Help Us Send Sheriff Doc Holladay Over the Edge!
02/12/2016

Over the Edge Holladay copyWould you dare to rappel off of a 14 story building? What if it was to support your favorite charity?

On Saturday, April 2nd, Pulaski County Sheriff Doc Holladay will go “Over the Edge” and rappel from the top of the 14 story First Security Bank building in Little Rock’s River Market to raise funds and awareness for the children who call the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches home.

Join us in supporting Sheriff Holladay “Over the Edge” and the Ranches by donating to our Over the Edge campaign page here. You can also help by spreading the word about this campaign by sharing our campaign link via Facebook and Twitter and use the hashtag‪ #‎OvertheEdgeLR‬. 

Then join us in the River Market on Saturday, April 2nd at 11:00 AM to cheer on Sheriff Holladay as he goes Over the Edge for our Ranch boys and girls!

“Doc” Holladay
12/13/2012

Sure, it’s OK.  He’s only sheriff of the most populous county in the state and would probably rather field a thoughtful query about jail space or crime prevention.  But, whatever, ask him the question.

Um, how’d you get the name “Doc”?

When Charles “Doc” Holladay first ran for sheriff in 2006 media from across the nation took interest in the local race featuring Republican Dewayne Graham and this modern namesake of the Wild West gunslinger and gambler. “I’m male and my surname’s Holladay” –the original spelled it Holl-i-day – “Invariably someone’s going to call you “Doc.” That someone was his first police partner in 1971.

“But Doc Holliday was far from a nice lawman.  He was more outlaw than he was lawman.”  Holladay should know.  He’s a history buff.  In fact, he wrote a history of the Little Rock Police Department when he retired the first time in 2003.  Also, “I don’t drink.  I don’t gamble.  Don’t go around picking fights and shooting,” and as for women, he’s been happily with the same one, Deborah, for 42 years – six longer than Holliday was alive.

So, it’s OK if you ask him about the nickname but, now, can he move on?

Um, you ride horses, like in the Old West?

Well, yes, Holladay grew up around horses.  Had one spooked from underneath him not far from the family home and business, Golden’s Grocery, in Wrightsville.  Of course, people are his stock and trade now.  “ I connect with people, black, white, Asian__ Part of that is being raised in a predominantly black community.  My neighbors were predominately black.  We had a basketball goal on a light pole behind the house and that was kind of a gathering place.”

Um, how fast are you on the draw, and …?

He’s moving on.

Since 2007 he has been on the board of the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches.  In October he was selected board president.

Begun in 1976, the youth ranches have sheltered more than 1,100 children on campuses on the White River near Batesville, on DeGray Lake near Amity, on a farm in Mulberry, on the Spring River near Hardy and in Harrison.  In many ways the lives of these youths are not unlike those in the foster care system.  Specifically, these kids have ranch parents and are expected to go to school and participate in extracurricular activities.

In the course of his career Holladay has been to several law enforcement conferences, and he has sometimes brought up youth ranches, “because every state, every large community, should have an organization like the Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches.”

“We take kids who are abused and neglected – good kids from bad homes – we take them in, nurture them, give them an education, counsel them, give them a stable environment, and there are kids who have those kinds of needs in any county, in any community, in any state in this country.

“The ranch has this phrase – it’s easier to raise a child than repair an adult.”

Holladay says historically it’s not uncommon for parents to pull up the ranch in Batesville and drop kids off, but it’s not a springboard to a parentless future.  Ultimately, he says, the “end result is for the families to be reunited.”

 

East Arkansas residents “Open Hearts, Pump Up!” for the Ranch
03/29/2012

Recently 11 Circle ‘N’ market stores in east Arkansas collectively raised over $10,000 during their annual Open Hearts, Pump Up campaign to benefit the ranch.

Read more…

Sheriff Moss to Host 3rd Annual “Cops That Care” Golf Tournament
03/12/2011

Cleburne County Sheriff Marty Moss will host the 3nd Annual “Cops That Care” Charity Scramble April 22 at the Tannenbaum Golf Club in Drasco. Proceeds from the tournament will benefit the Ranch.

The 4 person scramble begins with a shotgun start at 1 p.m., and the entry fee for a team of four is $300.  Hole sponsorships are available for $100. Prizes include a Glock handgun and a 2011 Chevrolet Equinox.