Dogtown Wire

Central Arkansas Development Council (CADC) is accepting applications for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program for Pulaski County.

In order to qualify for assistance, an applicant must show proof of income at or below 125% of poverty level. For a family of three, the income must not be greater than $21,463 per year. Add $3,480 for each additional family member. Applicants must also have a current bill.

This program only pays current bills due no more than five days ahead of the date of application for water, electric, or gas bills. This program will not pay shut-off notices and the bill must be in the applicant’s name.

Director Jim Woodell sent the following information to remind city officials, neighbors and other interested parties to come to 1021 E. Washington Ave. Thursday evening.

“River City Ministry will host an Open House/Reception this Thursday evening from 6:30 to 8 p.m.  After a brief tour of the facility there will be time for a question and answer session. 

The purpose of this meeting is to inform the public about the possibility of River City Ministry becoming a temporary Day Resource Center. The proposal that will go before the City Council on June 9 is to allow River City Ministry to be a Day Resource Center for up to two years. 

The Day Resource Center will direct homeless people toward needed help to get them from the streets to permanent housing. Your participation and support for this needed service will be greatly appreciated.”

For more information you can read the first and follow up and an Argenta News story on this issue.

About 70 cars were ticketed and towed from the housing developments managed by the city’s Housing Authority about 2 a.m. Sunday morning, said Patrol Division Capt. Mike Davis.

“What ends up happening, and we use to do this a little more often in the past, is they’re [renters] are issued a [parking] sticker for public housing,” Davis said. “And they end up allowing all these people to start staying with them and moving in with them,”  

Guests’ vehicles are allowed to park, but with rules. A simple procedure of informing the complex office that overnight or weekend guests will be parking for a visit takes care of these rules, he said.

Alleged robbers and clerk enter EZ Mart store.

Police are investigating two convenience store robberies that took place within minutes of each last night.

Police responded to the EZ Mart at 3600 MacArthur Drive just after the call came in to dispatch at 3:12 a.m., according to the report given by Sgt. Terry Kuykendall.

The store clerk said two men approached him while he was outside the store smoking. When the clerk went back into the store to assist them, he said one allegedly pulled a black automatic pistol and stuck it into this chest, and added the other man had a black automatic pistol as well.

Chief James Mason spoke with elementary students at the Razorback Thursday.

Chief James W. Mason STSC(SS) USN Retired SS394 USS Razorback is the correct manner to introduce Mason with the respect due this submariner.

But he has answered to squid, sewer pipe sailor, bubblehead, and other more derogatory nicknames as he served his country in submarines during his naval career from Feb. 17, 1943 to May 1962.

The respect Mason has for the Razorback goes beyond mere words spoken from this clear-eyed and vibrant 82-year-old man, originally from Cuba, Ill. who has lived in the Seattle area and Port Orchard, Wash. since 1962.

Single family residential construction in North Little Rock appears to be having similar or worse woes as reported throughout the country at Reed Construction Data .

Another report from the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development gives more details on the troubled housing construction industry.

The Planning Department reported 13 new residential housing permits were registered in North Little Rock from Jan. 1 through May 19, down from 37 from the same period last year. The report said this year’s new construction housing was estimated at $3,125,000 compared to last year’s $4,868,739.

This equates to $6,736.75 in permit fees to the city in 2008 versus $12,654.13 through May 2007. The report said total housing for 2007 was estimated to be valued at $16,474,507, with permit fees totaling $39,290.

The impact on the possible loss of local wages for the construction trades, and impact on the local retail market, is from the U.S. Census Bureau survey of average construction wages for the North Little Rock and Little Rock areas.

Arkansas Business reported Friday that operations at the Gate Precast Co. plant in Jacksonville will cease sometime in July.

The former Arkansas Precast Corp. was purchased by the Jacksonville, Fla.-based Gate Precast Co. – which touts itself as “the largest producer of architectural precast concrete in the United States” – just last February for $1.5 million according to the Arkansas Business.

Arkansas Precast Corp. first started manufacturing concrete products in 1968.

A fire red truck was destroyed Saturday  on I-40             (Photo courtesy of NLRFD)

Fire crews from the North Little Rock Fire Department were kept busy Saturday by a tractor trailer fire in Interstate 40 at 12:30 p.m. and then a house fire on Montana Avenue at 4 p.m.

The incident report said it appeared a truck hit a mattress on the highway that became ignited “from contact with the brakes.”

The report added, “The mattress was still present, although it was burnt up badly into nothing but wires and springs.”

The Station 1 captain called in Engine 6 from Station 6 in Levy for back up when he, “saw a huge column of smoke in that direction,” as Engine 1 was driving to the fire at the Lakewood exit.

AR Travelers June Home Games: Home games played at the Dickey-Stephens Park. 6/1-6/2 vs. San Antonio; 6/12-6/15 vs. Tulsa; 6/16- 6/19 vs. Springfield; 6/26-6/28 vs. Midland; 6/28-6/30 vs. Frisco. Visit www.travs.com for a complete schedule and game times. For tickets call 501-664-1555.

AR Twisters June Home Games: All Home Games are played at Alltel Arena. 6/14 vs. Lubbock Renegades for 7p.m.; 6/28 vs. Iowa Barnstormers for 7p.m. For tickets call 501-975-KICK (5425) or visit www.arkansastwisters.com.

June 1: Tri Little Rock Super Sprint in Burns Park. For details visit www.dltmultisport.com or contact Fred Phillips at 870-246-6686.

Several local blog postings regarding Riverfest said some folks are just bored with the same old, same old gathering. Many thoughtfully placed sentences said nary a thought was given (except as written) about ever placing themselves at the 30 year fest again because of boredom.

I have to admit I didn’t join the celebratory crowd of song seeking, summer food woofing, legal beverage quaffing, arts and crafts craving sun worshippers. My days of enjoying being counted amongst a wildebeest-like herd are long gone.

I’m in no way saying it’s time to chuck this musically orchestrated gathering of the herd, after all this year KTHV reported it supposedly broke records for attendance, so someone is enjoying it.

But to steal a theme from the Seinfeld show’s Festivus episode; what about having “a festival for the rest of us?”