Dogtown Wire

If you’re looking for a good time for a good cause head to the Arkansas Fallen Firefighters memorial Hook and Ladder Country Music Festival Saturday.

Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 at the gate to hear Diamond Rio, Emerson Drive, Collin Raye, John Anderson and Confederate Railroad. Special guests include Riverbilly, Maude Crawford and The Live Wire Band.

The gates open at 10:30 a.m. at the North Little Rock Riverwalk Park East.

In the “it can’t get any worse” category, a June 19 AP story posted at the Association of Convenience and Petroleum Retailing News (NCAS)  said one West Virginia gas station owner has stopped accepting credit cards.

This may or may not become a national trend the article said, but with the fees card companies are charging the stations heading “toward 10 cents a gallon,” the 10 to 12 cents a gallon profit independent stations receive is making gas sales a break even proposition.

A similar report by National Public Radio (NPR ) on June 10 echoed this problem.

Another story at NCAS shows some Pennsylvania stations are bringing back discounted pumps prices to customers who pay cash. This is a practice I used to take advantage of quite a bit, but haven’t seen in a while.

Argenta News has a posting on the absence of a resolution River City Ministry on next Monday’s City Council meeting.

Mayor Pat Hays’ explanation for the legislation not being on the June 9 council meeting, and other aspects of the proposed Day Resource Center for the homeless can be found here .

Ward 2 Alderman Olen Thomas said by phone that he is still ready to sponsor the legislation, but will wait until Hays and Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola have the time to finalize their talks on the issue.

A call is into the mayor, but he is heading to the U.S. Conference of Mayors today. An update will come if the mayor has time to return the call.

Well, summer’s here and most of us can’t afford the gas to take a real vacation but we can make our own space more fun. Why not create a backyard retreat?

So with that in mind I’m going to do a series of articles over the next several weeks for fun, funky (and most importantly, CHEAP) ways to enhance your own little “private vacation” world.

How ‘bout stepping-stones made from pizza boxes? Shoot, you could make an entire patio with them. (But that’s another day, another article) So let’s just start simple.

From the North Little Rock Visitors Bureau website comes the following announcement:

“Enjoy Fireworks from the Junction Bridge

Enjoy a new view of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Pops on the River Fireworks display from the Junction Bridge.  Due to safety limitations, only 2,500 people will be allowed to watch from the bridge decks.  You must have a ticket to watch the fireworks display from the Junction Bridge.

The North Little Rock Visitors Bureau, located at the Visitors Center in Burns Park, will have a limited number of tickets available on a first come, first served basis beginning June 23.  The Center's hours are daily from 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.”

After the miscommunication about the free tickets available for the Riverfest fireworks this second go-around chance to get the news out appears to be a bit timelier.

Amboy

5900 block of green Valley Drive, between 6:30 a.m. and 4:38 p.m. June 12:  A woman told police someone entered her house by prying open a door. She said a Dell Inspiron computer and a Fuji FinePix 12 megapixel digital camera were missing.

Baring Cross

1500 block of West 10^th Street, between 7 a.m. and 5:08 p.m. June 16: A woman told police someone entered her apartment by forcing open the front door. She said 20 DVDs, a drill, a 32 inch RCA TV set, a Pioneer DVD player, and jewelry were missing.

2100 block of West 16^th Street, between noon and 2:27 p.m. June 10: A woman told police someone entered her house by pushing in a window air conditioning unit. She said a Toshiba 42 inch TV set, a watch, and a PlayStation 3 were missing.

A reader sent an email about the Green Party’s inability to find a candidate to run against former Democratic Rep. Dwayne Dobbins, House District 39 of North Little Rock.

In a move that took almost everybody by surprise, Dobbins filed to run again for his former seat that his wife Sharon Dobbins filled in a special election after his expulsion.

Dobbins was forced out of his seat in the legislature about three years ago as part of deal on a felony sexual assault charge.

Max Brantley didn’t mince words with his Wednesday posting headline that said, “The molester will win.”

The wheels on the bus go round and round.

And so does the little dial on the pump as Central Arkansas Transit Authority (CAT) employees fill the bus tanks with higher priced diesel.

In light of the belt tightening people are experiencing lately Cat Director Betty Wineland was asked if more people were riding buses, and how the CAT fuel budget was doing.

“I know we’re having days of 9,000 plus [bus riders],” Wineland said last Wednesday. “Last year 7,800 was a good day for us and I do know the last time we checked we were 600 daily riders higher than we were this time last year.”

The North Little Rock Fire Department had to contend with lightning strikes at a Saturday night fire and taking to the Arkansas River in a late Friday night water rescue that turned tragic.

Capt. Rick Albers reported the fire boat was dispatched to 210 E. Washington St. Friday at 11:43 p.m. and found the Little Rock Fire Department rescue crew was already conducting a search.

The incident report said a friend of 23-year-old Johnathan Pinkston , whose body was found Sunday, told the LRFD that Pinkston had fallen into the river from a section of the Junction Bridge. Though the unidentified friend said Pinkston hit his head in the fall, he said Pinkston, “had surfaced and was calling out and swimming as he floated down river out of her sight.”