Stories from Wednesday, March 24, 2010

A "due process" hearing on alleged violations of district policy by Bill McCarrel, the principal at Mountain Home Junior High School, will be held by the Mountain Home School Board on March 30, beginning at 7:30 p.m., in the district office. McCarrel is on paid administrative leave following an investigation by the school district into possible violations of district policy...

Democrats failed to show up on a large number of races after the filing deadline passed Friday, both locally and at the state level, making the May 25 Republican primary election a crucial test for voters. Locally, the primary will see key challenges for one county commissioner's seat, the county clerk's post and, unusually, a number of Republican precinct committeemen, positions normally considered an afterthought in most elections. ...

Yesterday, President Obama signed the new health-care bill into law, but don't believe for an instant the battle is over. For more than 100 years almost every president has tried to get some kind of legislation improving access to health care. Obama finally got it done -- but at a cost that may turn out to be a pyrrhic victory. A lot of Congressmen are going to be tossed out of office this November because of it...

One by one, a select group of students at Mountain Home High School walked back into the classroom to mark the end of what many deemed a three-day ordeal they never want to repeat. Their bloodshot eyes and quiet demeanor did little to hide the fatigue, each student knowing their school day had just begun...

After just five and a half hours into the project, my daughter was ready to call it quits. The experience had already broken her physically and emotionally. Elizabeth had a tough time looking into her mother's eyes, admitting defeat. Visibly shaking while trying her best to choke back her tears, she kept her arms snugly tucked around her in a futile attempt to find some level of comfort...

Molly McFadden, 35, of Mountain Home, was charged last week with one county of felony injury to children after an incident last month in which her five-year-old son accidentally shot a Mountain Home High School student. The child had found a 9mm semi-automatic belonging to her live-in boyfriend, Nathaniel Harmon, 24, in the couple's home. According to police reports, the weapon was in a zippered soft-covered bag. Official police reports have not indicated where the weapon was in the home...

Authorities have cordoned off an area around 350 N. l0th East Street in Mountain Home due to a suspected natural gas leak. Officers are restricting traffic at N. 10th East and American Legion, and at E. 4th North and N. 11th East streets. Intermountain Gas crews are on the scene...