Arkansas
Camden mourning loss of Arkansas’ oldest police officer L.C. ‘Buckshot’ Smith, remembering him as the officer who ‘took more people home than to jail’
CAMDEN, Ark. – A Camden man known as the oldest police officer to serve in Arkansas is being remembered after officials with the Camden Police Department announced his death Thursday.
Officer L.C. Smith, also known as ‘Buckshot,’ was 95 at the time of his death. He’d just retired from the police department two years ago as the oldest police officer in Arkansas at the age of 93.
Camden police mourning the passing of former officer L.C. “Buckshot” Smith
James Woods, owner of Woods Place in Camden, said Buckshot spent every Thursday inside his restaurant with a plate of ribs.
“He was kind of like a little celebrity,” Woods said.
But his lengthy career in law enforcement, which spanned more than six decades, captured the attention and hearts of people across the world.
“We had a lot of people come in doing interviews,” Don Banks, owner of Banks World Famous Pawn Shop, said. “Lester Holt sent a crew here even.”
Oldest police officer in Arkansas retires at 93
When asked what Buckshot made of the worldwide attention, Banks said, “Oh, who wouldn’t like it? He ate it up! He ate it up.”
Banks has lived in Camden since he was 11 years old and knew Buckshot well.
Robert Garner, who was also in the pawn shop Friday, said he hired Buckshot at the beginning of his career in law enforcement more than six decades ago, back when Garner was the sheriff.
According to Garner, Buckshot’s mind stayed sharp until the very end. It’s what gave him a long life and a long career protecting his beloved community.
“His servitude to the community… is lasting,” Garner said. “It’s his legacy.”
Buckshot is known as the police officer who took more people home than he took to jail. Those were his famous words that rang true throughout his career.
Camden police officer turns 90, becomes the oldest active police officer in Arkansas
The men KARK 4 News spoke to on Friday all said his life and legacy points to not only a smiling face and happy personality, but a caring heart and helping hands.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK.
LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — A major milestone has been reached in Arkansas’ highly anticipated lithium boom—its first customers.
Smackover Lithium has secured the first binding offtake agreement with a commercial client for lithium extracted in Arkansas.
“So this lithium from Arkansas will find its way into global markets, ex China,” said Jesse Edmondson, Standard Lithium’s director of government relations.
Commodity trading firm Trafigura Trading has just signed a 10-year agreement to buy 8,000 metric tonnes of battery-quality lithium carbonate per year from Smackover Lithium’s South West Arkansas Project, a joint venture between Standard Lithium and Equinor, a Norwegian company.
For context, the U.S. as a whole only produces about 5,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium a year.
“The SWA project, once in full production, will produce 22,500 tonnes per year,” Edmondson said. “So this 8,000-tonne-per-year agreement is significant, right? That’s over a third of our annual offtake.”
Last year, Standard Lithium received a $225 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to advance lithium extraction from the Smackover Formation, a briny aquifer beneath southern Arkansas that many hail as what could be America’s best domestic source of the critical mineral.
Beating companies like Chevron and Exxon to the punch, Standard Lithium pioneered direct lithium extraction and since 2020 has operated a demo plant in El Dorado. The company is building a larger facility in Lafayette County that is set to begin operation in 2028.
“We’ve got the only proven technology that works in the Smackover that’s been done through our commercial demonstration plant in El Dorado since May of 2020. And really that has been the proving ground which has unlocked a lot of the federal opportunities for us. So we’re the largest recipient of a DOE grant in the critical mineral space in this hemisphere,” Edmondson told KATV.
“So [we’re] really excited to bring lithium production to the state of Arkansas and really back to the United States. The U.S. used to be a leader in lithium production 40, 50 years ago. So it’s time to reclaim that status,” he said.
The market price of a tonne of battery-grade lithium is volatile, but has recently ranged between $10,000 to $12,000, so the value of what Standard Lithium alone is expected to produce could exceed a quarter of a billion dollars annually.
That’s not counting what Exxon, Chevron, and other companies may produce once they get up and running.
Arkansas
Congressional subcommittee to hold hearing in Little Rock on ‘failures’ of local housing authority | Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Joseph Flaherty
Joseph Flaherty covers the city of Little Rock for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A graduate of Middlebury College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, he has worked for the newspaper since 2020.
Videos show standing water inside Detroit elementary school, as source reports sewage smell
SF mayor assures there’s ‘no imminent threat’ after FBI report warns Iran aspires to attack CA
A look at Dallas Cowboys’ 2026 NFL draft picks after Osa Odighizuwa, Solomon Thomas trades
Dolphins focus on secondary, special teams with addition of three players
Kraft Group reaches deal with Foxborough on security funding for World Cup games at Gillette Stadium – The Boston Globe
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Reporter’s Notebook: Trump’s SAVE Act ultimatum runs into Senate reality
Not ‘a litre of oil’ to pass Strait of Hormuz, expect $200 price tag: Iran
Tornadoes hit Illinois, Indiana and Texas as severe storms sweep US
EXCLUSIVE: ICE says El Paso detention facility will stay open under new contractor after $1.2B deal scrapped
Von der Leyen ‘acting outside of competence,’ Araud tells Euronews
-
Wisconsin1 week agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
-
Massachusetts1 week agoMassachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
-
Detroit, MI6 days agoU.S. Postal Service could run out of money within a year
-
Miami, FL1 week agoCity of Miami celebrates reopening of Flagler Street as part of beautification project
-
Pennsylvania6 days agoPa. man found guilty of raping teen girl who he took to Mexico
-
Sports7 days agoKeith Olbermann under fire for calling Lou Holtz a ‘scumbag’ after legendary coach’s death
-
Michigan2 days agoOperation BBQ Relief helping with Southwest Michigan tornado recovery
-
Virginia1 week agoGiants will hold 2026 training camp in West Virginia