PEA RIDGE — Michael Utter, 34, of Bentonville, is in the Benton County Jail charged with three felony counts of commercial burglary for the attempted burglaries of Collier’s Drug Store, N. Curtis Avenue.

He was arrested the night of Thursday, Oct. 8, shortly after the alarms sounded at Collier’s when the glass was shattered again by a pellet.

Over a two and a half month period beginning Aug. 22, there were three other incidents involving shattered glass panes to the entrance door of Collier’s.

“Each time it happened, a few more clues were gathered,” Police Chief Tim Ledbetter said.

Shorty after 11 p.m. on Oct. 8, police officers were dispatched to Colliers because of an alarm call. On the way to the drug store, according to the police report, the officer saw a vehicle matching the description of the vehicle used during the other attempts.

The officer made a traffic stop at 11:05 p.m. The driver was Utter.

Items were located in the vehicle which were believed to have been used in connection with the attempted burglary. A pellet gun and ski mask were recovered. Bronctober-Fest and Rodeo planned FROM STAFF REPORTS

VAS Ambulance Service Corporation will hold the first ever “Bronctober-Fest and Rodeo” at 8 p.m. nightly Friday, Oct. 23, and Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Benton County Fairgrounds in Bentonville.

“I was going to have a rodeo at my house, but then I got on the board with VAS,” Gary Eckel said. “We’d been having pancake breakfasts making $600 to $700. I was in the rodeo business myself as a contestant for 20 years. I brought the idea to them to put on a rodeo to possibly cover a couple of months.”

The rodeo, which will be held in the new indoor arena at the Benton County Fairgrounds, will include various events, including bareback, calf roping, saddle bronc, barrel racing, steer wrestling, team roping, bull riding, cowboy poker, kids’ calf scramble and freestyle bullfighting Saturday night.

The entry fee is $50. A muzzleloader will be awarded to the bareback, barrel racing and saddle bronc champions.

“This is a good time because it’s after a lot of the year-end finals,” Eckels said, explaining that although the rodeo business is year round, the finals are in the fall.

He said many of the finals are over and there won’t be any rodeo events to compete with this one.

“What we’re doing is kind of kicking off the new year,” Eckels said.

Eckels said he rode broncs and bulls and roped in college. A member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, he also rode bareback horses during his professional years.

A Henry Big Boy .45 Colt is to be raffled off Saturday, Oct. 24. Must be 21 years to enter and present to win.

Admission is $10 adults, $5 children with 6 and under free.

All proceeds benefit VAS Ambulance Corporation.

Community, Pages 6 on 10/14/2009