1. sports
2. horse racing

UKRAINE
Marathon talks produce Ukraine peace deal; cease-fire Sunday
WAR
POWERS
Boehner says Obama military force proposal needs toughening
NATION
„ PAGE 5A
WORLD
„ PAGE 10A
Three sections,
26 pages
Number 44, Volume 138
Seventy Five Cents
FRIDAY
February 13, 2015
www.hotspringssr.com
Published daily in Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, since 1877
Stanley
custody
hearing
postponed
Workers
uncover
decades-old
London’s sign
CAITLIN LAFARLETTE
The Sentinel-Record
DON THOMASON
The Sentinel-Record
A decades-old sign advertising London’s, a chocolatier
store, was recently uncovered by workmen renovating the
retail spaces at the Dugan-Stuart Building, 256-264 Central Ave.
The stained-glass sign has been covered for years by an
added facade and sustained heavy damage, local architect
Anthony Taylor, one of the developers who purchased the
building, said Thursday.
“I’ve tried for two days to convince our stained-glass subcontractor that we can repair it, but he is adamant that it is too
far gone, so we’ve authorized him to make a replica of it. London’s was a chocolatier and (downtown property owner) Ken
Wheatley said if you got a box of chocolates from London’s,
you had received a very nice gift,” Taylor said.
Taylor said the old sign will be saved, and he plans to speak
with the couple who are putting in a Kilwins chocolate store in
one of the building’s ground floor spaces about the possibility
of hanging the sign in their store.
Taylor said three new tenants and one existing business
will occupy the four retail spaces. They are Kilwins; a mother
and daughter duo that plans to open a fruit-and-wine tasting
shop; and a 4-D Disneyland-type attraction. The existing convenience store will remain, with some future upgrades planned
for the facade.
“We’re looking at the first of April as when we will begin
construction on the Thompson Building, which will be a little
more than $5.5 million project,” Taylor said.
“Due to the timing of our purchase here at Dugan-Stuart,
we missed the window for the federal new market tax credit
scenario, so what we’re doing now is getting the ground-floor
SIGN, PAGE 3A
Man held
on drug,
firearm
charges
The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen
OLD SIGN: Workers renovating retail space on the ground floor of the Dugan-Stuart Building
in downtown Hot Springs have uncovered an old London’s sign. Developers say the sign can’t
be restored but a replica has been authorized.
A full court hearing originally scheduled for Thursday to determine whether
Hal and Michelle Stanley’s seven children would be placed back in their home
has been pushed back to March 23.
A post on the Facebook page “Bring
the Stanley kids home” Wednesday afternoon stated Hal Stanley received word
the state had postponed the hearings.
“They didn’t tell us why,” Michelle
Stanley said in a letter posted on the
Facebook page. “We had been given the
impression that all our children were
going to be allowed to come back home
with us but now we have to wait.”
Q. Byrum Hurst, the family’s attorney,
said Thursday that he was still trying to
determine the extent of the gag order
placed on the hearing, as far as being able
to comment on the case.
“DHS asked that it be continued and
against our objection, it got continued,”
he said of the case.
Hurst said the hearing, once it begins
March 23, will likely last a week.
The family’s first custody hearing was
Jan. 22 and carried over to the next day
with no outcome. Since then, the Facebook
page has reached nearly 15,000 “likes”
and the GoFundMe fundraiser set up had
raised $12,940 as of Thursday afternoon.
HEARING, PAGE 4A
Lake Hamilton
heads local
All-State music
selections
KINDNESS WALL
JAY BELL
The Sentinel-Record
CAITLIN LAFARLETTE
The Sentinel-Record
A 23-year-old man was arrested Wednesday and charged with
simultaneous possession of drugs
and firearms, a felony punishable by
up to life in prison, possession of a
controlled substance, hydrocodone,
and possess of drug paraphernalia,
misdemeanors punishable by up to
a year in jail.
Dylan Tyler Staggs, who listed a
201 Walnut Hill Drive address, appeared via video in Garland County
District Court Thursday with his attorney Josh Drake where the charge
ARREST, PAGE 3A
The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen
Lake Hamilton Middle School Principal Dewayne Curry, left, and teacher Theresa House, back, help
students, from left, Ethan Dowden, Hunter Johnson, Emily Brasfield and Sarah Osburne place Rachel’s
Challenge pledges in the new school’s Kindness Wall on Thursday. More than 700 students at the school
signed pledges to place in the wall, which will be used to recognize students who are observed committing
acts of kindness.
Seventeen performers from Lake Hamilton High
School and six others from local schools were named
All-State following auditions at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway on Saturday.
Selected students will participate in the Arkansas
All-State Music Conference Feb. 18-21 at the Hot
Springs Convention Center. All-State Jazz Band auditions were held Feb. 6 in Conway.
Students who earned the most points in their concert auditions at UCA were named to the All-State
Wind Symphony. The next-highest scores were named
to Symphonic Band and then the Concert Band.
Lake Hamilton students named to the Wind Symphony were Harry Glaeser, percussion; Ethan Hand,
tuba; and Katie Heath, soprano clarinet. Hand was also
MUSIC, PAGE 3A
Test barn keeps tabs on horses
EDITOR’S NOTE: A successful live race meet at
Oaklawn Park depends on hundreds of employees
working a variety of jobs, from making sure the
horses are ready to run to ensuring that customers
have a memorable day at the races. The SentinelRecord today continues its weekly series spotlighting
the workers who make Oaklawn a success.
BETH BRIGHT
The Sentinel-Record
The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen
PUT TO THE TEST: Dr. Joe Lokanc, veterinarian for the Arkansas State Racing Commission, demon-
strates in the test barn office at Oaklawn Park how samples taken from winning thoroughbreds are
divided up, sealed and sent to be tested in a lab in California. Lokanc and his team are in charge of doing
pre-race exams and post-race tests for every winner.
Horses are examined before they ever make
it to the winner’s circle at Oaklawn Park, then
head over to the test barn once the race is over.
Testing thoroughbreds for performance-modifying substances is taken seriously in the industry,
as making sure the horses are racing in their best
physical condition is a priority.
Dr. Joe Lokanc, veterinarian for the Arkansas
State Racing Commission, has worked in the
We a t h e r
MOSTLY SUNNY.
HIGHS IN THE LOW
50S. LOWS IN THE
MID 30S.
SUNRISE: 7 A.M.
SUNSET: 5:53 P.M.
MORE ON PAGE 2A
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state for close to 15 years and spends his days
keeping tabs on a “screening system of about
1,800 horses,” ensuring that all of them are in
their best condition and keeping the racing industry in Arkansas honest. With a team of eight
people, he said they put in extra effort to keep
everything working and well organized.
“When I started, we just handled the postrace testing, but we’ve since expanded to doing
the pre-race exams,” he said. “And we’re expanding our duties again to cover TCO2 testing
and you name it. We don’t exactly have enough
people to do everything we need to get done, but
we get everything done.”
According to Lokanc, it is a given that the
winner of every race will be tested as well as the
TEST BARN, PAGE 3A
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