click-It or

TicketThe Searcy Police De-

partment will be teaming up with the Arkansas State Police Highway Safety Of-fice for a week of seat belt enforcement Nov. 21-27. Some officers will be as-signed to specifically watch for seat belt violations. The officers’ overtime is being funded through a grant.

BY MOLLY M. FLEMINGmfleming@thedailycitizen.com

The traditional Thanksgiving meal will cost more this year, according to a recent Arkansas Farm Bureau survey, but locals contend this is not necessarily true.

The survey is based on re-sponses from members of the Farm Bureau Women’s Com-mittee and other volunteers who surveyed food prices be-tween Oct. 28 and Nov. 7 at 11 grocery stores and supermar-kets statewide. They reported the best in-store prices of 12 Thanksgiving meal items and were allowed to take advantage of advertised specials, exclud-ing discount coupons and pur-chase requirements.

Meal costs■ Thanksgiving meal costs

more this year, according to Arkansas Farm Bureau survey.

■ Locals tell how this has affected their cooking choices.

Turkey costs more this year

Locals hit sales, eat potluck-style

to lessen expenseBY MARISA LYTLE

mlytle@thedailycitizen.com

Please see TURKEY | 2A

Please see TICKET | 3A

On Dec. 13, the residents of Searcy will be asked to cast a ballot in an election to decide if the city will collect a 1-per-cent sales tax to build a route that connects Highway 36 to Highway 67.

While city leaders are push-ing the bypass as an economic opportunity for the city, some residents are worried about

the bypass project.And those residents have

cause to worry — the bypass could cut right through their front yards.

“I’m moved up here on a hill to be away,” said Beth Pat-terson, who lives off Headlee Drive, which is off of Holmes Road. “If I wanted to live on a freeway, I’d move to Little Rock.”

Patterson is just one of many

residents off of Headlee Drive that are concerned about their property when it comes to the future route of the bypass project. One of the proposed routes would run less than 300 yards from her front porch, while another route would run a quarter of a mile away from her back porch.

She wrote a letter to the area

Molly M. Fleming/mfleming@thedailycitizen.com

Searcy resident Beth Patterson shows her neighbor Karen Davis just where the bypass would cut through their neighbor-hood, which would be less than 300 yards from Patterson’s front porch.

Residents along Holmes Road worried about project

Please see BYPASS | 3A

Highway 36-67 Connector

RouteSearcy residents along

the proposed connector routes are not pleased with the project and are afraid they will soon live along a four lane highway.

BY MOLLY M. FLEMINGmfleming@thedailycitizen.com

Associated PressFAYETTEVILLE — University

of Arkansas offi cials are consid-ering limiting enrollment at the fl agship campus in Fayetteville where close to 25,000 students are enrolled, the campus chan-cellor said.

Fall 2011 enrollment totaled a record 23,199 students, and Chancellor G. David Gearhart said Friday that applications from prospective freshman for fall 2012 are up about 30 per-cent, or about 800 over last fall.

Gearhart said 25,000 has long been considered an enrollment goal for the university, and lead-ers hoped to reach that number in 2015 or later, but based on the applications, they could hit the mark as early as next fall.

“We need to decide how far we can go and how far we want to go,” he told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, saying a de-cision must be made on whether to limit the number of incoming students or make plans for new residential and academic build-ings.

More faculty also would be needed to accommodate the ris-ing enrollment, Gearhart said.

The increase in enrollment could be slowed by raising aca-demic requirements for admis-sion or admitting fewer out-of-state students, according to campus offi cials.

“We feel that we could go larg-er,” Gearhart said. “But we want to be cautious. We want to do it through careful planning.”

U of A considers limiting student

enrollment

BY JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUSAssociated Press

TULSA, Okla. — It had been 10 years and 10 months since the plane crash that killed 10 people associated with Okla-homa State’s men’s basketball program — long enough for the healing to begin but recent enough to rush old memories to the surface when news of another plane crash broke.

This time, two coaches from

the women’s basketball team had been killed.

“I feel for the Oklahoma State community. How many more tragedies can they en-dure?” said head coach of top-ranked Baylor, Kim Mulkey.

Kurt Budke, the head coach for the women’s basketball team, and Miranda Serna, his assistant, were killed Thurs-day when the single-engine plane transporting them on a

recruiting trip crashed in steep terrain in Arkansas, the uni-versity in Stillwater said. The pilot, 82-year-old former Okla-homa state Sen. Olin Branstet-ter, and his 79-year-old wife, Paula, also died when the plane sputtered, spiraled out of control and nosedived into the Winona Wildlife Management Area near Perryville, about 45

Oklahoma State copes with 2nd crash

“I feel for the Oklahoma State community. How many more tragedies can they endure?”

Kim MulkeyBaylor head coach

Please see COACHES | 2A

No one was injured when a train collided with a SUV in Beebe at around 7 p.m. Satur-day evening.

