NEWS ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN THE

May 2000

Stringer of lights spreads riches

RACHEL O'NEAL
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

The walls of the front offices of Jennings Osborne's medical testing center are lined from floor to ceiling with pictures.
    Pictures of his Little Rock home emblazoned with red Christmas lights. Pictures of Osborne and his wife, Mitzi, serving up massive trays of barbecue. Pictures of the Osbornes with national and state politicians and celebrities.
    It's hard to find a spot that isn't covered with a memento or photo of some event in which the Osbornes dropped a bundle of cash.
    Behind the front offices is where Osborne makes his money: A lucrative drug-testing facility with room to house 200 human subjects.
    His business, Arkansas Research Medical Testing Center, is so lucrative it allows Osborne to give away "millions annually," according to his Web site.
    The money also has afforded the Osbornes a luxurious lifestyle.
    Many of his acquaintances call him shy. If true, he isn't shy about telling others about his two homes, fleet of cars, swimming pool and tennis court. Anyone can see them on his Web site: www.jenningsosbornefamily.com
    The curious can peek at dozens of pictures of his homes and read his online autobiography in which he reveals that he has a 22,000-square-foot home in Little Rock, a "palatial estate" on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs and an estimated 40 vehicles. Three days a week the Web site offers a "question of the day" about political, entertainment or social issues, with viewers' responses tabulated and listed.
    His family has its own logo, which appears on billboards, T-shirts and hats. The logo usually appears with the family motto: "The Osborne family challenges you to commit a random act of kindness."
    Osborne calls himself "Little Rock's own version of Elvis." Last year, he lighted Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion in Memphis with 2 million of his beloved Christmas bulbs.
    "I grew up idolizing Elvis," Osborne said in a recent interview. "I just can't do it on the scale that he did it on. I would love to buy 10 Cadillacs and give them all away."
    Has he ever given away a Cadillac?
    "I've given cars away, but I've never given a Cadillac away. Wait. I have given a Cadillac away. I certainly have."
   
HIS FORTUNE
    He's able to give away cars mainly because of Phase One drug testing.
    The Federal Drug Administration requires various levels of testing before drugs are approved.
    Phase One is the first time a drug is given to humans. Before that, it is tested only on animals.
    According to others in the drug-testing business, Phase One is the most difficult testing stage for which to recruit volunteers because of the unknown effects of the drug. One person, who didn't want to be identified, said it is "the most controversial and most difficult test."
    Such tests usually require 24-hour-a-day confinement, which means the tester must have a facility large enough to house and feed the volunteers. Some tests take up to six weeks, during which the patient cannot leave the facility or have visitors.
    Osborne has advantages over many of his competitors. He has the space to house patients. He got into the drug-testing business in 1968 as one of a handful of companies in the nation. And he has developed a reputation for being reliable, observers said.
    "If one drug company quit doing business with him because of shoddy work, they all probably would stop doing business with him," said a physician who has done work for Osborne. "His work always is clean, and he produces good data."
    His 20-employee testing center has little turnover, probably because of high salaries and generous benefits -- six weeks' paid vacation plus a month's pay for a Christmas bonus. He gives employees who have worked for him for less than five years a $1,000 bonus on their birthdays. Employees who have been with him for more than five years get an annual birthday bonus of a month's pay.
    Years ago, an Internal Revenue Service agent who was auditing Osborne's books learned a janitor was making more than she was.
    "She was really hacked off about that. She suggested we were paying our employees too much," Mitzi Osborne said.
    Osborne doesn't spend as much time at his homes as he does at the office. Osborne and former workers agree that he puts in long hours at the office, performing much of the lab work himself.
    Mitzi Osborne also worked long hours at the office until their daughter, Breezy, was born in 1980. Mitzi still works long hours compiling data, but now she works at home.
    Osborne won't tell how much money he makes. The physician who worked for Osborne in the past estimated Osborne's business probably makes $3 million to $4 million annually.
    In 1995, Osborne filed for protection from creditors under federal bankruptcy laws. The IRS claimed he owed $3.5 million in taxes, penalties and interest. The next year, he worked out a payment plan with the government.
    The bankruptcy filings included information about the Osbornes' wealth.
    In 1993, they made $2.7 million in salary. In 1994, they earned a salary of $1.897 million. In August 1995, they reported a salary of $150,000 a month, which adds up to $1.8 million a year, according to the bankruptcy filing.
    Osborne, who owns three adjacent homes on Cantrell Road east of Interstate 430, listed the total market value at $4.29 million. He also listed $6.55 million in personal property including:
    Arkansas Research Medical Testing Center stock, 250 shares, $2.7 million.
    Household goods, $1.6 million.
    Furs and jewelry, $800,000.
    Automobiles and boats, including 13 cars and trucks, five boats and a motor home, $629,000.
    Collectibles, $400,000.
    Clothes, $200,000.
    Firearms, sports, photographic and hobby equipment, $150,000.
    First Commercial Corp. stock, 1,448 shares, $37,840.
    Nativity scene, $25,000.
    Wal-Mart Stores Inc. stock, 334 shares, $8,935.
    From July 1994 through July 1995, Osborne gave away $124,166, including $43,400 on two fireworks displays; $15,270 to Christ the King Church; $11,600 to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation; $10,000 to the Arkansas Symphony; $5,000 to Arkansas Educational Television Commission; $5,000 to the Farm and Ranch Club of Arkansas; and $5,000 to the March of Dimes, according to the bankruptcy filing.
    Since then, his giving has grown.
   
