John Rule to read from his own poetry today at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 22, 2010, at Nightbird Books on Dickson Street in Fayetteville, Arkansas. TONIGHT!

Please click on image to enlarge to read introductory page and half of book's first poem.

Show up in south Springdale Sunday to volunteer to represent Washington County at the state convention of Democrats in Little Rock

Washington County will be electing delegates for the State Convention this Sunday at 6pm. The meeting will be at the home of Joel and Lynne Carver their address is 401 Lake Rd Springdale. Washington County has 55 delegates so come one come all!!!

Larry Delashmit

There are several meetings. I will mention them more in depth in a few days. Of course, the first one is Senior Democrats on Tuesday, June 15 at 11:30 at Western Sizzlin in Springdale.Our speaker is Senator Shane Broaway who is a candidate for Lt. Governor. I've already said this but one more time. I believe Shane Broadway has been and is very important to the future of Arkansas. I want us to do our very best to have a large crowd. I am going to start calling people on Sunday and Monday. I hope you will also do that. I'll send out everyone's messages in plenty of time. I hope to do that to starting Sunday or Monday. Be sure to get them to me and give me a few days. I'm not used to this computer and I have to take it away from my grandkids which is not easy.

Democratic Women will meet on Tuesday, June 22. They will be meeting at a new place. They will meet at the Catfish Hole on Wedington Drive. Dr. Robert Lefler will be their speaker. Dinner including every thing will be $13. Probably Monday, I will send you Berta's note which explains it all.

Benton County Democratic Women will meet on June 28. Larry Delashment will be their speaker. Again I will send you all the details in a few days.

This buckeye butterfly was on nonnative butterfly bush in the peace-circle portion of the World Peace Wetland Prairie on June 11, 2010. You may be able to see it and many other pollinators Saturday June 12, 2010, at some of the 8 private gardens on the OMNI Tour of Peace Gardens

Please click on image to ENLARGE view of Buddleia with
Precis coenea nectaring on it on June 11, 2010, at World Peace Wetland Prairie in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
For interactive map and information about 2010 OMNI Peace Garden Tour, please see OMNI Peace Gardens blog.

Bill Halter choice of Democratic voters in Northwest Arkansas

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE view of Bill Halter and fans on Fayetteville square on May 17, 2010.

'New report shows aquatic life declines at early stages of urban development'

'New report shows aquatic life declines at early stages of urban development'

Washington County Central Committee meeting begins with social time at 6 p.m. and meeting business at 6:30 p.m.

Correction:  The social hour will start at 6pm!  The meeting will start at 630pm!!!  Sorry about any confusion.

 

In a message dated 5/28/2010 2:09:35 P.M. Central Daylight Time, LDelash511@aol.com writes:

Just a reminder to everyone that the Washington County Central Committee has a really important meeting coming up next month.  We will be having our regular meeting but we will also be having our County Convention.  At the County Convention is when we elect delegates to the State.  It's important that all members come to this meeting.  We will also be electing a new chair due to the resignation of Tim Freeman.  The chair we elect will only serve out Tim's term which ends in January.  Due to the rules of the Democrat Party of Arkansas the candidates can only be male, as we have a female Vice Chair.  In January the Chair's election will be open to either male or female. 

 

I hope to see you all there.  The meeting social time usually starts at 630pm.  The meeting will have to start at 6 pm since we have so much to do. 

 

The meeting will be held at our regular place, the Homewood Suites.  It is located at Wedington and I-540 just behind the Holiday Inn Express.

 

Larry Delashmit

West Fork Cleanup and Watershed Celebration from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 5, 2010

Please click on image to enlarge view and see whole poster

Greg Leding took the Democratic nomination for District 92 state representative by 69 percent to 31 percent over longtime legislator Bill Ramsey

Please click on image to enlarge view of Greg Leding celebrating his victory with his parents on May 18, 2010.

gregleding.com/home

Melissa Terry, former Fayetteville environmental adviser during the first Coody administration, one-time candidate for a Ward 2 city-council seat and multi-year director of the Northwest Arkansas office of Audubon Arkansas visited briefly with the Northwest Arkansas Newspapers' award-winning photographer Andy Shupe while waiting until 11 p.m. at Greg Leding's election-watch party for the election results to be announced on television.

