2010-2019: A Decade to Remember

A look back at a few of the biggest local news stories of the last 10 years By Ralph Hardin

ralphhardin@gmail.com There were many important news stories over the past ten years in Crittenden County. Here is a reminder of just some of the stories that made headlines from 2010 to 2019:

• Two West Memphis Police Officers killed by Sovereign Citizens The son of West Memphis Police Chief Bob Paudert and a fellow police officer were shot and killed Thursday, May 20, 2010, around 11:30 a.m.

during a routine traffic stop at the Interstate 40 exit ramp near College Boulevard.

Sgt. Brandon Paudert and Officer Bill Evans died after being shot by two suspects. Both officers were part the Crime Interdiction Unit. Paudert was airlifted to the Regional Medical Center where he was DOA.

Evans was transported by Crittenden Regional Hospital where he died a short time later.

It is believed a truck driver spotted the two officers down and a white minivan bearing Ohio license plates fleeing from the scene around 11:50 a.m. Area police swarmed the interstate and highways leading in and out of the area.

Eastbound traffic on I-40 and southbound traffic on I-55 ground to a halt as officers searched for the minivan. One driver said the scene was “choas” as traffic extended from near the I-40/55 split west to near Lehi and north on I-55 for several miles.

Memphis police blockaded the eastbound lanes at both bridges to prevent any escape from of Crittenden County.

Bill Sadler, spokesman for the Arkansas State Police, said Evans made the initial stop and Paudert came to the scene as backup.

“We believe Evans was shoved to the ground and gunfire was directed at the officers,” Sadler said.

At about 1 p.m., the suspects’ vehicle was spotted in the Walmart parking lot. In a well-orchestrated and coordinated effort, police converged on the parking lot, blocking all escape routes. As several officers approached the vehicle, the two suspects sped up making an attempt to exit the parking lot but were stopped when Michael Neal, an officer with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Law Enforcement division, rammed his fourwheel- drive truck into their van.

The suspects were killed in a gun battle that left Crittenden County Sheriff Dick Busby and his Chief Deputy W.A. Wren wounded. They were both taken to the Regional Medical Center at Memphis.

The two men killed were armed with a “long” rifle and a handgun. It was not known why the two suspects, identified as Jerry Kane, Jr., and his son, Joseph Kane — later identified as members of the sovereign citizen movement.

West Memphis Assistant Police Chief Mike Allen said both officers come from a long line of policemen. Evans was a third-generation police officer who also has a brother on the WMPD. Evans father, father-in-law and grandfather were also law enforcement officers.

“The men and women of the West Memphis Police Department are very saddened at this time,” Allen said.

Paudert, who would have been 40 years old in June, was married and had three children. Evans was 38 years old and had two children. Both men had been on the Crime Interdiction Unit since it was re-activated in June, 2009.

Units from the Arkansas State Police, Crittenden County Sheriff’s Department, West Memphis Police, Marion Police Department, AG& FC, Memphis Police Department, Mississippi County Sheriff’s Department, Shelby County Sheriff’s Department and Cross County Sheriff’s Department were involved in some fashion in the incident.

• West Memphis 3 freed on plea deal The most notorious legal case in the history of this area came to a wild and, for many, confusing conclusion in August of 2011. Supporters of Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley — collectively and infamously known as the West Memphis Three — had been clamoring for nearly two decades for a new trial. The collective defense teams had managed to get the ball rolling on a new trial with a motion to present new evidence, never fully disclosed but speculated to involve DNA evidence thatexcluded the three men, convicted in 1994 for the murders of three 8-yearold West Memphis boys.

Following a monthslong series of filings, an announcement was made in mid-August that the West Memphis Three all were being summoned to Jonesboro for a called hearing. Speculation and rumors began to circulate in newspapers, television newscasts and social media sites. One rumor that persisted was — although no one could explain how or why — that one or all of the trio would be set free.

On Aug. 19, 2011, that was exactly what happened. Amidst a gathering of supporters, the victims’ families and even celebrities Eddy Vedder of Pearl Jam and Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks, prosecutor Scott Ellington announced that in exchange for a guilty plea, the three men were being freed on time served, just over 18 years. In explaining the deal, which legal experts from local news to CNN and FOX News referred to as an “Alford Plea,” Ellington said there would be no new trial.

Ellington said that Circuit Judge David Laser would have been “likely to grant a new trial” in December and “the state believes these defendants could very easily have been acquitted.” Ellington cited the length of time that had passed since the murders, the deaths and/or inability to locate key witnesses from the original trial and public pressure to bring closure to the legal saga.

“I know this won’t answer all the questions. I don’t expect it to,” said Judge Laser after Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley had left the courtroom. “I also know this won’t make the pain go away for the families. This has been a tragedy for all sides. This has been an unusual case and an unusual disposition.”

• The Great Mississippi River Flood of 2011 Flooding along the Mississippi River not seen since 1927 hit in May, bringing near-record high water and speculation about the integrity of the St. Francis Levee.

The levee held, and as the chief engineer for the Levee District, Rob Rash, said in an interview with the Times, “Not one drop of water from the Mississippi River made it over to this side of the levee.”

The flood, which saw the Mississippi crest in mid-May at 48.7 feet, caused the deaths of eight people in Arkansas when the banks of the White River spilled over when waters backed up. Interstate 40 between Memphis and Little Rock was shut down for a week due to flooding. Spillways not opened in decades were blown to try and stem the tide. Residents in Memphis and surrounding areas were evacuated.