HIS GIFTS
    In 1999 alone, Jennings Osborne sprang for $53,382 in gifts for Gov. Mike Huckabee, strung more than 20 million Christmas lights in 34 locations and fed thousands of people pounds upon pounds of barbecue.
    "I don't ever tell the price of my gifts," Osborne said.
    When asked about the cost of the barbecues, he only would say the meals are "terribly, terribly expensive. It's phenomenal."
    Is it more than most Arkansans make in a year? "Yes."
    A lot more? "Well, you know, I am an Arkansan."
    In some cases, Osborne is able to use a barbecue as a tax write-off.
    "It depends on the event you do," Osborne said. "But still, you've got to spend the money. It's immaterial. I pay the IRS. The IRS cannot say I don't pay the IRS."
    Last year, Osborne had 26 barbecues. Between 2,000 and 4,000 people turned up at each one. Some were free events held for tornado victims. At others, he charged $5 per person to raise money for the War Memorial Stadium Fund. The barbecues collected up to $19,100 for the stadium.
    In February 1999, Huckabee appointed Osborne to a seat on the War Memorial Stadium Commission.
    His most recent barbecue was held March 30. He charged $50 a person to raise money for Arkansas assistant coach Danny Nutt, who underwent brain surgery last year and recently suffered a relapse of bleeding from the brain stem. He raised about $30,000.
    The menu at every barbecue is the same: A whole chicken, beef ribs, a pork tenderloin, a turkey leg, a barbecue sandwich, sausage, brisket, coleslaw, potato salad, potato chips, a giant candy cane, a soft drink and bottled water. That's for each person.
    He serves the meals on trays that end up bending in the middle because of the weight of the food. He knows no one could eat that much. He provides to-go boxes so a person can "eat on it for a week."
    He can cook up to 6,000 pounds of meat at one time in the eight commercial-sized cookers set up in his backyard. The cookers produce so much smoke he alerts the fire department before he has a cook-out. The cookers are so large it takes a wrecker to move them.
    It's hard to estimate how much Osborne spends on each serving. But at a conservative $10 per person, he could easily spend $30,000 on an average-size barbecue.
    It was the gifts to Huckabee that sparked controversy. Some people questioned what he got in return.
    Osborne said he gets nothing.
    "I don't need anything," Osborne said. "I have everything in the world I need. I've got a wonderful family, a wonderful job. I have never had a state contract in my life. I don't need a state contract. I don't want a state contract."
    The gifts included $23,032 in clothes. Osborne said when he bought a suit or a sports coat, he sometimes would buy a similar item for the governor. He also spent $10,400 on weekly flowers for the Governor's Mansion; $11,700 on weekly pastries for the governor's staff; $7,500 on a party for the governor's staff and $750 on three gifts of flowers for Huckabee's wife, Janet.
    In February, Osborne showed his sense of humor after details of the gubernatorial gifts were near the top of the local news for several days. He and University of Arkansas Athletic Director Frank Broyles were attending a highly publicized UA board of trustees meeting, the day it was decided to reduce the number of UA Razorbacks home football games played in Little Rock.
    At one point during the meeting Osborne stood up, whipped out a tape measure and began measuring Broyles as if to fit him for a new suit.
    His gifts aren't limited to Republicans like Huckabee.
    Osborne has said he also bought former Gov. Jim Guy Tucker a $5,000 lap-top computer after Tucker was sentenced to home detention "to help him entertain himself." Tucker was convicted in 1996 of two felonies in a Whitewater-related trial and sentenced to four years probation, including 18 months of home detention. He was ordered to make $290,000 in restitution and pay a $25,000 fine.
    "Nobody could have been as low as Jim Guy when he was sentenced to home detention," Osborne said. "What in the world could he give me when he was in home detention? I just felt sorry for him."
    Because of his generosity, he gets thousands of requests for money. He turns down many requests.
    "They all sound good," Osborne said. "Every one of them. Sometimes, it's really hard. I know these people need help, but I can't always financially help take care of them. I feel bad about it. Writing a letter or calling them just doesn't suffice. They are hurting, and it just rips my heart out that I can't help them."
    Mitzi Osborne said she is the more frugal of the two. On occasion, she said she has tried to limit the amount of money the family gives away.
    "There's an attempt, but it's really futile," she said. "He does what he wants to. Sometimes, I just close my eyes and hold my breath and hope it works."
    Why do the Osbornes give like they give?
    "The only thing I can think of is that you just keep giving until the Lord stops giving to you," she said.
    "Sometimes, I just wonder where it is going to come from," Mitzi Osborne added. "There is too much to be done. Are you going to have the money to do it all?"
    She added that many believe her family's money is limitless. "They think there's a big money tree in the back yard."
    While most of his gifts are easily observable, he also makes private gifts. He pays for a number of funerals each year, usually for children or crime victims. He also puts up reward money for missing persons.
    He doesn't give it all away, however. He is an avid collector, from Babe Ruth memorabilia and John F. Kennedy items to luxury cars. He also has a collection of knives, more than 75 bullwhips and 30 ventriloquist dolls.
    "I don't belong to the country club. I don't go to high-profile parties," Osborne said. "I am content cracking my bullwhips or throwing my knives or talking with my ventriloquist dolls."
   
