This photo was taken at North Dardanelle before the making of the 20th Century Fox movie Jesse James.

The movie, starring Tyrone Power and Henry Fonda, was released in 1939.

The engine is a 4-4-0 locomotive—four leading wheels on two axles, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no tailing wheels. It was built by the Cooke Locomotive & Machine Company in 1888 for the Denver, Texas & Forth Worth Railroad Co. as # 9

.In 1906, the locomotive was sold to the Dardanelle & Russellville Railroad, where it was designated # 8. Dardanelle and Russellville Railroad is a 4.8-mile short-line that is still in operation.

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation purchased the locomotive in the late 1930s.

Besides the 1939 film Jesse James, the locomotive also appeared in the Love Me Tender film starring Elvis Presley in 1956.

Moved to Virginia City, Nevada in 1975, it was redesignated as Virginia & Truckee # 28 and is currently stored at the Nevada State Railroad Museum.

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Panda Express?

I just found this demolition permit.

That address is Newton Tire’s address.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/popecountymajority/permalink/1438219796799073

See a more recent image on Google StreetView (2019)

First opened for traffic on April 1, 1891, the Dardanelle pontoon bridge was used for nearly four decades in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, except for periods when its operation was interrupted by high river flows or other disruptions.

Preliminary work for a new, permanent bridge began early in 1926 after construction bonds were approved by voters in Yell and Pope Counties in 1925. While it was being built, the pontoon bridge was damaged by flooding and rebuilt in the summer of 1927, in December 1927, and again in the spring of 1928.

The new free $600,000 steel and concrete bridge at Dardanelle, linking Yell and Pope Counties, was dedicated on January 17, 1929. It replaced the toll pontoon bridge. The new bridge was 2,034 feet long, not including the approaches.

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I came across this in Russellville’s online public records.

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So, I was asked a question this morning, “Why has the casino not been built?” This was my response.

Why the casino has not been built.

Cherokee Nation Business (CNB) never planned to build Legends Resort and Casino, Arkansas, until the Pope County casino license was unencumbered by litigation.

No one currently holds a license to operate a casino in Pope County, and here’s why:

Gulfside received letters of support from Judge Jim Ed Gibson and Mayor Randy Horton in late December 2018 before the rules applying to casino applications were developed and implemented.

The Arkansas Casino Gaming Rules, which went into effect March 14, 2019, and a state law enacted on March 8, required local support documents from local officials in office when the applications were submitted.

None of the five applications submitted during the May 2019 application period had valid support documents from local officials.

All five applications, including CNB’s and Gulfside’s, were denied because they didn’t have the required local support documents.

Gulfside appealed that decision with the racing commission on June 28.

On August 13, 2019, the Pope County quorum court passed a resolution of support for CNB in a meeting that packed the courthouse. Many other supporters and I were there.

On August 15, the racing commission denied Gulfside’s appeal, received CNB’s resolution of support from the Pope County quorum court, and determined that a new application period would be opened. Gulfside filed an administrative appeal in Pulaski County Circuit Court.

On March 24, 2020, Judge Tim Fox ordered that the casino gaming rule and state law requiring local support letters from current officials when the application is submitted were unconstitutional.

At the advice of the counsel from the AG’s office, the racing commission decided not to appeal.

CNB could not appeal because Fox had denied their motion to “intervene” in the case. CNB had appealed that motion denial to the Arkansas Supreme Court.

After numerous meetings related to selecting between CNB and Gulfside, on July 31, the Arkansas Racing Commission issued the Pope County license to Gulfside.

The Arkansas Supreme Court, on February 4, 2021, issued a “remand and reversal’ decision of Tim Fox’s denial of CNB’s motion to intervene. This effectively reset the court case to January 2020, reversing Fox’s March 24 orders.

On March 9, 2021, Gulfside Casino Partnership filed a judicial appeal for review of an Arkansas Racing Commission finding that Legends demonstrated experience conducting casino gaming, claiming “Gulfside was injured by the Racing Commission’s decision, as Legends seeks to take away Gulfside’s casino gaming license, even though Legends fails to meet a minimum requirement imposed by Amendment 100.”

At this point, Gulfside had two cases against the Racing Commission related to the Pope County casino license. Tim Fox was the judge in both cases.

On May 21, 2021, Fox again issued orders stipulating that the casino gaming rule and state law requiring local support letters from current officials when the application is submitted were unconstitutional.

CNB, now an intervener in the case, filed a notice to appeal the decision on May 24, 2021, and the Racing Commission filed its appeal notice on June 17.

The Supreme Court of Arkansas reversed and dismissed Judge Fox’s ruling on October 21, 2021.

This meant that Jim Ed Gibson’s letter of support did not meet the gaming rules and state law requirements, and Gulfside’s license to operate a casino in Pope County was revoked.

On November 12, 2021, the Arkansas Racing Commission issued a license to conduct casino gaming in Pope County to Cherokee Nation Businesses and Legends Resort and Casino.

However, Gulfside’s March 9, 2021, lawsuit was still open.

Judge Tim Fox pigeon-holed the case for whatever reason. Circuit court judges are supposed to file reports that include explanations for cases on their dockets for extended periods. Apparently, Fox did not do this.

Late in 2022, at least one judicial ethics complaint was filed against Fox for failing to move the case forward.

On November 21, 2022, Fox scheduled a hearing for January 3, 2023.

On January 12, 2023, after hearings on January 3 and 4, Judge Fox issued findings and orders on the multiple motions and countermotions, one of which was one year, nine months, and three days old: Gulfside’s March 1, 2022, motion for summary judgment.

Fox found that Legends had no prior “experience conducting casino gaming.” He also found that ARC’s decision to jointly award the Pope County casino license to Legends and CNB violated Amendment 100, which requires a single casino license applicant. Fox’s orders declared that the CNB and Legends license were voided.

CNB and the Racing Commission appealed, with briefs filed to the Supreme Court in just a few weeks rather than months.

A recusal by the chief justice and the death of another justice, weeks apart, required the governor to appoint substitutes and pushed the case to the court’s fall session.

On October 26, 2023, the Arkansas Supreme Court upheld Fox’s ruling.

In January 2024, a motion for reconsideration from CNB and Legends was denied.

No one currently holds a license to operate a casino in Pope County.

Judge Ben Cross has written a letter of support for Cherokee Nation Entertainment (CNE), and the Pope County Quorum Court approved a resolution supporting CNE.

CNE, headed by Mark Fulton as its president, is the entertainment arm of Cherokee Nation Businesses and operates ten casinos in Oklahoma and one in Mississippi.

NO other casino entity will receive a letter of support or resolution of support from Pope County.

https://tinyurl.com/yvkwswm7 (work in progress)

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At Bona Dea, A work derived from one of my photos (taken April 2008)

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Local Voters in Charge must collect and turn in 90,704 valid signatures of registered voters.

They have already started.

They are being funded by The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, just like they were two years ago.

The wording on the petition is a trap. Nothing new. Same game, different words.

They keep changing their name.

They have used Citizens for Local Choice, Concerned Citizens of Pope County, Citizens for a Better Pope County, Pope County Decides, United Pope County, United for a Better Pope County, United Pope County for Accountability, Fair Play for Arkansas, and two years ago, Fair Play for Arkansas – 2022.

Don’t sign their petition!

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