Flooding affected every state along the river from Illinois to Louisiana.

Rising river waters were only part of the equation, however. In April, as a precursor to the dilemma of the Mississippi’s swollen banks, came one of the largest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history.

A total of 38 people were killed in 178 confirmed tornadoes that hit across 16 states April 14-16.

Though Crittenden County was largely spared any severe damage from those storms, that was not the case less than two weeks later when massive powerful storms, including 353 confirmed tornadoes, tore through the country again, April 25-28. More than 350 people were killed across 21 states — including 13 in Arkansas — as the storms struck.

In Crittenden County during a three-day span beginning April 26, more than 18 inches of rain fell and brought powerful winds that wrought havoc on area buildings, trees, power lines and other structures.

Homes throughout the county and surrounding areas were flooded as drainage ditches filled and streets disappeared under the deluge. Pumping stations were overwhelmed, the West Memphis wastewater retention pond flooded and some areas flooded twice as an additional 6 inches of rain fell a week later.

For all the damage done, the disaster ultimately paved the way for an economic boon for Crittenden County. The flooding crippled the Tunica, Mississippi casino industry, which redirected gaming enthusiasts to Southland Gaming & Racing.

Longterm, Southland’s popularity grew, and in 2019, a full-fledged casino and hotel with a $250 million price tag began construction.

• The Fred Smith Political Saga In 2010, former Harlem Globetrotter Fred Smith threw his hat into the political ring and ran for the Arkansas House of Representatives, seeking the seat then designated as District 54. During his campaign, it was alleged, particularly by write-in candidate Willie Gammon, that Smith did not live in District 54, specifically Crawfordsville as Smith claimed. It was purported that Smith actually resided in Walls, Miss.

Despite never providing definitive proof of residency, Smith remained on the ballot. Also during the weeks leading up to the election, Smith was charged with felony theft.

Smith was ultimately elected, and then, just days after taking office in 2011, he was convicted on the theft charges and resigned from his seat.

Fast-forward to election season 2012, and Smith claims to have had the conviction expunged and announced his intent to seek the now-District 50 seat held by Hudson Hallum.

However, the Democratic Central Committee argued that Smith’s conviction was not expunged and declared its intention to keep him off their ballot for the primary elections. Smith then did get a Chicot County judge to rescind the conviction.

Smith filed immediately to run on the Green Party ticket.

Between the filing deadline and the actual election, Hallum then ran into legal troubles and was declared ineligible to serve, making Smith the only candidate on the ballot.

Residents opposed to having Smith as their representative then launched several efforts to prevent his election, including attempting to have former candidate from the 2011 election Kim Felker stand as a write-in candidate and ironically encouraging voters to cast their ballots for Hallum regardless of his legal status in hopes of forcing a special election. Ultimately, just hours before polls closed on election night, a judge ruled that any vote for Hallum would not be counted, giving Smith the legislative seat once again with 100 percent of the vote (although unofficial numbers had Hallum outpolling Smith by a nearly 10-1 margin).

• 1) Crittenden Regional closes its doors No other story commanded more newspaper space in the Evening Times in 2014 than the saga of Crittenden Regional Hospital.

“I am as frustrated as anyone as to the situation,” Ingram said at the time. “I understand the frustration, especially when you have a daily commute to Memphis.”

Earlier in the year, the Hospital Board began working with county officials and other lawmakers on formulating a plan to help bail out the financially-strapped hospital, millions of dollars in debt. Ultimately a plan was devised to introduce a one-cent sales tax that would prop up the hospital by way of $30 million in revenue over a fiveyear period. The bad news for hospital workers continued as news broke that the hospital had neglected to pay several months’ worth employee health insurance premiums, leaving workers not only unemployed but also with massive unpaid medical claims.

A countywide campaign led by “Friends to Save Our Hospital” was launched and a special election was scheduled for June. As CRH CEO Gene Cashman outlined a five-year plan to bring the hospital back to solvency, campaigners pushed hard for the tax, which passed (albeit with a low voter turnout) overwhelmingly.

However, a fire broke out at the hospital, forcing the facility to close for six weeks, reopening in mid-July. Though the hospital did reopen, the future of the 60-yearold facility remained in question.

The sales tax was scheduled to begin collection on Oct. 1, but before the revenue could make it into county coffers, the Hospital Board, citing insurmountable debt, voted to close the doors in late August, much to the surprise to the community, county leaders and even the hundreds of employees. Crittenden Regional then filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Jonesboro.

The bad news for hospital workers continued as news broke that the hospital had neglected to pay several months’ worth employee health insurance premiums, leaving workers not only unemployed but also with massive unpaid medical claims.

More controversy arose in October when the tax, still technically on the books despite the closure, was halted by a judicial injunction at the last minute (although news of the injunction was slow in spreading and some local business collected the tax anyway) until yet another special election was held in December to repeal the tax.

Two lawsuits, eventually combined into one, were filed against the board and other officials, all the while the county — the actual owners of the hospital building — scrambled to try and land a new tenant for the facility. The county spent hundreds of thousands of dollars keeping the power to the now-defunct hospital on before the facility was acquired by the Arkansas Department of Community Corrections and turned into a mimimum-security women’s detention and rehabilitation center. After more than four years with out a hospital in the county, the new Baptist Memorial Hospital-Crittenden opened in December 2018.