FAMILY HISTORY
    Jennings and Mitzi Osborne were born three days apart in the same hospital. Growing up in Fort Smith, the two lived 13 blocks apart but didn't meet until 9th grade. Mitzi transferred to another school the following year.
    They met again when both were working at a Fort Smith hospital. After four dates, they were engaged. They married Nov. 13, 1965.
    Three months later, they moved to Little Rock and rented a home for $85 per month. From 1965-67, Osborne said he worked almost around the clock as head of microbiology at Baptist Medical Center and as a lab technician at St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center.
    He opened his drug-testing facility in 1968, working and sleeping at the office from Sunday night until Friday afternoon until he had a massive heart attack in November 1996. Now, he works from 7 a.m., until 8:30 p.m. and goes home each night to sleep.
    "I work hard at it," Osborne said. "Everything I do, I probably go overboard. When people give me work, they know I am not going to default. They know I am going to finish it and do it properly and in a timely fashion. For a pharmaceutical company, time is money."
    The Osbornes wanted a child. Mitzi had five miscarriages before finally giving birth on May 29, 1980, to Allison Brianne. Her parents call her "Breezy."
    A year later, the Osbornes built a wall around their house after the family was robbed at gunpoint at midnight in front of their business. One of the gunmen made a motion as if he intended to grab Breezy. Mitzi began screaming. The gunmen got the Osbornes' jewelry and wallets and ran off.
   
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
    In 1986, Breezy asked her dad to decorate their house for Christmas. What started as a few strands of lights quickly grew in a few years to about 2 million red lights, a spectacle that caused traffic jams in front of their home and made "Osborne" a household name.
    By 1992 Osborne had responded to neighbors' exasperation by buying the homes on either side of his house, without having seen the interior of either. Breezy, 19, and two college roommates now live in one of those houses. Osborne has a gym and library in the other house.
    At one time, Osborne wanted to join all three houses together into a mansion. He changed his mind.
    "There is a little bit of sanity in the Osborne family," he said. "It didn't make any sense to put that kind of money out for three people."
    In 1993, some of the neighbors filed a lawsuit contending that the Osbornes created a public nuisance with their Christmas lights. The Arkansas Supreme Court ordered them to significantly reduce the size of the display. That evening a family arrived to see the display. Osborne couldn't resist. He flipped the switch and was fined $10,000 for violating the court order.
    The lawsuit upset Osborne, who thought of his Christmas lights as a gift to Arkansans.
    "To me, it was a little Disney World," Osborne said. "A lot of people in Little Rock and surrounding areas will never get to go to Disney World. I sort of brought Disney World to them."
    In 1994, Osborne took many of his Christmas lights to Disney World, where he now has an annual light display with 4 million bulbs.
   
