1. Art and Diseño

INTERNET
No fast or slow lanes for Internet? New rules proposed
MIDDLE
EAST
Jordan says IS can be defeated; uproar over burn video
WORLD
„ PAGE 5A
NATION
„ PAGE 3A
Two sections,
20 pages
Number 36, Volume 138
Seventy Five Cents
THURSDAY
February 5, 2015
www.hotspringssr.com
Published daily in Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, since 1877
EPA tours
Majestic
Hotel site
SIGN
Ad panel
OKs tower
negotiation
agreement
OF PROGRESS
DAVID SHOWERS
The Sentinel-Record
The Environmental Protection Agency visited the Majestic Hotel site Wednesday for the
first time since a fire last February reduced the
“yellow brick building” portion of the vacant
site to rubble, several officials confirmed.
Arkansas Department of Environmental
Quality spokeswoman Katherine Benenati said
Althea Foster of the EPA’s Region 6 prevention
and response branch was among those who
toured the site.
“It was the first time they were here,” she
said. “They came at our request. They wanted
to look at the property and get eyes on the site.”
EPA spokeswoman Jenna Durand said Foster
wasn’t available for comment Wednesday.
Benenati said the EPA’s presence doesn’t
MAJESTIC, PAGE 4A
BETH BRIGHT
The Sentinel-Record
The Sentinel-Record/Mara Kuhn
Monte Curtis, left, and Chris Graves with Village Landscaping work on a new sign for the Henderson
State University-Hot Springs downtown education center. Rick Williams, owner of the building, vowed to
donate a water feature and a sign featuring the names of HSU-Hot Springs and National Park Community
College. Enrollment easily exceeded expectations in the expanded program’s first two semesters since the
announcement of a downtown location in the Landmark Building. Officials had hoped for at least 1,300
credit hours and saw students enroll in 1,801 credit hours over the fall and spring semesters.
New CFO says hospital
dedicated, committed
DON THOMASON
The Sentinel-Record
Stuart Lisko, the new chief financial officer for Levi Hospital, has some big shoes
to fill, but says his new role is made easier
by a “top-notch” staff.
Lisko joined the hospital staff on Jan. 12,
succeeding 18-year veteran Charles Oswalt,
who died in October 2014.
“I have some big shoes to fill here. It’s
a different situation than some I’ve come
into before, but I can say that the people
at this facility are top-notch people. When
I came and interviewed, I had the oppor-
tunity to sit down and speak with five
department directors and get a feel for
them and their departments. What I saw
here was dedication and a willingness to
make sure they did a good job and that the
hospital did a good job,” he said.
Lisko said following the footsteps of
someone who has been in a position for
18 years is a good thing in some instances,
The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen
because it means standards have been set
and there is a standard way of doing things. NEW CFO: Stuart Lisko, who succeeded the late Charles Oswalt as
“What I found, I think, is my prede- the chief financial officer at Levi Hospital, said Tuesday that, after
cessor had a lot of things that were in his visiting with the hospital staff, he knew this was the opportunity he
HOSPITAL, PAGE 4A
had been seeking.
The Hot Springs Advertising and
Promotion Commission has signed an
agreement to negotiate its compensatory
interest in Hot Springs Mountain Tower
with the National Park Service that includes giving the federal agency notice
of requests for documents made under
Arkansas’ Freedom of Information Act.
The commission operates and manages Hot Springs Mountain Tower under
a contract with the Park Service. The
contract was extended in December 2013
for up to one year to give the Park Service
an opportunity to continue developing a
prospectus for a new concessions contract.
That contract was granted another extension in December 2014 for “continuation
of operation as described in the contract
for a period not to exceed Dec. 31, 2015, or
until the effective date of a new contract,
whichever occurs first.”
Construction of the tower was financed
in the 1980s through a city bond issue,
but its location on Hot Springs National
Park property atop Hot Springs Mountain
places the title in the hands of the federal
government.
According to Visit Hot Springs CEO
Steve Arrison, the commission received
an Agreement to Negotiate Leasehold
Surrender Interest — compensation for its
interest in the tower — in November 2014.