Halter fans plentiful in downtown Fayetteville on night before senatorial primary election

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE view of Bill Halter and fans on Fayetteville square on May 17, 2010.

Boozeman, Lincoln and Pryor all promised in 2009 to cooperate to get federal money appropriated to buy sale-barn property; instead, their failure to act has resulted in wet-prairie land north and west of the National Cemetery being dredged and filled for burial sites

Fayetteville National Cemetery photo set. Scroll to bottom of set for more of today's photos This didn't have to happen. Could it be related to the fact that none of the three is a U.S. military veteran? Or did they have more important people's votes in mind? The percentage of veterans who vote is pretty high. The right to vote has always been a reason for many to agree to fight to protect our Democratic form of government. Please click on image to ENLARGE view of land dredging at Fayetteville National Cemetery on April 23, 2010.

Earth Day Festival began Friday night with Caring for Creation at Mount Sequoyah; Earth Day at World Peace Wetland Prairie from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 18, 2010, offers eduction and fun for all ages

Please click on image to ENLARGE for closer view of sample photos from WPWP.

PLEASE double-click the image to ENLARGE view and ENLARGE further with your computer's tools to read small type. For more about World Peace Wetland Prairie please see www.flickr.com/photos/7295307@N02/collections/ www.flickr.com/photos/7295307@N02/collections/   

PLEASE double-click the image to ENLARGE view and ENLARGE further with your computer's tools to read small type.

MANY REASONS TO PROTECT LAND SUCH AS WORLD PEACE WETLAND AND PINNACLE PRAIRIE FOREVER:

World Peace Wetland Prairie is the riparian zone of a small stream that historically was fed by seep springs and rainwater from three directions when the first westward immigrants settled Fayetteville, Arkansas. World Peace Wetland Prairie has the deepest layer of dark, rich soil in its subwatershed because leaves and other vegetative matter accumulated as the flowing water slowed and soaked into the absorbent soil and enriched that soil. Pinnacle Foods Inc.'s mounded wet prairie to the west is the main source of clean water flowing to World Peace Wetland Prairie at this time. Before the railroad was built, water flowed off Rochier Hill to the northwest and from the prairie and savannah to the north of WPWP that has been replaced by fill dirt and paving for apartments. Water from the east and north slopes of the high land where Pinnacle Foods Inc. now sits flowed to WPWP along with all the water from the high ground near 15th Street, which moved north to WPWP before flowing east to the Town Branch of the West Fork of the White River. Such remnants of prairie help keep the water where it falls and recharge the groundwater. Like the many similar remnants of such prairie in our diverse geographical area, WPWP and Pinnacle Prairie are the surface manifestation of a significant bedrock fault. Such sunken wetland is a characteristic feature that appears above geological faults worldwide. The Karst map of Washington County Arkansas shows the WPWP watershed in red, meaning that it is a critical groundwater recharge area. Preserving such depressional wetland in our city is the least expensive way to reduce downstream flooding and siltation of our water supply. Hundreds of native plants grow. Many birds and other wildlife prosper on healthy wetland vegetation. And prairie vegetation sequesters carbon dioxide and cleans the ground water.

KEEP the WATER where it FALLS!

Restore clean-water act to original strength Now!

Please double-click "view as webpage" link near top right to see full post.

March 22, 2010  View as Webpage | Forward | Subscribe   Dear Aubrey, If you think the Clean Water Act protects your drinking water from pollution, think again. Please take action today to ensure fundamental safeguards for clean water in our streams, rivers, and lakes. A confusing 2006 Supreme Court decision on the Clean Water Act has left the fate of 60 percent of the nation’s stream miles -– that provide drinking water for 117 million Americans –- in legal limbo. As a result, as reported in The New York Times, polluters are now claiming complete exemptions from reporting what they dump into local streams. Congress can resolve this problem by passing legislation to restore full federal protection for all our waters. Help us ensure that all of our nation’s waters are protected under the Clean Water Act. Urge your representative to support introducing and passing the Clean Water Restoration Act today. Thank you for your support. Sincerely, Katherine Baer Senior Director, Clean Water Program

To contact American Rivers, email us at outreach@AmericanRivers.org. To update your profile or change your preferences click here. To unsubscribe click here.  American Rivers ©2010