    He also puts up lights at several dozen courthouses around the state.
    The battle over his lights was a turning point for Osborne, he said. After he lost the fight, he started spending his money on other large public displays, like the fireworks, barbecues and Christmas lights around Arkansas.
    And then came the installation of 2 million Christmas lights at Graceland in Memphis.
    "That was a big, big deal for us," Osborne said. "That was just huge.
    "And Lisa Marie, my impression of her was just totally different after I met her," Osborne said of Presley's only child. "She is an extremely devoted mother.
    "We had dinner at the mansion. ... We were eating fried chicken cooked by the lady who cooked it for Elvis. I asked Lisa Marie to pass the corn. She asked me to pass the chicken, or something like that. It was a nice evening."
   
HIS FRIENDS
    Bob Wheeler of Hot Springs, executive director of the Miss Arkansas Pageant, said Osborne asked him about 10 years ago for several good seats to the pageant. When Wheeler told him patrons have first dibs for such seats, Osborne offered a $5,000 donation for three "pretty good seats."
    That year, the Osbornes were seated at the end of the ramp. The next year, the Osbornes were moved to the patron section. Each year after, they were moved up until they finally had front-row tickets.
    As the seats got better, the amount of money Osborne gave to the pageant grew until it reached $50,000.
    But a few years ago, Osborne said the money should go directly to the winner instead into an educational scholarship. Wheeler told him he couldn't do that. Osborne quit giving money to the pageant.
    Wheeler said he has no hard feelings, pointing out that because of Osborne, many women have been able to go to college.
    "He is a benevolent person," Wheeler said. "He's got money and he wants to see people who will enjoy it who don't have any money."
    Joan Adcock, a Little Rock city director, met Osborne when he and his neighbors were feuding over the Christmas lights. She tried unsuccessfully to work out a resolution.
    In 1998, Osborne was co-chairman of Adcock's unsuccessful bid for Pulaski County judge.
    "He is probably one of the gentlest people I have ever met," Adcock said. "He is also probably one of the shyest men I have ever met. He is a mixture of Santa Claus and of a sugar daddy and of the tooth fairy."
    Adcock said all Osborne wants in return for his gifts is a "thank you."
    Neil McGlothin of Dallas was laid off from a computer job in the mid-1980s and couldn't find work. He signed up at Osborne's research center, normally participating in tests of over-the-counter medications. Osborne later hired him to do odd jobs.
    Many of the volunteers were homeless or "fresh out of prison," said McGlothin, now the training administrator for Affiliated Computer Services Inc. in Dallas.
    Despite the volunteers' backgrounds, Osborne treated everyone the same, McGlothin said.
    "Jennings Osborne, probably without his knowledge, taught me a great many lessons about human dignity, trust and how every man deserved respect, regardless of his current circumstances," McGlothin said.
    Osborne gave McGlothin blank checks to purchase supplies. One time, he gave McGlothin a blank check to buy a 1923 roadster, which he bought for about $5,700. Another time, Osborne gave him a blank check to buy 10 microwave ovens.
    "The most important thing to me was that Jennings trusted me. ... I would fill in the amounts for the purchases. To my knowledge, he never questioned my honesty," McGlothin said.
    David Bazzel of Little Rock, a former Razorback linebacker and a local television personality, is in charge of setting up Osborne's special events.
    Bazzel said Osborne works hard all the time. "He's down there every day and he's down there busting his rear end to make a living.
    "Everybody tries to read things into him," Bazzel said. "He's a unique one and he's got his faults like anybody else, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone with a bigger heart."
    While the mementos of Osborne's life cover his walls, he also gives away Osborne mementos to others. His office is stacked knee-deep with boxes and boxes of photographs taken at Osborne events. He said he spends several hours a week signing the photographs and mailing them to people who request a photo.
    At a recent barbecue, Osborne hired two photographers to take photographs. They snapped more than 40 rolls of film.
    After he was interviewed for this article, he sent the reporter 46 autographed photographs of himself and his family at places like Disney World and Graceland.
    "I can't believe it when someone wants my autograph," Osborne said. "It just blows me away."
   

