Ran out of room. Got to my 2000 character limit. As I was saying about equal opportunity - look at Gen. Colin Powell. Now there is a man I would have voted for had he run for president! Black children don't have to be basketball stars to be successful; they need to study, read, and go to class; it's that simple folks. Yes, we had white kids that dropped out in Ottawa, and they were nothings; I imagine all of them turned out to be worthless, just like they were in high school. It's not a matter of race; it's a matter of being raised properly, going to school when you should, and studying. Stop the so called "desegregation" nonsense, stop the busing, and put that money to good use; hiring good teachers, and providing a good learning environment, and building good schools in ALL neighborhoods. I'll pass the soap box on to the next person now; sorry about the length.

Re: the story "MLK/Daisy Bates development ready to start again". And this, dear people, is why the neighborhood went downhill. I am not a racist; I have several black friends; however, like I posted in the above mentioned story, white flight. I went to school in Monticello in the early 60's; no blacks were ever seen, even though Brown vs. The Board had already taken place, as well as the Little Rock 9 incident. I went to high school in IL; again, no blacks in a school of 1,800 plus students. I don't know why there were no blacks in the Monticello schools at the time, can't answer that one. But I can tell you why there were none in IL. Ottawa, a population of 18,000 plus, was 99 percent white. We did have 2 black girls attend for a short time; what ever happened to them, I've no idea. There was a smaller Catholic HS in Ottawa, they may have transferred there, don't know though. What I don't understand, and never have, is busing. Make the schools equal, have the kids go to the nearest school; how hard can that be? Not separate but equal, I'm not advocating that; I'm advocating going to the closest school; regardless of race. Mrs. Obama is worried about obesity in children. Kids on buses for hours every day; no walking home like I did; ( and yes, I walked home just about every single day, about 3 miles, whether it was raining, or a foot of snow on the ground.) And I had time to play ball, ride the bike, get some exercise, and did not get fat because I rode a bus all the time. We didn't even have buses except for those that lived on the outskirts of town. I'm all for civil rights; but some have carried it a bit far; in order to get rich such as certain local lawyers involved in a so called "desegregation" case that has lasted how many years! We bus kids of all races all over central AR; we've dumbed down tests to make everyone "equal"; what more do we have to do to "desegregate" the schools! A black child has just as much opportunity as a white child now!

Is thie news worthy,Little Rock Central High School has never been the same