Law and Order in the Ozarks (Part XXI): Indoor marijuana operation busted

Three issues of the Newton County Times have piled up while I've been involved with other things in recent weeks. I have the March 19 and 26 editions, as well as the one from April 2. There are a few big crime headlines. One is from the April 2 paper: "Indoor marijuana growing operation closed at Lurton." It reports that the Sheriff seized about $100K worth of marijuana at an indoor growing operation in the southern part of Newton County, in the community of Lurton, which is not even a Census Designated Place. The Sheriff's office was supported in the seizure by the State Police, the 14th District Drug Task Force, the Department of Community Corrections, and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. The investigation is continuing, and the Sheriff expects several arrests will soon be made.

A front-page story in the March 26, 2009, reports on "Adjudicated criminal cases reviewed after fall and winter sessions." One highlight (actually lowlight) includes sentencing of a man to a number felonies for hitting and threatening to kill another person after taking the victim's wallet at the victim's residence.

Another is about two parents sentenced in the abuse of their children. Medical examinations revealed that the children had been struck multiple times with a man's first and open hand. The stepfather, age 27, will serve 10 years in the Arkansas Dept. of Corrections after being found guilty of domestic battery of his five-year-old daughter and his stepchildren, age 8 and 10. The children's mother, age 29, pleaded guilty to permitting the abuse, even though she was also a victim of domestic violence at the hands of her husband. She will be on probation for 12 years, half of which will be waived if she makes child support payments and pays court costs.

In a separate matter, a 53-year-old woman was charged with theft of public benfits.

In other news:

• FEMA has announced that the "debris cost estimate" from the recent ice storm was $1.9 million. This is broken down as 20,817 cubic yards of vegetative debris; 15, 781 trees with hazardous limbs; 17 stumps;4 large hazardous trees; 35 medium hazardous trees; and 1,227 small hazardous trees. The county will create temporary positions for people who will be paid to clear the debris. Apparently, for FEMA funds to be used, the work must be completed within six months.

• A reorganization meeting for the Newton County Farmers Market is set for April 8.

• Free mammogram screenings are coming to the Newton County Health Unit on April 15. The Mobile Mammography Unit is from Northwest Hospital in Springdale, Arkansas.

• "Food Check-out Week marked by Farm Bureau Women" recounts facts about food safety and abundance in the United States. Among other details: "It takes just five weeks for the average American to earn enough disposable income to pay fo rhis or her family's food supply for the entire year." While food costs may be low relative to other costs such as housing and medical insurance, the story does not report on the incidence of food insecurity in the United States.