HomeMy WebLinkAboutS-1346 Map 910B • WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 2002 • Arkansas Democrat v oazette
Tag sneak attack
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/RICK WFARLAND
Robin Pearson, 8, takes off toward the other end of a tunnel after spotting her twin sister, Emma, sneak-
ing up on her Tuesday morning with a foam dart at Murray Park in Little Rock. They were at the park with
their mother, Denise Pearson, of Little Rock and were playing a game of tag.
Theme park assist the Koon family in any way. Monday that she had just stepped
"Of course, our thoughts and onto the walkway with her 3-
prayers go out to them," Rau said. year -old son when the section
• Continued from Page 1B Silver Dollar City occupies collapse&
form of medical treatment. Mary more than 60 acres just west of 'We all slid into the water, and
Koon and a man were the only Branson and draws more than he went under," she told the Mis-
two still in the hospital Tuesday 10,000 visitors per day in the souri newspaper. "I lifted him up,
morning. summer and about 2 million each and I was able to hold onto the
After a marathon surgery ses- year. part of the walkway that didn't
-ion M-aday at University Hos- The park remains open, but fall. If I wouldn't have had him
_ . au- h--d_h--,. ld have been
In order to change the
name of the street,
more than half of
those who receive
mail on Asher Avenue
must sign a petition in
favor of the change.
those who receive mail on Ash-
er Avenue must sign a petition in
favor of the change. Roughly 500
business and residential address-
es receive mail along that stretch
of Asher, a U.S. Postal Service
spokesman said.
A proposed name must be in-
cluded in an application submit-
ted to the city, said Dana Carney,
zoning and subdivision manager
for the city's Planning Department
The proposal must first be ap-
proved by the city's Planning
Commission before a review by
the Little Rock Board of Direc-
tors.
Requests for a name change
are rare, Carney said.
"We maybe get a couple pro-
posals a year," he said. "It's rare
that you get one for a street of this
length"
The proposal faces some op-
position from many who have
grown up with the Asher Avenue
name and from those who ques-
tion the practicality of a new
name. Also a new name means
added costs for businesses that
must change their stationery,
business cards and signs.
"The name's been there ever
since I can remember," said Atley
Davis, who owns several com-
mercial properties on Asher. "I'd
like the area to prosper ... but I
don't want us to lose the name in
the process.
Supporters of the name change
say they favor calling the two-mile
stretch Colonel Glenn or Stage-
coach Road, which both diverge
from the section's western end.
They also acknowledge that a
name change will do little un-
less paired with other improve-
ments.
The stretch of Asher is in the
midst of a road -widening project,
which committee members hope
will also bring business to some
of the vacant properties there and
other improvements.
"On its own, it doesn't change
that much," said Mike Kumpuris,
president of the Westwood Neigh-
borhood Association and a mem-
ber of the committee. "Even if you
called it God Street and you don't
do anything else, nothing will
change:'
Avenue
• Continued from Pagel B
president of the committee. Sev-
eral buildings on Asher have
been left vacant and derelict as
businesses have moved west-
ward over the past decade.
"The thought is that it would
be a good way to change the im-
age of the area;' Wilson said. "We
just felt like there's too much bad
publicity milted up with Asher on
the other end."
In 1913, the Little Rock City
Council named the thorough-
fare for County Judge Joseph Ash-
er, who created the first juvenile
court in Arkansas, built a deten-
tion home for young delinquents
and established a courthouse in
the early 1900s.
Asher, who died in 1931 at age
73, was responsible for many re-
forms in highway construction
and county administration.
The effort won't be the first
attempt to rename Asher. In 1994,
several neighborhood groups
tried to rename it in honor of
President Clinton. The effort
failed, and a section of Markham
Street in the River Market Dis-
trict was instead named after the
former president.
In order to change the name
of the street, more than half of
Town Hall
Meeting
July 18 and July 30
7:00 p.m.
Calvary Baptist Church
Worship Center
1901 North Pierce
Purpose:
Present and Discuss
Church Campus
Improvements
For information
Call 663-8303