Stories from Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Although he acknowledged department heads are "running bare-bones departments," Blytheville Mayor Barrett Harrison warned the City Council's Finance Committee Tuesday night that the Council may need to consider more cuts or rate hikes, after looking at the first-quarter figures...

With a 5-0 vote, the Blytheville City Council upheld the termination of former Blytheville police officer Terry Winkles, but gave him the option of coming back, following a nearly 2 1/2 hour executive session Tuesday night. While the City Council upheld Blytheville police chief Ross Thompson's decision to terminate Winkles, Council members allowed him to return to the Police Department with stipulations that he successfully completes an anger management class and has a successful psychological evaluation.. ...

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe will be in Blytheville this afternoon for a meeting of the Arkansas Works Summit. The governor will speak at 1:45 p.m. at Blytheville High School on"Preparing High School Students for College." Using a booklet called "Just for Kids," the governor will encourage Arkansas' youth to go to college...

Health care officials are warning people to take precautions against exposure to swine flu, but one local physician said the swine flu is no more dangerous to healthy individuals than any other strain of the virus. "I haven't seen a single case" of the swine flu, said Dr. ...

Blytheville Police are investigating a shooting incident that occurred in the southwest part of Blytheville Monday afternoon. Officers were called to the 2300 block of West Rose at 2:30 p.m., for a report of a gunshot victim. When police arrived on the scene, Tomika Burks, 25, said her husband, Emmanuel Burks, 27, had shot her in the hand. Tomika told police that she and her husband have been separated for about six months...

CARUTHERSVILLE -- Caruthersville Police arrested a Steele man over the weekend on assault charges, according to reports. Saturday at 2 a.m., officers were on patrol when they found a 26-year-old female from Steele, who had been the victim of an alleged domestic assault with facial bruising and bleeding. ...