“When we got it, I was uncomfortable signing it as a nondisclosure agreement,” Arrison said. “We wanted to be in
compliance with Arkansas’ Freedom of
Information Act, so myself, our attorney
Scott Hickam, and our Finance Director
Vicki Ross had a conference call with the
TOWER, PAGE 3A
Free tax prep available at LHSD Parent Center, library
JAY BELL
Foundation Tax-Aide program
at the Lake Hamilton School
Free tax return preparation District Parent Center and Garis available now through April land County Library.
15 by volunteers with the AARP
AARP Foundation Tax Aide
The Sentinel-Record
FOOTBALL
is the largest free, volunteer-run
tax assistance and preparation
service in the country. The
foundation receives funding
from the Internal Revenue Ser-
vice to provide the free service.
Volunteers are available at
the Parent Center, 309 Wolf
St., from 2-6 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays, as well as
between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on about the past 10 years. From
Saturdays. At least a handful of 350 to 400 clients are served
volunteers are usually available. each year.
Charles Lynas, local coordiThe program has been availTAX PREP, PAGE 3A
able at the Parent Center for
State House panel approves
public employee protection
SIGNING
ALLEN REED
The Associated Press
The Sentinel-Record/Mara Kuhn
Lakeside senior Sam Wilson reads writing on a football that was a gift from the coaches after he signed with
Arkansas Tech, father Tim Wilson, from left, Lakeside coach Jared McBride and family and classmates looking
on Wednesday. For complete coverage of the first day of the NCAA football signing period, please see Page 1B.
LITTLE ROCK — Employees seeking
public information would be guaranteed
protection from retaliation under a proposal approved Wednesday by an Arkansas
House committee.
The House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs supported
the proposal to bar any public employer
from firing, disciplining or reprimanding
an employee who uses the state’s Freedom
of Information Act.
The 1967 law allows citizens to access
most public data, such as governmental
contracts and employee salaries. Information such as medical records, grand
jury minutes and Social Security minutes
are exempt. There are no restrictions on
who can ask for open records under the
law, which also ensures public access to
governmental meetings.
The proposal modifies one sentence in
a section of state law that prevents public employers from taking action against
workers who communicate with public
officials. It would add the same protec-
tions for those filing public information
requests.
“It simply clarifies that not only can
a public employee contact a public official to express their concerns about what
might be happening in government, but to
ensure their political freedom to exercise
a right that all citizens have,” said sponsor
Nate Bell, a Republican representative
from Mena.
Bell said he was contacted about the
idea by a public employee who had been
reprimanded by an employer after using
the law. He said other employees who said
they had been similarly targeted offered
him their support after the bill was filed.
After the meeting, Bell declined to
say what sort of information the initial
employee had requested or what sort of
punishment was given. He said he didn’t
want to put the employee at further risk.
“Very simply, it just clarifies what we
presume how people would operate anyway,” Bell said. “When you become a public employee, you don’t give up the same
rights as any other citizen to free speech
PROTECTION, PAGE 4A
Disneyland measles outbreak isn’t largest in recent memory
started in December at Disneyland. It happened months earlier
LOS ANGELES — The larg- in Ohio’s Amish country, where
est U.S. measles outbreak in re- 383 people fell ill after unvaccent history isn’t the one that cinated Amish missionaries
ALICIA CHANG
The Associated Press
traveled to the Philippines and
returned with the virus.
The Ohio episode drew far
less attention, even though the
number of cases was almost
four times that of the Southern
California outbreak, because it
seemed to pose little threat outside close-knit religious communities.
We a t h e r
SUNNY. HIGHS IN
THE LOW 40S. LOWS
IN THE HIGH 20S.
FRIDAY:
SUNRISE: 7:08 A.M.
SUNSET: 5:45 P.M.
SATURDAY:
MORE ON PAGE 2A
HIGH
HIGH
53˚ LOW 41˚
62˚ LOW 50˚
Arts, etc.
Classified
Sports
Features, etc.
FYI
Ind
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5B
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The Disneyland outbreak has
already spread well beyond the
theme parks that attract tens
of thousands of visitors from
around the globe, who could
ex
Lifestyles
Obituaries
Stocks
Viewpoints
GC West
then return home with the virus.
Disease investigators for weeks
raced to identify measles-stricken patients, track down poten-
MEASLES, PAGE 10A
Subscriber of the Day
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Recognizing
Shirley Chapman,
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for 13-plus years
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