Three contested races have officially formed as the filing period for the May 18 primary election season in Hempstead County entered its final three days Thursday.

A state trooper's instincts, a mother's persistence, and a year-long investigation into the events surrounding the death of a Little Rock man from injuries sustained in a Nov. 28, 2008, one-car accident on Interstate 30 have led to a second Little Rock man pleading “no contest” to a charge of negligent homicide and being sentenced to 10 years in prison.

 Next time you check out your local Texas Eagle Amtrak train schedule, look for Hope worked in between the Arkadelphia and Texarkana stops.

Have you ever been tempted to grab more than just one newspaper from the rack? ‘There all the papers just sit; why not take more than one?’ seems to be the mindset for many people lately. The problem of taking a  newspaper that is not paid for is an increasing problem lately for the Hope Star and also has been reported with some bigger papers.

First in a series.
Hope Police Officer Daniel Oller was recently honored by the Hope Rotary Club for his work as a corporal in the Hope Police Department. Oller is the canine officer for the police department; is a field training officer and is the handler for Jett, a German Shepherd imported from Czechloslovakia.

Although based on records of arrests and citations issued throughout the holiday period, Hope Police Department and other lawmen were busy, but did not see an increase in traffic related offenses.

With possible freezing rain in the forecast, officials encourage safe driving to avoid accidents.
“Obviously, slow down especially at bridges. We had several accidents at bridges. As you see the trucks respect the caution lights and give them room,” Arkansas Highways and Transportation Department District Engineer Don Donaldson said.

There is still time to help the Santa Cop program, which is hasn’t gotten close to the mark on donations to help 12 families selected with only two days left, according to Hope Police Chief J.R. Wilson and HPD Administrative Secretary Misty McCollum.

Things were tough on the outside but improved on the inside for Hempstead County in the 2009 year as County Judge Wallace Martin reported a tough year for county roads and Hempstead County Clerk Sandra Rodgers reported a good year for courthouse improvements.

Hempstead County investigators were continuing to piece together the events and context of a shooting between two brothers in the predawn hours Sunday which left one brother in stable condition in a Texarkana hospital

 Officers responded to an accident involving a Blazer, driven by  Hope resident Annette McLaughlin, 47, and a woman riding her bicycle Friday just before 5 p.m. at the 1200 block of North Hervey and Compress streets.

With the hustle and bustle of the holidays, people are excited and, many times, rushed to get things in order and just perfect for the holidays.These are times when taking extra steps to be safe are even more important, according to Hope Police Chief J. R. Wilson, and the Hempstead County Sheriff’s Office.

Two incidents during the weekend resulted in a Spring Hill-area man being airlifted to a Texarkana hospital and a burglar being busted after a foot chase.

The seventh annual Hope Police Department Awards Banquet had three special additions Thursday night at Unity Baptist Church as three local ministers became official Hope Police Department chaplains.

A worker for Bobo and Bain Constrcution Co. doing trench work for a city sewer project near the Hope Indutsrial Park was rescued Tuesday afternoon from a cave-in which left him buried under a mound of soggy ground.