IN BRIEF: Cherokee chief seeks 4th term

Published: November 28, 2008

TRIBES

Cherokee CHIEF SEEKS 4TH TERM

TAHLEQUAH — Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith said he plans to seek a fourth term in office, but the tribe’s Supreme Court must first rule on his eligibility to run. The tribe’s 1999 constitution limits elected officials to two terms. Smith was first elected in 1999, before the constitution took effect in 2003. Smith filed a lawsuit last week with the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court against the tribe’s Election Board over a recent redistricting plan. One issue in the lawsuit is whether he and some Tribal Council members are eligible to run for office again in 2011.

COURTS

Fired foreman loses appeal

DENVER — A federal appeals court has upheld a lower-court ruling against a former road foreman in Oklahoma who sued after he was demoted by a newly elected county commissioner. A lawsuit filed by Bill Poindexter, who became a road foreman in 1999 for then-Sequoyah County Commissioner Cleon Harrell, claimed his demotion under a new commissioner violated his First Amendment rights of speech and political association. In August 2007, U.S. District Judge Frank Seay ruled in favor of the county and the appeals court agreed, saying the road foreman’s job is one for which political loyalty may appropriately be required.

ARKANSAS

SUSPECT CAUGHT IN FATAL BEATING

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Police for weeks had neither a suspect nor a motive in the beating death of a popular television anchorwoman. A suspect is now in custody, but many questions remain unanswered. Officers arrested Curtis Lavelle Vance, 28, at a home in Little Rock on Wednesday night — tipped to his location after police held a late-evening news conference to reveal him as their suspect, said Lt. Terry Hastings, a police spokesman. Vance was charged with capital murder in the death of Anne Pressly.

TEXAS

BARBARA BUSH IS RECOVERING

HOUSTON — A Houston hospital spokeswoman says former first lady Barbara Bush was in good condition after undergoing laparoscopic surgery for a perforated ulcer. Ami Felker, a spokeswoman for The Methodist Hospital, says Bush was in high spirits Thursday afternoon as she was moved to a patient room from the intensive care unit. The former first lady was hospitalized Tuesday after experiencing abdominal pain.

KANSAS

RECYCLING will mean rewards

WICHITA, Kan. — A program beginning in January will reward Wichita residents who recycle with coupons and other rewards they can redeem at local stores. The program, called RecycleBank, is believed to be the first of its kind in Kansas, although it operates in 13 other states. Waste Connections of Wichita announced Tuesday that it has joined the national program, which will allow people to earn points based on how much their recycled items weigh.

From Staff and Wire Reports