I would like to express grave concern over the loss of protection for many of our small streams that provide clean drinking water for 117 million Americans in communities across the country. Supreme Court decisions in the Rapanos and Carabell cases have made it confusing and burdensome for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to protect small streams and wetlands under the Clean Water Act. As a result, enforcement actions against polluters have declined sharply the EPA estimates that over 1,000 cases have been shelved or dropped altogether. More recently it has become clear that some polluters are using the decisions as a justification to avoid any permitting and reporting requirements for discharging pollutants into our waters. For the Clean Water Act to fulfill its goal of restoring the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters, all waters must receive protection corresponding with Congress' original intent when passing this landmark law. Upstream waters must be protected from pollution and destruction if we expect downstream waters to be fit for swimming, drinking, and fish and wildlife, and downstream communities to be safe from flooding. I urge you to act in the interest of preserving clean water for healthy communities and wildlife. Please support introduction and passage of the Clean Water Restoration Act, which would clarify the definition of waters to eliminate uncertainty and ensure clean water in accordance with the goals of the Clean Water Act. Thank you for your consideration.

A few faces from Washington County Democratic Central Committee on MARCH 15, 2010

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE.

Minutes of February 16, 2010, meeting of Senior Democrats

Northwest Arkansas Senior Democrats
February 16, 2010 Minutes
Western Sizzlin', Springdale, AR.

         Vice Pres., Berta Seitz opened the meeting at 12 noon & presided in the absence of Pres., Nancy Goliff, & introduced the judicial candidates. 
         Beth Storey-Bryan, candidate for judge in 5th Div., said her petition placed her on the ballot according to AR Sec. of State's office.  She is running because she feels public service is a high calling & also to protect children when engulfed in a legal situation.       
        Marti (Marsha) Woodruff is also a candidate for the 5th Div. post. She said that ideas of justice began early. She is also Pres. of the Fayetteville Library Foundation.  Her specialty is adoption & automobile cases especially as a trial lawyer. She also speaks fluent Spanish.       
        Greg Carson is a candidate for Div. 7 Circuit Judge. His emphasis will be on legal & judicial work, ethics, & integrity. He has 30 years of law experience & was appointed Circuit Judge by Gov. Beebe.           
        Steve Vega, also a candidate for Div. 7 in the 4th Judicial Dist. said he wanted to be a judge as he is a public servant & patriot who happens to be a lawyer.  He feels that the Bill of Rights was important to the framers of the Constitution & that the voters should study the resumes of candidates.   He has served on Washington Co. Quorum Court & was named Volunteer Lawyer of the Year in AR twice.  He listed 4 areas of his experience, (1) Nineteen years as baseball umpire, (2)Fifteen years as country lawyer, (3) Believes in legal system & (4) He feels lucky because he can practice in AR & OK.
        Charles Duvell of Fayetteville said he had 24 years of practice & had led a "law & order" type life. His legal career has covered 3 areas: (1) Prosecutor involving women & children cases & worked as moderator in such cases (2) Clerk in Benton Co. & Ft. Smith & (3) 9 years as Public Defender in Benton Co. His private practice has been in Ft. Smith & Fayetteville.  He emphasized that the duties of this court have not been decided. A new court is needed.        
        Joanna Taylor, Dist. Judge candidate from Madison Co. She has 16 years general practice experience. She served as Deputy Prosecutor in Carroll Co., ruled in 6,000 cases. She said 'courts do not belong to individual judges, they belong to the litigants.  The judge only presides & job is to apply law to facts at hand & see that justice prevails. She said people often have problems & want someone to apply law to their problems & hopefully will be better off in the future. She served on Dist. Judges Educational & Legislative Counsel for 3 years.     
       Berta thanked everyone for their participation.

       David Hart, Treasurer said that there is $4,091.97 in the treasury.  74 people attended with 3 guests, Keith & LaVerne Cooper & Deb Sexton.

The minutes of last month's meeting were approved.    

Berta announced that on March 9, at 5:30 p.m., the AAUW will sponsor a political forum at the Fayetteville Library.   

