THIS IS AN INTERESTING LETTER THAT WAS WRITTEN BY AN ATTORNEY AND SENT TO THE BENTON COURIER AND THEY REFUSED TO PUBLISH;
Mr. Burks,
My name is David Cannon. I am the attorney who represented Tammy McLain in the case discussed in your article. There are several facts that were left out of your article on Saturday, January 7, 2012.
Despite an extensive investigation by the Saline County Prosecutor's office, the Saline County Sheriff's office, and the Bureau of Legislative Audit, spanning 15 months, the only money that was found missing was $5.00. The missing $5.00 was used by Ms. Perkins and the current director of Saline County CASA, Kerry Oreck to buy coffee. The allegations of theft were made by Ms. Oreck after she was fired from Saline County CASA. After being fired Ms. Oreck went to her friend Stephanie Casady, the wife of prosecuting attorney Ken Casady, and got this investigation started. How nice it must be for a disgruntled former employee to be friends with the prosecutor's wife. Ms. Oreck made allegations of large scale thefts but only $5.00 was determined to be stolen. That same $5.00 that Ms. Oreck was complicit in spending. Ms. Oreck not only received her job back but was promoted to Ms. Perkins' former position. It is nice to be friends with the prosecutor's wife. Especially when the prosecutor makes such bold statements as "no other CASA volunteers or employees were part of the illegal activities". The prosecutor's office was made aware of Ms. Oreck's involvement during the course of the investigation, but has chosen not to prosecute Ms. Oreck. I can only surmise this is because she is friends with the prosecutor's wife.
The records of both Saline County CASA and Perimeter club were very well organized and the funds properly separated. So much so that the owners of said funds were easily determined and the funds are being returned to their owners. The majority of the funds seized by Saline County Deputies are being returned to Ms. McLain and Ms. Perkins.
Ms. McLain pled guilty to operating the bingo hall after Perimeter Club's license had expired. Operating a bingo hall with an expired license is a violation, which is less serious than operating a vehicle with an expired driver's license, which is a misdemeanor. Perimeter Club had a pending application for renewal. The license was to be reissued until the Saline County Sheriff's Department raided the establishment.
Sheriff Pennington's statement that no money had ever been donated to Saline County CASA is a complete and total falsehood. The records reviewed by Sheriff Pennington's department, the Saline County Prosecutor's office, and Bureau of Legislative Audit clearly show money being donated to Saline County CASA and another charity which ministered to and educated deaf Hondurans.
I am disappointed that you failed to request comment from all sides and sought to act not as a journalist but rather a propagandist for the Saline County Sheriff's office, the Saline County Prosecutor's Office, and Ken Casady. I am willing and have permission to speak with you regarding this matter if you are so inclined.
I also wish to question why the Benton Courier has not published an article regarding Stephanie Casady's campaign for Saline County District Judge. Residents of Saline County should know the conflict of interest that having a judge and prosecutor as husband and wife creates. As a criminal defense attorney I would immediately move to disqualify Mrs. Casady from sitting on any criminal case which her husband's office prosecutes. I would also move to suppress every search warrant signed by Ms. Casady because it was not issued by a neutral and detached magistrate as required by the Constitution. This scenario would create backlog for the other district judge and also the circuit judges when I appeal every district court case due to impropriety.
I understand that Mr. and Mrs. Casady think the taint their marriage casts over criminal proceedings could be removed by simply hiring independent contractors to prosecute criminal cases before Ms. Casady. I must then ask myself, "Why should the residents of Saline County be asked to pay additional tax dollars for independent contractors to prosecute cases when they are already paying for full-time prosecutors to do that? Why should the residents of Saline County be faced with higher taxes so that one family can receive two government salaries? Will the Saline County Prosecuting Attorney's office fire the prosecutor's currently prosecuting in district court? Will the Saline County Prosecuting Attorney's office agree to reduce its annual operating budget to cover the costs fo the independent contractors?" 
Is the Courier going to look into this or is it going to remain silent and shirk its journalistic duties? I look forward to hearing from.
Sincerely,

David R. CannonThe Cannon Law Firm, PLC425 W. Broadway, Suite ANorth Little Rock, AR 7211