A surge in Conway's and Faulkner County's population was the top local story of the 1990s, according to a newsroom survey at the Log Cabin Democrat.

The survey included several long-time newsroom employees, who voted on the Top 10 stories of the decade from a list of about 50 stories. The results also includes Conway Police Department infighting,

The results of the survey are as follows:

1. City and county growth

The rapid growth of Conway and Faulkner County caught everyone by surprise. It didn't make the news during the first three years of the decade.

But early events presaged the news of rapid growth. One was the construction of Tokusen USA Inc., which began in 1990. Another was the construction of the (first) Wal-Mart SuperCenter in fall 1991.

At the 1990 census, Conway's population was counted at 26,481, and Faulkner County's at 60,006.

In 1995, growth was listed for the first time as a Top Story of the previous year. It was Number 9.

A report coming out of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in December 1994, the first to mention the phenomenal growth, "astounded Faulkner County and Conway officials," according to a story in the Jan. 1, 1995, Log Cabin Democrat.

The report projected that, between 1994 and 2010, Faulkner County would have the fastest growth rate in the state and would become the fourth-largest county in 2010, with a population of 117,956.

The story was No. 9 on the 1996 list, as well, although the story said Conway's "accelerated" growth rate had "abated a bit." In November 1995, Conway's population was estimated at 37,000, and Faulkner County's, at 71,471, which area residents believed to be low.

In 1996, a special census counted 35,659 residents in Conway and moved the issue of growth to No. 8 in the list of that year's top stories.

Growth was again No. 8 on the list of top 1998 stories. Based on number of meters, Conway Corp. estimated Conway's population at the beginning of 1998 at more than 40,000. Faulkner County's 1998 population was estimated at 80,000, and the county's other cities began addressing needs resulting from growth. They are still struggling to do so, as are the county's school districts.

As of July, Conway had moved from ninth- to eighth-largest city in the state, and its populations was estimated at 42,000. By 2020, the city is expected pass Little Rock as the second-largest city in the state.

The county population is estimated at 81,583 now and projected at 151,918 by 2025, an estimated 153 percent growth since 1990.

2. Conway Police Department battles

To fully fathom the battles that took place inside the Conway Police Department, one must return to the 1988 shooting death of Officer Ray Noblitt and resulting investigations that resulted in conspiracy theft convictions for two officers, R. L. "Dicky" McMillen in 1989 and Randy Dean Leach in 1994.

In 1991, charges of evidence tampering by narcotics officers led to a high-profile trial in which three officers were acquitted. Additionally that year, three officers sued the department and its chief Tim Daley -- two over disciplinary actions and one, by then-Sgt. Jerry Snowden for being passed over for a promotion. Snowden won his lawsuit and is now police chief.

A series of internal incidents, including the firing and, later, reinstatement of Officer Michael Edgmon for saying the mayor "sucks," kept the department in the news through 1995. Overall, police department infighting and investigations were named among the top Faulkner County stories for five of the 10 years in the 1990s, including the top stories for 1991 and 1995.

3. James Slack kidnappings.

James Avery Slack, 44, was serving an 88-year sentence for kidnapping Jo Ann Lieblong from her Conway home in 1993, when, on May 18, 1997, he escaped from the state maximum security prison at Tucker.

The story took on a bizarre twist more than two weeks later when Slack allegedly abducted mobile home mogul Johnny Allison from his Spirit Homes office on Highway 286. Several hours later, Allison crashed his Mercedes-Benz into a dump truck on Robins Street to escape from Slack, who fled the scene. A manhunt ensued.

About 32 hours later, Slack was spotted crawling along a fence row behind a Mayflower residence and was captured. Slack was charged with terroristic threatening, kidnapping and felon in possession of a handgun.

In May 1998, Slack was sentenced to 60 years in prison for kidnapping Allison and one year for second-degree terroristic threatening, to be served concurrently with his earlier kidnapping sentence.