According to Brian Duke with the Beebe Police Depart-ment, a Ford Expedition’s tire got stuck at a crossing on East Center and South Apple streets.

Duke said there were two people in the vehicle who were able to got out to safety before the collision took place. The identities of the two were not immediately available.

No injuries in train vs. SUV crash

The Daily Citizen

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2011

CitizenDailyThe

WILDCATS 2 WINS AWAY FROM LITTLE ROCK

Serving Searcy and White County, Ark., since 1854

Harding Academy’s dream of a state championship is still alive following Friday’s blowout victory. — PAGE 1B

COUNSELOR: HOLIDAYS CAN BE DEPRESSINGA therapist offers tips on how to cope with depression that can set in during the holiday season. — PAGE 3A

TheDailyCitizen.com

$125

For some people, the holidays bring a time of love and joy, a time to get together with the friends and loved ones in a time of celebration.

For others, the holi-days can bring up dismal memories or reminders of those that are no longer in their lives, causing them to get the “holiday blues,” as Searcy counselor Wenoka Young calls the depression.

Young is a licensed coun-selor at Arkansas Coun-seling and Associates in Searcy. She said this time of year can be hard for some because of their family — or lack, thereof.

“If you have a family that has a high level of confl ict, you might have a history of holidays where you have confl icts, so the holidays just may be discouraging,” Young said. “People might have had a death in the family this past year, which can cause them to feel really disconnected. There are va-riety of reasons why people get the ‘holiday blues.’”

Young said that in order to combat these seasonal symptoms, they should reach to others in their lives.

“People need to realize that the holidays are not supposed to be about get-ting stuff,” she said. “They

are suppose to be about connecting to family and friends. If people don’t feel that connection, then they will begin to become de-pressed.”

Young said that if people do know that the holidays will be hard for them to cope with by themselves, it’s never to early to reach out to a support group for comfort.

“I would encourage a closer connection to a church group or support-ive group of friends,” she said. “People need to take their own pulse and look for symptoms. They need to be willing to go and seek help.”

For those who do not have a close group of friends or a church group, Young recommended seek-ing professional help at the Harding University Com-munity Clinic, which only costs $10 a session.

She said those who need help should never turn to alcohol to deal with their depression.

“People who overuse al-

cohol to deal with their de-pression will fi nd that their problems haven’t changed once their alcohol is gone,” she said. “They will see that they have less money, which will make them even more depressed.”

Those who are grieving or depressed and are seek-ing a supportive church family are invited to attend the Hope for the Holidays service on Dec. 11 at 4 p.m. at First United Methodist Church in Searcy.

The service will be held in the sanctuary and last about an hour. Child care will be provided for children up to elementary school age.

Associate Pastor Dee Harper said this is the fi rst time the church has ever of-fered a service.

“We’re trying to reach out to those for who the holidays are not as happy or a joyous occasion,” Harper said. “We know there are a lot of people dealing with depression, melancholy from the loss of a loved one, fi nancial issues, divorce and other

problems. We want to let them acknowledge it and process that in a safe place. We want to give them a hopeful message.”

Harper said that the congregation had several people this past year, so the church can relate to those who are grieving loved ones.

“We just felt like this was something God was calling us to do because of our own experience in our church family,” he said. “We hope it will be helpful to every-one in the community.”

Harper said everyone is invited to attend, as this is not a event for just mem-bers of the church.

For more information about the service, persons call Harper at (501) 268-5869. The church is located at 304 N. Main Street in Searcy.

Holiday depression■ Searcy counselor

discusses warning signs of holiday de-pression

■ Counselor offers advice to deal with issue

■ Searcy church offering service for those who need extra hope this holiday

Counselor: Holidays can be depressingSearcy church offers service for those who need hopeBY MOLLY M. FLEMINGmfleming@thedailycitizen.com

The Daily Citizen Sunday, November 20, 2011 • Page 3A

FROM PAGE ONE

“People need to take their own pulse and look for symptoms.

They need to be willing to go and seek help.”

Wenoka YoungCounselor

enforcing the seat belt law.”

During the week-long campaign, Webb said some police offi cers will not have to respond to calls or other duties, as they will be on the lookout for seat belt violators.

“Seat belts are very im-portant,” Webb said. “It’s hard to put into words how important they are. The statistical data proves that seat belts save lives.”

The seat belt law makes it a primary offense, meaning a ticket viola-tion, for anyone 15 years old and older who is in the front seat and not wearing a seat belt.

For many years, not wearing a seat belt was a secondary offense, mean-ing the police could not pull someone over for simply not wearing a seat belt. But since the 2009 legislative session, not wearing a seat belt has been a primary offense.