This article was published on Sunday, May 14, 2000


Letters to the editor


Not proud to be an American
    I have always loved my country, but today I am not proud of her. Nor am I proud to be called an American.
    The tragedy that occurred at 5 a.m. the day before Easter in Miami brought to mind the famous picture from Nazi Germany of the little Jewish boy with his hands raised in the air while German soldiers had their guns trained on him.
    Is this the government of a free people? I don't think so.
    Not any more. This is Bill Clinton's America. He had the gall to say after the seizure that "the law has been upheld."
    What law? How about the violation of the Fourth Amendment when the home of the Gonzalez family was raided? They were not secure in their own home as outlined in that amendment. But then again, neither were the people in Waco.
    It is interesting to note that in the editorial on the same day Elian was seized, the writer was reviewing the dialogue from the movie "The Ten Commandments" and the enslavement of the Hebrews by Egypt. Then the statement was made: "But we confess that the story does inspire a subversive thought or two about an armed people being a free people." Thank you. That's it exactly.
    If Clinton gets his way with more gun control and manages to take guns from all citizens, then you have a police state; doors being smashed in at 5 a.m. will become extremely commonplace and none of us will be secure in our own homes.
    My father fought for this nation in World War II. My husband and my brother fought in the Vietnam War. They all were fighting for freedom. My question now to all Americans is: Did they fight in vain? Or is the economy the all-important thing? What's more important, being wealthy or being free?
    LORRAINE D. MESSMER
    Conway
   
Elian picture was a winner
    Thank you. Your paper helped me win a bet with my husband. I bet him that you would publish the frightening picture of Elian being taken from his relatives along with screaming headlines, and you did. After all, we have only been seeing that for the last 24 hours on TV. And we will probably see it for another week or so. The media [are] really a piece of work!
    NANCY FRANTA
    North Little Rock
   
Husband has to buy lunch
    Well, thanks a lot! Because of you, I lost a bet with my wife. I bet her you would downplay the frightening picture of Elian being taken from his relatives and put the picture showing the happy reuniting of papa and son above the fold, along with an appropriate huge headline. After all, we had seen the scary one for only the previous 24 hours on TV and it was old news. If only you had taken the high road, I would have won. Now I have to pay for lunch!
    JOHN M. FRANTA
    North Little Rock
   
New name for Democrats
    Our liberal left who accept communism and fascist regimes and who ignore major human abuses are called "fellow travelers." A fellow traveler is a mate (as in Australian slang) who is sympathetic with the ideals and dictatorship of communistic doctrine.
    After the last seven years of fine-tuning, the American Democrat Party can now be renamed the Communistic Party of America. The last seven years have solidified the breaking of the rule of law, approved by the former Democrat party members, backed up by the communistic approach of the Supreme Court.
    To circumvent the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, the fellow travelers of the Supreme Court have taken to reading between the lines of these documents to circumvent a strict interpretation (reading on the line). Our Constitution is a dead document.
    Because the rule of law is dead, Attorney General Janet Reno could ignore the slow steps of following due process in the courts. Going in after a 6-year-old Cuban boy (whose mother gave her life to make him free) was not to show the American people that the rule of law is dead. It was to impress Fidel Castro that the Reno/Clinton team are true communists just as he is--where the rule of law has been dead for decades. We have leaped 10 steps closer in waiting for the revolution!
    Al Gore has lost the Cuban vote and Florida.
    J.F. COLEMAN
    McCaskill
   
Not a friendly company
    I recently subscribed to DSL and Internet service. When I subscribed, I had to change Internet providers. Since then, my e-mail in box is filled every day with three or four get-rich-quick offers. These are annoying and get deleted before reading them.
    What really concerns me is that every day, I receive two or three offers to view free pornography sites. Here is the text from one I recently received: "Looking for some hot, young girls? Look no further. We have the freshest, youngest girls available. These girls are barely legal. This is the site you have been hearing about. We are the best rated adult site on the net! Uncensored pics, live cams, plus chat rooms where you can talk to our girls live! Don't wait. Get your full access trial today!"
    Advertising pictures that are on the edge of being child pornography is not what I considered to be part of my Internet service package. [This company] advertises as a "friendly, neighborhood, global" communications company. I hardly consider this content to be friendly, neighborhood or good for the global community.
    DARRELL AMY
    Maumelle
   