The meeting was dismissed at 12:51.    
Myra Moran, Secretary

Whitaker for Congress campaign headquarters to open formally on Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Please join us for the

Grand Opening

of the

Whitaker for Congress

Campaign Headquarters

Wednesday, March 10,  4-7pm

101 West Mountain, Fayetteville, AR

On the Historic Fayetteville Square

Gold Hosts

Dr. Malcolm Hayward,  Rep. Jim House, Rep. Uvalde Lindsey,

Pulaski County Clerk Pat O’Brien,

Sebastian County Clerk Doris Tate,

& House Candidates Earl Hunton, Greg Leding, Bill Ramsey

Young Democrat Leadership Hosts

Max Deitchler, Jeremiah Wax, Caleb Rose, Kathleen Gonzalez, Sarah Sparkman, Chris Burks, Britton Burnett, John Davis,

Robbie Jones

 Paid for by the Whitaker for Congress Committee. 

Please join us, we'd love to see you.

David Whitaker
Democratic Candidate
U. S. House of Representatives
Arkansas' 3rd District

County Democratic Central Committee meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, February 15, 2010

HELLO DEMOCRATS!

MARK YOU CALENDARS!
We have a VERY important Washington County Democratic Central Committee meeting on Monday, February 15th! The meeting begins at 6:30, and social time begins at 6:00. Please make plans to attend, as we will be discussing our upcoming March filing period.

WHAT:WASHINGTON COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE
TIME: 6:30 (social time begins at 6:00)
WHERE: Homewood Suites by Hilton Fayetteville (off Exit 64 in Fayetteville)

I know many of you have plans to attend the Whitaker for Congress kickoff party at U.S. Pizza as well on Monday night, so we'll try to get you out as quickly as possible.
SEE YOU MONDAY!
Tim Freeman
Chair

State Rep. Lindsley Smith reports after second day of Arkansas legislative session

Legislative Session Update‏
From: LINDSLEY SMITH (lindsleysmith@msn.com)
Sent: Tue 2/09/10 7:26 PM
To:

The Arkansas House of Representatives is ready to tackle the state’s first-ever Fiscal Session, which began yesterday, February 8, at 12 p.m. The House and Senate met in Joint Session in the House Chamber at 12:30 p.m. to hear an address by Governor Mike Beebe.

As mandated by Amendment 86 to the Arkansas Constitution, establishing annual sessions, actions taken during Fiscal Sessions will be limited to appropriation legislation. In order for non-appropriation measures to be introduced, a concurrent resolution describing the bill must be approved by a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate – a substantial hurdle. However, two non-appropriation bills are widely expected to be taken up for consideration.

The Arkansas Lottery Legislative Oversight Committee has been reviewing lottery scholarship recommendations during pre-session meetings. Legislation recommending scholarship award amounts is expected to be introduced for consideration by the General Assembly. The Committee has recommended scholarships be set at $5,000 a year at four-year, and $2,500 a year at two-year colleges and universities. If passed, scholarships will be available starting this fall.

The General Assembly is also expected to address the Revenue Stabilization Act, which prioritizes spending into categories and governs the flow of money to state agencies based on available revenue, which ensures the state does not spend money it does not have. In the event of a revenue shortfall, this mechanism protects the most vital programs, like education.

Also this session, starting at 10 a.m. opening day, the House unveiled its newly renovated Website,
ArkansasHouse.org. The site is designed to make it easier than ever for the public to access House activities and information.

Broadcast-quality, real-time video of House proceedings are being streamed live to the Website, so that anyone with an Internet connection can now log on and experience a front-row view of their legislative process. In addition, archived video and audio of House proceedings, including all sessions, press conferences and some committee meetings will be stored on the Website in a comprehensive video archive. “Physical and geographic barriers no longer prevent Arkansans from following the work being done in their House of Representatives. This truly enhances Arkansans’ access to the legislative process,” said Speaker of the House Robbie Wills.

Arkansans will see increased access to broadcasts of House proceedings, as well. For more than a decade, AETN has provided live broadcasts from the House floor to Comcast Cable in Pulaski County through a local access channel. This session, for the first time, television viewers across the state will be able to tune in and watch the same gavel-to-gavel coverage, thanks to an upgraded feed from AETN. Through their “Create” channel, AETN-2 will provide coverage to cable operators who take the standard definition signal. AETN-2 is a lifelong learning channel featuring special interest programming.

The fiscal session can last 30 days, and may be extended one time, for no more than 15 days, with a three-fourths vote of the House and Senate. However, Members are committed to working quickly and efficiently to ensure this historic session is productive, and one of which Arkansans can be proud.

Photo montage of World Peace Wetland Prairie

Please click on image to ENLARGE and navigate up and down, right and left, to see whole montage.

