The Associated Press
Strong storms slam
Arkansas, knocking
out power to thousands
LITTLE ROCK -- Crews are working to restore electricity throughout Arkansas and Oklahoma after damaging winds downed power lines and upended trees.
The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, received no reports of tornadoes Thursday but hail and wind damage reports were widespread in the eastern two-thirds of the country. No injuries or deaths have been reported.
In Arkansas, nearly 86,000 Entergy customers were without power Friday morning, down from a peak of 137,000 outages. The utility said it could take several days before power is restored to the hardest-hit areas.
Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas had about 15,000 customers without electricity Friday morning, and about 33,000 Oklahoma Gas & Electric customers in Arkansas and Oklahoma had no electricity, down from a peak of 53,000.
Arkansas State Police
say 3-year-old
abducted in Van Buren
VAN BUREN -- Arkansas State Police are searching for a 3-year-old girl that investigators believe was abducted by her mother and the mother's boyfriend and may be in Oklahoma.
State police say Layla Rae Munholland was taken from her home in Van Buren when the mother and her boyfriend broke into the home about 1:30 a.m. Friday.
The girl is believed to be with her mother, Chelsea Munholland, and Herbert Allen Thomas.
The three are believed to be traveling in a stolen, 2006 Toyota Corolla with an Arkansas license plate.
Police say debit card activity indicates the three travelled through Stilwell, Oklahoma, and Westville, Oklahoma.
Board of Education
approves charter
school's move
LITTLE ROCK -- The Arkansas Board of Education has approved the relocation of a charter school in Little Rock and a new charter school campus in Springdale.
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the board approved the move and the new campus Thursday.
Little Rock Preparatory Academy's middle school will relocate to the former site of Lutheran High School, and will serve as many as 180 students in grades five through eight. The charter school is a college-preparatory program for underserved communities, and the new campus has science laboratories, a gymnasium, outdoor recreational space and other amenities that are not available at the school's current site.
A new Haas Hall Academy campus was also approved by the board. It's scheduled to open in Springdale in 2017, and will serve up to 500 students in seventh through twelfth grades. Haas Hall Academy has campuses in Fayetteville and Bentonville.
The state's Charter Authorizing Panel approved the Little Rock school's relocation in May, but denied Haas Hall's application to open a school in the Jones Center for Families in Springdale.
The panel's decisions are subject to review by the Education Board, which can either uphold the panel's decisions or makes its own decision after a hearing.
Springdale School District superintendent Jim Rollins sent a letter to the Education Board saying that the due to the area's diverse community, the opening of the campus would lead to segregation. He cited data saying that existing Haas Hall campuses do not special-education students or students learning English as a second language.
Haas Hall Academy founder and superintendent Martin Schoppmeyer and the charter system's attorney, Mark Henry, told the board that school planners are anxious to show that the school's college-preparatory program will be successful with a diverse student population.
Griffin says Pence
brings traits 'Trump needs a dose of'
LITTLE ROCK -- Arkansas Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin says Donald Trump's vice-presidential pick is someone who will bring traits that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee might not have.
Trump on Friday added Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to the GOP ticket. Griffin knew Pence from their work on the House Judiciary Committee when both were in Congress.
Griffin called Pence smart, thoughtful, serious and steady. He said the Indiana governor was "not a knee-jerk kind of guy" and "very deliberate." The Arkansas lieutenant governor said those were qualities that "Trump needs a dose of."
Griffin said that adding Washington political experience, through Pence, will help Trump's chances of winning in November.
The lieutenant governor criticized presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, calling her untrustworthy and saying she needs a running mate "familiar with the truth."
State Desk on 07/16/2016