100 years ago
May 6, 1922
PINE BLUFF -- A chimney of the Annunciation Academy at Sixth avenue and Laurel street was struck by lightning at 10 yesterday morning, causing considerable excitement, but injuring no one. The chimney was just above a school room filled with pupils. The crash, following by falling brick, came near creating a panic among the pupils. The only damage done was the tearing out of about two feet of the chimney top.
50 years ago
May 6, 1972
• PINE BLUFF -- The staff and faculty of Arkansas AM and N College here has signed a letter asking Dr. Lawrence A. Davis to continue as president after June 30. The letter said the faculty and staff joins "with the governor, the president of the University of Arkansas and the AM and N College Board of Trustees in expressing their full support for Dr. Davis' leadership. We express our pride in his recent contribution as a member of President Nixon's commission on population growth and America's future," the letter said. Dr. Davis has said he would leave the predominantly black school when it becomes a part of the University of Arkansas system June 30.
25 years ago
May 6, 1997
• On the sidelines for two years, Arkansas has joined 25 other states that have sued the tobacco industry for the costs of caring for sick smokers. Attorney General Winston Bryant announced the lawsuit in a Monday afternoon press conference. Earlier, he had filed the 82-page, seven-count complaint in Pulaski County Chancery Court. Standing near a "Thank You For Not Smoking" sign, Bryant accused the tobacco industry of "broad-based conspiracy to deceive and defraud the citizens of this state." He stressed the need to protect children from cigarettes, saying tobacco companies have knowingly targeted children with advertisements and have hidden information about the health risks and addictive nature of cigarette smoking.
10 years ago
May 6, 2012
• In Clarksville and Fort Smith last year, two law enforcement agencies sold 261 firearms and netted more than $35,000. The sale by the Johnson County sheriff 's office in Clarksville included seven guns that were illegal to sell, including six sawed-off shotguns and one pistol with a ground-off serial number. The gun sale in Fort Smith, by the 12th/21st Judicial Drug Task Force, returned 132 guns to the public. Among them were 24 models most often linked to crime, according to data from the state Crime Laboratory and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ... But many national law enforcement experts, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police, oppose gun sales by law enforcement agencies. ... Prosecuting Attorney Carlton Jones of Texarkana stands on the opposite side. ... "Most of the firearms you end up seizing are not firearms that would be used for protection of your home or hunting," he said. "They're inexpensive, cheap firearms that are used for committing crimes."