Montage by Lauren D. Hawkins with photos by Aubrey James Shepherd

OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology invites all to open house from 3 to 6 p.m. today

View Larger Map



OMNI Center for Peace Justice and Ecology opens new house to all TODAY!
Office Phone: (479)935-4422
omni.center.for.pje@gmail.com
“OMNI Center for Peace, Justice & Ecology
educates and empowers people to actively
build a non-violent, sustainable and just world.”
Saturday,
February 2010
3:00—6:00 PM
3274 N. Lee Ave
OMNI CENTER for PEACE, JUSTICE & ECOLOGY
You are invited to celebrate the dedication of
OMNI Center’s new building! Enjoy music, re-
freshments, good fellowship, speakers, and
tours! Learn more than 35 ways to be involved
in OMNI. Help build a culture of peace in an
earth restored, that includes everyone.
Children
Welcome!
Handicap
Access
Refreshments
Will Be
Served!
Open House!

Upcoming meetings of senior Democrats and Democratic Central Committee

Hello Everyone,

Just a quick notice about a couple of upcoming meetings!

Washington County Democratic Central Committee (All are welcome to attend)
When: January 18th, 6:30PM (social time begins at 6:00)
Where: Homewood Suites by Hilton in Fayetteville (Exit 64)

and

Senior Democrats
When: January 19th, 11:30AM
Where: Western Sizzlin in Springdale
Guests include David Whitaker and Dick Johnson providing musical entertainment (Dick Johnson providing music, not David Whitaker, who will be speaking about his congressional campaign)

Please make sure to send me notices if you know of any other political or Democratic events

The weather outside is frightful! But Democrats are SO delightful!

Tim

--
Tim Freeman
Chair, WCDCC

"Be well, do good work, and keep in touch."

Democrat/Gazette December 21, 2009, editorial advocating saving sale-barn land for Fayetteville National Cemetery pleases majority of veterans and neighbors, but the problem is that saving Town Branch homeowners from flooding downhill from the cemetery is still being ignored: VA already at work preparing to dredge and fill wetland and pipe stormwater directly to Hill Avenue and thus to the 11th Street bridge on the Town Branch

Please click on individual photos to ENLARGE view of wetland area along the north edge of the Fayetteville National Cemetery being prepared for dredging and filling for grave sites. The depressional wetland developed over centuries because it is above a bedrock karst area where groundwater sinks into the underground caverns and aquifers and reduces surface-water flooding. When it is piped to the Town Branch it will further aggravate the flooding danger between Ellis and Van Buren avenues already created by the University of Arkansas' failure properly to manage stormwater on the campus and by paving and development along Martin Luther King Boulevard and on the Aspen Ridge/Hill Place project.

Save acres for vets

Now buy the land for the cemetery

Monday, December 21, 2009

Print item

LITTLE ROCK — LIKE WARM Arkansas Christmases, dry eyes after It’s a Wonderful Life, and little boys from the Natural State scribbling “LSU gear” on their annual wish lists, some things are just not meant to be. That’s the way it seems with the controversial student apartments that apparently won’t be built in south Fayetteville. You know, where Washington County’s historic livestock auction house operated until June.
A lawsuit that sought to override the city’s denial of a rezoning request seems to be kaput. Campus Crest developers of North Carolina wanted to buy the property from the auction house’s owner, Bill Joe Bartholomew, and build 500 apartments on the property. But the drawn-out legal ordeal surrounding this purchase became just too much to bear. Mr. Bartholomew now wants his suit dismissed.
The proposed sale to Campus Crest became a flashpoint for veterans and others last summer. They wanted to secure the site across Government Avenue from the city’s National Cemetery so they might preserve the sacred nature of that location. They basically argued that more student apartments in an overbuilt Fayetteville wasn’t an appropriate use of the land. They had a point. The former auction barn parcel does provide an ideally located space to enlarge this rapidly filling cemetery.
Fayetteville’s council denied Mr. Bartholomew’s request to rezone his property. The rezoning would have sealed the sale and enabled Campus Crest to purchase and develop the property. That’s when Mr. Bartholomew filed his suit against the city.

This latest development means the corporation that oversees the cemetery’s operation, Congress, the national office of Veteran’s Affairs, and veterans’ organizations need to find a way to purchase this property. The space needs to be preserved and protected as a final resting place for our veterans in the decades to come.