4. Feud between city and CRMC

The latter part of the decade was marked by a tenuous relationship between Conway Regional Medical Center and the city, which was remedied in May when a two-year legal battle ended with a settlement.

The ongoing conflict over ownership often sparked pointed public comments from representatives on both sides. It eventually concluded quietly, with the settlement designating the city as owner of the land and all facilities and providing for a new 99-year lease.

Interestingly, the principal figures in the matter are no longer in their same positions. At least in a legal sphere, the conflict began in 1997 with Jim Summersett as hospital CEO and David Kinley in the mayor's office. Summersett has since departed to take a similar position in Texarkana, while Kinley chose not to run for a third term.

No. 5 Rector execution

Rickey Ray Rector became the only Faulkner County resident executed by the state Department of Correction, receiving a lethal injection in 1992 for the murder of a Conway police officer 11 years earlier.

Rector, 40, was convicted of killing Bob Martin. The police officer had gone to Rector's mother's house where Rector was reported to be ready to turn himself in for the murder of Author Criswell two days earlier in a shooting at a Conway restaurant.

Rector suffered a gunshot wound to the head after shooting Martin. It was never determined if the self-inflicted wound was accidental or a suicide attempt. The wound and subsequent surgery amounted to a frontal lobotomy, and Rector's attorneys contended it rendered him incompetent to be executed because of the brain damage. The legal battle to prevent the execution lasted 11 years.

6. Faulkner-Cleburne Water District.

Several municipalities in Faulkner County received a boost beginning in 1995, when the Faulkner-Cleburne Regional Water Project provided a new surface water source to communities from Greers Ferry Lake all the way to Mayflower.

The $30 million, 54-mile project went on line in 1996, courtesy of Community Water Systems Inc., based in the Higden community in Cleburne County. It serves over 10,000 customers across the county.

Communities now hooked onto the system include Greenbrier, Vilonia, Mayflower, Guy, Wooster and Quitman, and the Enola-Mount Vernon Water Association is preparing to hook onto the system. Damascus and Twin Groves use the system for backup.

No. 7 Wal-Mart lawsuit

Three independent Faulkner County pharmacists won and lost in a lawsuit against Wal-Mart in which they alleged the retail giant was engaged in a predatory pricing policy.

The case drew national attention from the business community and the media as the pharmacists claimed Wal-Mart was intentionally pricing some products below cost in order to draw customers.

Circuit Judge David L. Reynolds, ruling 47 days after a three-day trial in 1993, sided with the pharmacists and awarded Dwayne Goode and American Drugs $42,407, Jim Hendrickson and Baker Drugs $33,767, and Tim Benton and Mayflower Family Drugs, $20,295. The judge then punitively tripled the damages.

Wal-Mart appealed the ruling, however, and it was overturned the next year by the Arkansas Supreme Court, with four sitting justices voting to overturn and three specially appointed justices, who were replacing justices who excused themselves from the case, siding with the plaintiffs.

8. Jail opens, becomes overcrowded

The horrahs over the opening of the new county jail in 1993 were quickly drowned later in the decade by grunts of frustration as the increasing demand for the space by city and county law enforcement agencies led to overcrowding.

Overcrowding was routine at the jail until early this year when state and local fire marshalls declared that the facility was violating fire codes by housing more than 140 prisoners. The jail had averaged around 200 prisoners. Fire officials told Sheriff Marty Montgomery his office, and thus, the county, would face fines if the population were not reduced to and kept at 140 or below. Montgomery responded in August of this year by refusing to accept new prisoners when the population was at 140. Police have since been forced to routinely release arrested suspects. Plans suggested by the Quorum Court to provide additional facilities have stalled for lack of money. A proposal for a half-cent county sales tax, one-half of which has been earmarked for law enforcement, was approved for a Feb. 8 ballot by the Quorum Court.

9. Watson Villines' suicide.

10. Hambuchen kidnapping.