Category Archives: Government

A Conversation With Arkansas Supreme Court Justices tonight at CALS

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Image result for arkansas supreme courtThe Arkansas Supreme Court, in partnership with the Central Arkansas Library System, invites the public to an event that focuses on connecting Arkansans with their state Supreme Court.

The free lecture and Q-and-A is on Thursday, March 7, at 6:30 p.m. at the Main Library in the River Market District in downtown Little Rock. The Main Library is located at 100 Rock Street, Little Rock, 72201.

The event is part of National Judicial Outreach Week, an initiative that aims to increase interaction between the judiciary and the public it serves. Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice John Dan Kemp and Justices Rhonda Wood and Robin Wynne will speak and then take questions from the public.

There will also be a presentation by the Executive Director of the Arkansas Access To Justice Commission, Amy Johnson. The Commission aims to provide equal access to justice for all Arkansans.

Please contact Karen Steward at karen.steward@arcourts.gov or 501-410-1935 with any questions. While an RSVP is not required, it is much appreciated for planning purposes.

Presentations include:

Chief Justice John Dan Kemp: Goals For the Arkansas Judiciary
Justice Robin Wynne: The Tiers of the Arkansas Court System
Justice Rhonda Wood: Ensuring Fair and Impartial Courts
Amy Johnson, Executive Director of Arkansas Access To Justice: Addressing the Unmet Legal Needs of Arkansans

Women Making History: Sharon Priest

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Sharon Priest served as Little Rock’s 70th Mayor from January 1991 until December 1992.  She was a member of the Little Rock City Board of Directors from January 1987 until December 1994.  She had previously been involved with the City Beautiful Commission prior to her service on the City Board.  She continued that involvement and was also a leader of the Arts and Humanities Promotion Commission, serving several terms as chair.

From January 1995 until January 2003, she was the 31st Secretary of State for Arkansas.  She was the first woman elected to the position. (Nancy Hall held it from 1961 to 1963 following the death of her husband, longtime Secretary of State C. G. “Crip” Hall.)

Following her service as Secretary of State, she directed the Downtown Little Rock Partnership from January 2003 until March 2015.

Happy Birthday to Count Casimir Pulaski

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On March 6, 1745, Casimir Pulaski was born in Poland. A Polish nobleman and military commander he has been called a “father of the American cavalry.”

Born in Warsaw, he followed in his father’s footsteps he became involved in the military and the revolutionary affairs in Poland. Pulaski was one of the leading military commanders for the Bar Confederation and fought against Russian domination of Poland. When this uprising failed, he was driven into exile.

Following a recommendation by Benjamin Franklin, Pulaski emigrated to North America to help in the cause of the American Revolutionary War. He distinguished himself throughout the revolution, most notably when he saved the life of George Washington.

Pulaski became a general in the Continental Army, created the Pulaski Cavalry Legion and reformed the American cavalry as a whole. At the Battle of Savannah, while leading a daring charge against British forces, he was gravely wounded, and died shortly thereafter.

Pulaski is one of only eight people to be awarded honorary United States citizenship. He never married and had no descendants.

Arkansas is one of several states to have a county named in honor of Count Pulaski.  Pulaski County was Arkansas’s fifth county, formed on December 15, 1818.

Women Making History – City Director Lucy Dixon

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Lucy Dixon was elected to the initial Little Rock Board of Directors in November 1957.  She previously had served for six years on the Little Rock School Board.

Mrs. Dixon is the only woman to have served on both the governing boards of the City and the school district.  Mrs. Dixon chose not to seek a second term and left the City Board on December 31, 1960.

Mrs. Dixon is the first woman to be elected to a City position without her husband having previously held that position.

Her father had a lumber business, in which she worked off and on throughout her lifetime. She served not only as an officer of the business, but had a desk at the office and participated in the daily business.  She was also very active in Methodist Woman functions in Little Rock and Arkansas.

Help the Little Rock Zoo name new baby Sloth Bear

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Photo courtesy of Little Rock Zoo

The Little Rock Zoo is proud to announce that a healthy female sloth bear cub was born January 9, 2019.  The proud parents are mother, Kali, and father, Sahaasa.

In celebration of our newest addition, the Zoo is hosting a naming contest.  Zoo staff have selected three names from which to choose. The public is invited to vote by online poll.  The voting will end Friday, March 8, 2019, at noon.

Choices are:

  • 1) Zaara (Arabic), which means bright as the dawn;
  • 2) Rani (Hindi), which means princess;
  • 3) Geeta (Hindi), which means pearl or song.  The name Geeta is in honor of Geeta Seshamani, co-founder and Director of Wildlife SOS, an Indian conservation group whose goal is to protect and conserve India’s natural heritage, forest and wildlife wealth.

The cub is one of only 34 sloth bears currently held in AZA zoos in North America and is an important individual in the survival of this population. The cub is bottle-fed every three to four hours to help her continue to grow and thrive; she is healthy and progressing well, according to Zoo staff.

The bear’s birth comes as a recommendation of the American Species Survival Plan® known as SSP.  The SSP Program, developed in 1981 by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), helps to ensure the survival of select species in zoos and aquariums, which are either threatened or endangered in the wild. Native to the Indian subcontinent, sloth bears are listed as a vulnerable species, meaning one that is likely to become endangered unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve.  Their vulnerability is mainly caused by habitat loss or degradation of their home. Experts estimate fewer than 20,000 sloth bears survive in the wilds of the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka.

Women Making History – LR City Council member Carolyn Craig

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Carolyn Conner was elected to the Little Rock City Council in April 1931. She was initially elected to fill out the remaining year of her husband’s term on the Little Rock City Council. She received 551 votes, or 61.6% besting two male candidates.

She was not the first woman to run for City Council.  In 1924, Mrs. George M. Waller challenged Charles M. Connor (no relation to Carolyn Conner).

In 1932, Carolyn Conner was reelected and would continue to serve on the council until April 1942, winning a total of six elections.  Mrs. Conner was the first woman to be elected to any City of Little Rock office.  She was also the first to chair a council committee, leading the Civic Affairs Committee from 1933 to 1935. On October 16, 1933, she was chosen as Acting Mayor becoming the first woman to lead the City of Little Rock and preside at a council meeting.

In December 1939, she also became the first female alderman to be arrested for contempt of court along with eleven of her male colleagues.  The judge did not send her to jail, though he did the male aldermen.  At the end of the day their sentences were suspended.

In April 1941, Mildred Craig joined Mrs. Conner on the Council after being elected to finish out her husband’s term.  Their service marked the first time there were two women on the City Council.

Women Making History – Lillian Dees McDermott

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Lillian Dees McDermott served on the Little Rock School Board from 1922 to 1946.

Not only was she the first woman to be elected to the School Board, she was also one of the longest-serving members of the board.  She was elected several times to serve as President of the School Board, becoming the first woman to have that title.

During one of her terms, plans to construct Little Rock High School (now Central) and Dunbar High School (now Dunbar Middle School) were finalized.

In her capacity as President, she had to sign contracts. She became the first woman in the country to sign a multi-million dollar contract for a public building project.  McDermott Elementary is named in her memory.