Name of man injured in plane crash at Gaston’s released
The name of the man injured in the plane crash at Gaston’s White River Resort on the White River near Lakeview has been released. Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery says 38-year-old Jeremy Wayne Saul of Russellville is the owner and pilot of the plane that crashed at 8:36 Wednesday night. Saul was airlifted to a Springfield hospital following the crash.
Sheriff Montgomery says emergency responders found the plane at the end of the airstrip in the tree line. It’s believed Saul was attempting to take off from the resort when the crash occurred.
The plane is a fixed wing single-engine Cessna 150H.
The Federal Aviation Administration is conducting the investigation.
It was the second plane crash at Gaston’s in the last month. One person received minor injuries in a crash June 17th.
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Accident injures one, charges follow; highway closed due to utility lines, gas leak
A 17-year-old male juvenile was transported to Baxter Regional Medical Center Tuesday morning and charged with reckless driving and DWI drugs following a one-vehicle accident. The accident closed U.S. Highway 62B in Mountain Home due to downed utility lines and a natural gas leak.
Mountain Home Police Chief Carry Manuel says the juvenile was released into the custody of his parents at the hospital. The driver’s name is being withheld at this time because he is a juvenile. Chief Manuel says his name may be released later, since the teen was charged as an adult.
According to the accident report, the vehicle is owned by Tracy and Karen Thurman of Mountain Home.
The crash occurred when the juvenile, traveling alone, was eastbound when he crossed both lanes of traffic, left the roadway and drove on the roadside. His vehicle then struck a utility pole breaking it before continuing east. The truck then struck a gas line causing damage and allowing natural gas to escape.
The vehicle continued east striking a second utility pole causing it to break. The truck then entered the highway crossing all four lanes and struck landscaping in front of the White Oaks Station after exiting the roadway.
The vehicle continued before coming to a stop behind the Florida Center. The vehicle was still running and in gear with the driver exiting the driver’s side of the truck when law enforcement arrived at the 7:16 a.m. accident.
Combined damage estimates to three utility poles, cable/Internet lines, natural gas lines and landscaping was set at $18,500.
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MH man takes running vehicle outside store with individual inside
A Mountain Home man, 55-year-old Tony Farnam, has been charged with felony kidnapping and theft of property, after he allegedly took a vehicle left running outside a convenience store Friday morning with an individual inside.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Mountain Home police took a report of a kidnapping and theft of vehicle from a victim who said he stopped at a convenience store, left his vehicle running and his handicapped brother in the front seat.
In a matter of a few minutes, the man said he exited the store to find his vehicle gone. With his brother handicapped, he knew he did not drive away.
An immediate BOLO or be on the lookout was issued to all law enforcement. About 15 minutes later, an officer located the vehicle at Baxter Regional Medical Center with the handicapped individual still buckled in the passenger seat.
Farnam was found in the hospital’s emergency room and identified as the suspect taking the vehicle in question. The report notes he admitted having taken the vehicle without permission and knew there was someone sitting next to him in the car. He also allegedly admitted to being on methamphetamine at the time of the incident.
Farnam is being held on a bond of $50,000. In addition to the two felony charges, he faces misdemeanor counts of DWI and driving while license suspended or revoked.
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Continuance granted in former Flippin police chief’s criminal case
A continuance has been granted in the case of former Flippin Police Chief Ronald “Dusty” Smith charged with theft of property for allegedly taking funds from the City of Flippin.
The continuance by Circuit Judge John Putman is the second granted in the case. In April, Smith’s request for a continuance was granted until July 12th.
According to the Order of Continuance filed Thursday morning, Smith’s trial has been continued until September 27th.
In January, the results of an investigation by the Arkansas Legislative Audit indicated the total of the funds Smith is alleged to have taken had grown to more than $63,000. The audit results were contained in a probable cause affidavit indicating a Class B felony count of theft of property had been filed against Smith, reflective of the increased dollar amount of the missing funds.
The original affidavit filed in late November followed an investigation by Arkansas State Police at the request of 14th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney David Ethredge into the misuse of over $8,000. The investigation led to Smith’s arrest on a Class C felony count of theft of property. The amended count reflected the amount of missing property ranging from $5,000 to $25,000.
The investigation leading to Smith’s arrest was triggered when the city’s keeper of the records, identified only as a part-time employee, received an email from a bank saying the former police chief’s city credit card was within 20 percent of its limit. This was a concern because Smith was reportedly on vacation from the Flippin Police Department and heading to Florida to work for a private company. An October bank statement noted $3,700 on Smith’s card. Ninety percent of those charges were from outside the state of Arkansas.
After the request for the State Police investigation, Ethredge requested an audit by the Arkansas Legislative Audit to be conducted from January 1, 2015 to the present for any credit cards, police accounts, drug buy accounts, and any accounts associated with Smith during this time frame.
According to the latest affidavit, the auditor reported from January 1, 2015 to the present Smith misused $63,718.84 in funds from the City of Flippin.
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Sinkhole closed on Spring River
A sinkhole on a local river has been closed. Arkansas Land Commissioner John Thurston posted on Facebook Thursday night his office and other agencies were able to close the sinkhole on the Spring River south of Mammoth Spring that led to the death of a Searcy man nearly a month ago.
Thurston stated crews used a track hoe to collapse the travertine roof. The land commissioner said the work the crews performed allowed the gap to be closed and the water hazard to be removed.
The sinkhole opened below Sadler Falls and claimed the life of Donny Wright on June 10th. Wright was with a group of men he helped to house and mentor through the Life Recovery Center. Crews with the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission had to rope off the area near where the whirlpool formed.
Thurston said his office worked with Arkansas Attorney General’s office, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Arkansas Department of Transportation, the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, Fulton County Sheriff Al Roork, Fulton County Judge Darrell Zimmer, the Fulton County Department of Emergency Management, Governor Asa Hutchinson’s office and State Senator Missy Irvin.
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