TICKET: Some officers will only be on duty to stop seat belt violations

CONTINUED FROM 1A

BY AMIR SHAH AND RAHIM FAIEZAssociated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan — President Hamid Karzai received a resounding en-dorsement Saturday from a traditional national assem-bly to negotiate a security agreement that could keep a U.S. military presence in Afghanistan past 2014, when most international forces are to have left. The size of the force is subject to negotiations but a future deal could keep thousands of American troops here for years.

The nonbinding resolu-tion issued at the end of a Loya Jirga assembly also suggested some condi-tions for the talks between Afghan and American of-fi cials, including an end to unpopular night raids by military forces searching for insurgents.

The more than 2,000 people who attended the four-day meeting asked Karzai to ensure the United States hands over all de-tainees to Afghan custody and limits any agreement to 10 years. They also said the future pact must be ap-proved by parliament.

“We will act on the basis of your consultation,” Kar-zai told the assembled del-egates.

“I am very happy that you have accepted it and have put lots of conditions

on it. I accept this resolu-tion. It is the instruction to the Afghan government from the Afghan people.”

As part of a future deal, both sides envision a force of several thousand U.S. troops, who would train Af-ghan forces and help with counterterrorism opera-tions. The pact would out-line the legal status of that force in Afghanistan, rules under which it would oper-ate and where it would be based.

The jirga’s fi ndings are likely to bolster Karzai’s negotiating position with the United States during diffi cult talks under way to craft what the U.S. is call-ing a Strategic Partnership Document.

Some critics have com-plained that Karzai orga-nized the assembly as a rubber-stamp body, noting that it endorsed all condi-tions that Karzai outlined at the opening session.

“From the beginning we were pretty sure that the jirga was mainly a symbolic gathering of Afghans,” said Haroun Mir, the director of the Afghanistan Center for Research and Policy Stud-ies, a Kabul-based think tank. “This is a symbolic gathering — more political leverage for President Kar-zai to show to international community that he is still able to gather Afghans un-der one tent.”

Associated Press

An Afghan delegate listens to a speech from his com-mittee chairman, unseen, on the third day of the loya jirga or grand council on Friday in Kabul, Afghanistan.

“I am very happy that you have accepted it and have put lots

of conditions on it. I accept this resolution. It is the instruction to the Afghan government from the

Afghan people.”

President Hamid Karzai

Afghan assembly talks troops with U.S. military

highway commissioner, John Burkhalter, where she discussed her reasons for being opposed to the connector route.

Patterson’s neighbor, Karen Davis, said that she and her husband enjoy the wildlife around their property, and all of that would disappear if the by-pass were to cut through the neighborhood.

“I’m not against the tax,” Davis said. “I’m just against where they want to put it. We need a north-ern bypass because we do have a traffi c problem in this area.”

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation De-partment has not picked the route for the bypass, though the route for the connector to Highway 13 has been fi nalized.

Randy Ort with the highway department said that choosing a route for a bypass does take time.

“We are not expecting to choose a route until late spring or early sum-

mer,” Ort said. “We are still identifying alterna-tive routes and analyzing the environmental impact of those routes. This is all part of the process.”

Though the highway department doesn’t have a fi nal route, residents along Holmes Road know where they don’t want it to go.

“I just don’t think this project will be advanta-geous to the city of Searcy, given the money, time and displeasure to those that will have to give up their property,” said Deb-bie Wantulok, who lives at the corner of Ella Street and Holmes Road.

She and her family just moved to the area in January, which is when they were told that noth-ing would change in that part of town “for about 20 years,” and then the bypass project was devel-oped.

“The biggest issue is that we have a septic tank and our land only perks in the area where the bypass is expected to go

through,” she said. “They will have to consider put-ting us on city sewer.”

Patterson said she is not only concerned about her property, but the future of downtown business. She said that when a bypass was constructed around Walnut Ridge, the traffi c was diverted from down-town in that city.

“If they move it further north, it will dry up the downtown business,” Pat-terson said. “If they move it south, it will get into the residential area. There’s no winning situation.”

Davis and Patterson agreed that the residents need to have a better un-derstanding of where the bypass will be before the election on Dec. 13.

“If we’re going to be asked to vote for some-thing, we need to know where the route will be,”

Davis said. “We need toknow where it’s going.”

Wantulok said she isafraid of not only whatwill happen to her prop-erty but to other people inthe area.

“I’m not for the pro-posal at all,” Wantuloksaid. “I think it’s a waste oftime and money when wehave other roads that aredeteriorating. We need tomake repairs on our ex-isting roads. Some wouldsay that means I don’t likeprogress. I like progress,but I don’t think we needto have progress if it’sgoing to take away fromwhat we already have,”

Patterson discussed onefriend she knew who es-timates the bypass couldpossibly go through hisgarage.

“If the city council wantsit so bad, they can put it intheir backyard,” she said.

BYPASS: Potential downturn in downtown business raises concernCONTINUED FROM 1A

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