Osbornes give generously
    I've had the occasion to read some of the letters saying some bad things about Jennings Osborne and his family and it causes me to wonder if anyone, even Osborne, knows what this family does, not just for Arkansas, but all over, and to this day has never asked for anything in return.
    It is very obvious that the attack against Gov. Mike Huckabee is politically motivated but seems to have no reason whatsoever when you consider other projects throughout Arkansas and the South.
    This family has furnished holiday lights to Hot Springs, Fort Smith, Magnet Cove, Monticello, Malvern and many places I don't even know about. Sometimes he has put them up and then given them to the cities or organizations to reuse each year.
    How about the River Market, our state Capitol, St. Vincent's, the Arkansas Schools for the Deaf and the Blind and the Benton Services Center?
    Then the barbecues he does for so many different events. It makes no difference if they are "little people" or "big people"; they enjoy.
    Let's not forget the fireworks displays he has arranged for many sites in Arkansas and elsewhere.
    Over the years, the Osbornes have given over $200,000 to young women from all over the state through the Miss Arkansas Pageant Scholarship Program, allowing young women to pursue a college education when they might not have otherwise been able to do so. And what did they get? A page in the program book, front-row seats and their picture taken with the new Miss Arkansas. They've never asked for anything else.
    Many of us will always remember.
    BOB WHEELER
    Hot Springs
   
A vote made a difference
    My vote was the one vote which made the difference in the Lonoke County prosecutor's election last time around.
    I was studying in England and had to overcome some obstacles to get my ballot here.
    The party I did not vote for tried to discount my vote as I was not in the country so my vote should not count.
    Now that same party has conducted the most blatant bypass of constitutional rights in this nation's history short of slavery. That one vote was real important, and the Democrats tried to say I didn't have the right to vote.
    Your vote may be discounted next time. You folks better quit the apathy and change the blood line in D.C. or it may not matter if we vote or not before long.
    K.R. KIPER
    Cabot
   
What Clinton did for us
    In ex-Sen. Dale Bumpers' "dear friend" letter soliciting money for the Bill Clinton lie-brary, he says to [give money] because "the Clinton Center and School will provide a forum for Bill Clinton's continuing contributions to national and international policy."
    My question to "Panama" Bumpers: Exactly what contribution has Clinton made to international policy? He went to India and Pakistan at a cost of between $50 million and $75 million. For that sum, he was able to make both countries hostile at the United States.
    Bumpers further states: "But most of all, do it because--after all Bill Clinton has done for us--it's time for us to celebrate his presidency. . . ."
    Is Bumpers trying to be a comedian? What in the world has Slick Willie done for Arkansas the last 71/2 years? For that matter, what exactly did he do for Arkansas while he was governor? We were at the bottom when he became governor and we are still there.
    He did do one thing for us: He raised our taxes. I guess he likes high taxes; he moved to New York City.
    BILLY J. BURKE
    Hope
   
Dedicated public servant
    Several years ago, I sought assistance for child support through the Washington County Child Support Division. There, I was assisted by a young woman named Carline Starnes.
    Starnes led me to a crowded corner of the circuit clerk's office in the old courthouse to what I supposed was her office. I noted her desk was piled with overwhelming caseload files. But in spite of her poor working conditions and mounds of work to do, she stopped and located the paperwork I needed and went out of her way to assist me. I found that to be a rare trait in these days in public offices.
    On my visits to her office through the years, I've watched Starnes singlehandedly convert the child support division into an organized and very efficient agency of county government.
    I don't know Starnes personally--only recently learned how to spell her name--but I do know that professionally speaking, she is one of the most dedicated public servants I have ever known. I've seen her so busy in her office at times, she needed eight arms just to keep up, but somehow she has always managed to do just that. I wonder if maybe those circles I've seen under her eyes could be from the midnight oil she burns to do her job.
    Although her energy is impressive to me, I am far more impressed by her dedication and willingness to assist those of us she has served--single parents. She does this with courtesy and kindness.
    I can't begin to imagine anyone else who would be more suited for the circuit clerk's position than Carline Starnes.
    GWENDA BRASSFIELD
    Prairie Grove
   

This article was published on Tuesday, May 2, 2000


Return To In The News Main Menu


[ HOME ] [ FAMILY STORY ] [ BARBECUE ] [ CHRISTMAS LIGHTS ]
[ FIREWORKS ] [ GRACELAND ] [ DISNEY ] [ RAZORBACKS ] [ QUESTION OF THE DAY ]
[ PHOTO ALBUM ] [ CARTOONS ] [ FREE PHOTOS! ] [ FAVORITE LINKS ]
[ HOMES & TOYS ] [ VIP ] [ CALENDAR OF EVENTS ]
[ SIGN GUESTBOOK ] [ VIEW GUESTBOOK ]