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TheLittle Rock files reveal little about the motivation of Johnson in calling on the state Democratic Party headquarters and asking to see Gwatney, then shooting the popular state Democratic Party chair three times. Gwatney just happened to be visiting the office when Johnson stopped by.Johnson was a night clerk in a retail store who lived alone in his late parents' house in Searcy. Apart from a fascination with weaponry and rifle target shooting, little has emerged about Johnson.
As previously indicated, the file says Johnsonhad takena prescription anti-depressant.
Said the police report after a reference to studies in which suicide or homicide was a violent reaction to the drug:
According to medical records and autopsy report Mr. Johnson was prescribed Effexor and was found to have it in his system upon his death. There is a strong possibility with the research done that Effexor could have played a part in the irrational and violent behavior.
That's a stab in the dark, though and the question lingers, why Gwatney as a source of rage, whatever the trigger?
The investigation came up empty. Car keys on a Gwatney dealership ring at Johnson's house were just keys to an old car. A co-worker at the Conway Target said she once talked to Johnson about buying a car from Gwatney. Nothing was found at Johnson's home related to Bill Gwatney. A sticky note with the name Gwatney and a phone number found at the home was to a long disconnected number for a Gwatney towing service.
Aninspection of Johnson'spersonal computer by FBI expertsturned up nothing. He visited only a handful of routine websites, including eBay and wunderground, with weather information.
No solidhint of politics turned up at any turn, though a member of the Gwatney family speculated at one point to police that White County politics might have motivated Johnson.
Johnson's relatives could offer no insight. A sister said he normally voted Democratic.
Shortly before hemet Gwatney, Johnson told a Democratic Party worker that he was from White County and wanted to talk to Gwatney about White County, but nothing he said subsequently -- or anything said by those interviewed by police -- gave a clue to any specific issue that might have been on Johnson's mind.
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Sep 17 2008 by Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail

THE highest paid dentists in England and Wales are earning up to 200,000 a year, new figures reveal today.

Their earnings are more than double the 96,135 most dentists received in the first year of the new dental contract.

And they are 10 times higher than the average salary in Wales. The sheer scale of dentists earnings will be a bitter pill to swallow for those who are still struggling to find an NHS dentist in Wales.

There are still ongoing concerns the new dental contract has not solved the problems in NHS dentistry. It is feared people with the most complex dental problems are still struggling to find an NHS dentist because of the way the contract was organised.

But leading dentists last night said the official government figures did not reflect the reality in Wales, where some practices could have to hand back up to 70,000 to local health boards because they have not met unrealistic activity targets.

Dentists earnings were revealed yesterday as a nationwide survey suggested people are cutting back on dental appointments and eyesight tests as a result of the deepening credit crunch. Four out of 10 said they would not be having a 12 check up this year because of the financial climate.

Nick Bourne, Welsh Conservative Assembly leader, said: People will be extremely surprised to learn just how much dentists earn each year when their own experience of finding an NHS dental place has proved so difficult.

While investment in training, recruiting and retaining qualified, experienced dentists is vital, current evidence suggests the new dental contract is a missed opportunity to provide quality and accessible dental services across Wales.

Jenny Randerson, the Welsh Liberal Democrats health spokeswoman, called on Health Minister Edwina Hart to again review the dental contract.

She added: High costs would be more acceptable to patients and taxpayers if the contract was delivering improvements in access and availability of NHS dentistry in Wales. Figures released by the NHS Information Centre, revealed the average earnings of a dentist in England and Wales was 96,135 before tax in 2006-07 the first year of the contract.

The average gross earnings from which all dentists expenses, including staff costs, equipment and energy bills must be paid was 206,225. Expenses accounted for around 50% of that figure.

Earnings were even higher for those dentists who provide both general and personal dental services an average of 199,545 in England and Wales.

A 28-year-old patient who has been unable to find an NHS dentist in Swansea, said: It certainly doesnt sit well that dentists are earning this much money when there are still people struggling to find a dentist. The wage does not reflect the comparative skills a dentist has or number of working hours he fulfils.

This summer, I needed to find a dentist quickly in Swansea, where I had just moved, because of a problem with a wisdom tooth. The pain gradually worsened over a week or two but none of the dentists I phoned were taking on NHS patients.

