Arkansas: North Little Rock

News from the U.S. attorney's office of a major indictment with a tantalizing indication of more to come in the area of public corruption in North Little Rock.

George Wylie Thompson, 64, of Cabot, has been indicted for possession, as a felon, of a huge arsenal of firearms, silencers and ammunition; for running a bookmaking operation; for drug dealing; for conspiring to commit marriage fraud, and for conspiring to commit wire fraud by working with an unnamed North Little Rock alderman on a kickback scheme on city concrete and landscaping projects.

Thompson was arrested in Bangkok and made an initial court appearance in Los Angeles last week.

The indictment, after a lengthy description of conversations between an unnamed city vendor and the alderman, stops short of saying whether any deals actually were completed.

Vandy Nash, a fourth grade teacher at Indian Hills Elementary in North Little Rock, has just been presented the 2010 Teacher of the Year award of the state Department of Education at the Governor's Mansion gala. Which gives me an opportunity to post this story from the New York Times Magazine about one teacher's experience trying to make a difference in the Arkansas Delta.

Consider this open line No. 2.

Arkansas-born pitchers are 2-0 so far in this year's World Series.  Yesterday we posted about Benton native Cliff Lee and his stellar performance in game one.  Last night, North Little Rock's own A.J. Burnett took the hill and helped the Yankees tie the series at 1-1.  Both teams will now head to Philadelphia for game three.  There's an interesting piece in today's New York Times about the two pitchers and their agent, Darek Braunecker, who is based in Little Rock.  Needless to say, Braunecker is having a pretty good series so far.

On Wednesday, Lee became the first pitcher since Pittsburgh’s Deacon Phillippe in 1903 to win in the World Series while striking out 10 with no walks.

The Arkansas Department of Health will hold a series of mass vaccination clinics throughout the state starting tomorrow.  There will be three in Pulaski county on Thursday: at the Jacksonville Community Center in Jacksonville (8 a.m. - 6 p.m.), the Church at Rock Creek in Little Rock (9 a.m. - 7 p.m.) and at Dickey-Stephens Ball Park in North Little Rock (8 a.m. - 5 p.m.). 

Vaccinations will be free but are in limited supply.  According to a press release from the ADH, the supply is so small that only "priority groups" will be given the vaccine.  Those at most risk are pregnant women, children from 6 months to 4 years, children 5 to 18 with underlying medical conditions.  Check here for a complete listing of clinics throughout the state.  To learn more about fighting the flu, check out the health department's website.