Thankfully, the situation got better on its own but, without being overly dramatic, it could have been worse. I still dont have a dentist.

There is no way Id pay to go privately, especially not in the current climate. It may sound cliched, but is that not what I pay my taxes for? Yet when I need the service its not there. If a 200,000 wage was halved, you could have two dentists still working on what is still an extraordinarily high wage.

Tim Straughan, chief executive of the NHS Information Centre, said: The report reveals the pay of NHS dentists varies greatly depending on contractual arrangements.

Paul Bartley, a principal dentist in Rumney, said expenses were higher than the NHS Information Centres figure and an annual earning of 85,000 was more realistic. He said: My associates make very good money but the figure of 96,000 seems somewhat excessive.

And Stuart Geddes, director of the British Dental Association in Wales, said: These figures do not tell the full story. They fail to take into account the clawing back of money from NHS dentists who have failed to meet the flawed treatment targets set for them.

He added: Dentists are highly skilled people working with hi-tech equipment they have invested in. It is a stressful job that involves long hours.

Tina Donnelly, director of RCN Wales, said: This is the first overview of dental salaries. It would be useful to have the average earnings of dental nurses and dental hygienists in order to have a complete picture of salaries in the profession.

A spokesman for the Welsh Assembly Government said: The new dental contract changed the way dentists are remunerated for NHS work rather than increase the amount paid to them.

Under the old contract, dentists were paid retrospectively for items of service, whereas earnings are now paid monthly based on the services they have agreed to provide. There is a wide variation in the earnings of dentists providing NHS care.

http://www.walesonline.co.

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Arkansas Children Aging Out of Foster Care:
Is State Support Enough?

See video here.....




Diana Davis Reports....
April 17, 2008 07:51 AM
JONESBORO, AR (KAIT) -

No call at Christmas. No one to wish you a Happy Birthday. No one to ask advice about life's toughest decisions. Children who age out of Arkansas's foster care system without ever being adopted face an uphill battle at best. Others face what they feel is a roller-coaster ride out of control.

Ashley Koettel wishes her life would be as smooth as the manicures she's learning to give as a cosmetology student. But, life hasn't exactly been fair. Ashley Koettel tells, "My childhood was normal until my dad died and my mom got a bunch of money from Social Security and she ended up using that on the wrong things and got the wrong addictions." Ashley's mother became hooked on meth. She along with her brothers and sisters were removed from the home. All of them went to relatives. Ashley was the only child who ended up in foster care.

Ashley, "...and then after that, it was very different. I wasn't on the cheerleading squad anymore. I wasn't into athletics." Kentucky social services sent her to live with relatives in Newport, Arkansas; but that situation didn't work out and Ashley stayed in foster care until her graduation last year.

She enrolled in Arkansas' Independent Living Program operated by the Department of Human Services, where former foster care youth up to the age of 21 are eligible for assistance to help get an education along with life-skills training.

Ashley enrolled at ASU and things seemed to be going well, until she says her board payments from the state got behind. She had to get a job to try to make up the difference.
Each month she got more and more behind on bills and her credit became ruined. Finally, she had to drop out of school--owing ASU more than $3,600.

Ashley shared her tale of turmoil today at a local meeting of the adoption coalition, an organization trying to promote adoptions within the state.

Ashley is not alone. An increasing number of the state's foster children leave the state system at age 18 having never been adopted. A recent study by Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families found that over the past five years, nearly 1,000 children in foster care aged out without ever having been adopted. African American children make up the greatest percentage of those who never get adopted.

Aged out foster kids often don't complete high school and face increased risks of becoming young parents, being homeless and criminal activities.

And, just like Ashley has found, manuvering the system available to foster children that age out is very difficult. Now Ashley works two part-time jobs and attends the Arkansas Academy of Hair Design five days a week.

She says DHS still hasn't paid.
Ashley's DHS caseworker is located in Batesville. To see her, Ashley has to miss school, putting her further behind. In Arkansas, youth are supposed to be available to get basic services of up to $2,000 to find a place to live.

Ashley says that her board payments have only been for $230 a month and only $50 of that amount can go toward food.

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