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Christmas lights on Prairie. See page 8. )
Volume 117 Number 52 - USPS 225-680
Community Events Calendar Thursday January 3 GFWC Elsie McCain Club Meeting Murry’s Restaurant 6:00p.m. Monday January 7 Chamber of Commerce Meeting BancorpSouth 6:30p.m.-7:30p.m. Biscoe City Council Meeting 7:00p.m. City Hall Tuesday January 8 Hornet Basketball at Maumelle Charter 7G, JB, SRS 4:30 p.m.
Hazen Lodge Meeting 7:30p.m. Lodge Hall Friday January 11 Hornet Basketball At Poyen 7B, GG. SRS 4:30p.m. Tuesday January 15 Hazen City Council Meeting 6:00p.m.-7:00p.m. City Hall Prairie County Master Gardeners Meeting 6:00p.m.-7:00p.m. BancorpSouth
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Wednesday, January 2, 2019
Prairie County has a busy and eventful 2018 January Prairie County gets a 24 inch snowfall. Des Arc
Elementary students donate $576 to Heifer International. Hazen Elementary students win in a regional chess tournament and attend the Technology Fair in Beebe. I-40 is closed at the White River. The DeValls Bluff City Council honors former councilmember Bill Arnold. Hazen elementary students Dylan Skarda, Peyton Anderson, and Matthew Bokker win second place in their region for the statewide Stock Market Game. A water contamination lawsuit is prepared on behalf of the City of Biscoe and Prairie County residents after a sewage contamination of the Biscoe and East Prairie County water systems. February Residents, past and present, came together to celebrate their Slovak heritage in Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church in
Quorum Counrt Meeting 6:00p.m. Annex Building Des Arc Thursday January 10 DeValls Bluff City Council Meeting 6:00p.m. City Hall
Serving all of Prairie County, Arkansas
Slovak. Election time begins with locals filing for office. HHS students Kynnedi Mothershed, Reighan McAdoo, and Kolby Fox Win state honors at the FCCLA Star Events competition. The county sees a blood moon eclipse. I. B. and Ima Jewel Williams of Biscoe are named Arkansas’ oldest couple. March Shea Wilson receives the 2018 National Extension Association of
Family and Consumer Sciences Distinguished Service Award. Hazen resident Jake Mosby launches his book “The Jake Mosby Story: A Man for All Seasons” at a book signing event. The Prairie County 4-H holds its 4H-O-Rama at the fairgrounds. April HHS has “A Night of Enchantment” at the Junior/Senior Prom, and Las Vegas comes to Des Arc for their DAHS Junior/Senior Prom. Prairie County Master Gardeners hold their annual “Gardening on the Prairie” spring plant sale and luncheon. Terri
districts. May Des Arc Elementary School is named one of the top performing schools in the state. The DAHS drama team presents Cinderella. Brayden Williams of HHS and Jacob Holloway of DAHS earn the honor of being Valedictorians at their graduation ceremonies. The Casey and Leah Beth Skarda family of Des Arc are chosen to be Prairie County’s Farm Family of
the Year. the 33rd Steamboat Days celebration is held in Des Arc.The Recess Racers of Des Arc are named the county winners in “Walk Across Arkansas.” The Eagle Eye Archery Team competes at the National Archery Tournament in Louisville, KY.The Hazen Chamber of Commerce holds its annual Memorial Day celebration. June The Hazen Senior Health and Wellness Center opens. County libraries kick off the summer with reading, paint-
ing, animal programs, and magic shows. The City of Hazen holds the Mammoth Pond Fishing Derby. The “We Believe” basketball and life skills camp for county children is held in DeValls Bluff. July Lights are installed along the Hazen walking path. The Prairie County 4-H members attends the 2018 4H-O-Rama at East Arkansas Community College. Des Arc residents spruce up the town by painting murals. The Des Arc School District votes to seek a millage increase. Local teens attend the Youth Empowered to Succeed (Y.E.S.) program confer-
ence. The Des Arc Library, which was moved to the historic First Presbyterian Church, is officially dedicated and holds a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house.
J. L. “Cap” Myers. The DAHS Eagles defeat the England Lions at War Memorial Stadium. September The Hazen City Police and the Prairie County Sheriff’s Department help in the search for carjacking suspects in Hazen. Lindsey Reidhar is chosen as the DAHS Homecoming Queen. Arkansas State Plant Board Director Butch Calhoun speaks at the annual Prairie County Farm Bureau fall banquet. The Des Arc school millage passes. Christina Munoz Madsen speaks at the Hazen First United Methodist Church’s “Ladies Night Out.” The Prairie County Fair begins. A plaque is installed in Tom Roe Park
by the Des Arc Industrial D e v e l o p m e n t Corporation. October The DeValls Bluff City Council approves the sale
of property for a Dollar General store. Ellene Johnson Holloway (103 years old) and Beulah Cohen Burnett (100 years old) are honored at the Mount Olive Baptist Church’s anniversary celebration. The Quorum Court sees a demonstration of the voting machines to be used in
the November election. Queen Reighan McAdoo reigns over the HHS Homecoming festivities. The Hazen Chamber of Commerce holds 42nd Annual Rice Festival. November Arkansas residents pass Voter ID, Casino Gambling, and Minimum Wage amendments. Republicans sweep the state and federal offices, and Hutchinson retains the governor’s office. Rick Hickman remains Prairie County Sheriff, and Jim Garth elected as Des Arc mayor. The DeValls Bluff mayoral election goes to a runoff. Prairie County
gets an early snowfall. County football teams keep winning playoff games. December Des Arc and DeValls
Bluff hold Christmas parades. Skip Hula named 2018 Rice Farmer of the Year. Brooks Castleberry becomes DeValls Bluff mayor, and Gary Burnett is chosen for Des Alderman in Ward 3, position 1 in their runoff elections. Hornets lose to Junction
City in the state 2A football playoffs at War Memorial Stadium. Wet weather forces Hazen’s “Christmas in the Park” indoors. Danny Tenison, Eddie Ciganek, and Lucas Childress honored for their county service.
Quorum Court honors three for county service Eddie Ciganek, Lucas Childress, and Danny Tenison were honored at the regular meeting of the Prairie County Quorum Court at their last meeting of 2018 held on Tuesday, December 11 at the Courthouse Annex in Des Arc. Judge Skarda began the meeting by honoring the people that have served as Justices of the Peace or employees who will no longer be serving the county. Danny Tenison is retiring from the County Roads Department after thirty-five years, Eddie Ciganek will be leaving the Quorum Court after eight years, and Lucas Childress had served on the court 2 years. Each was given a plaque for his service. Justices present included Eddie Ciganek, Ronnie Eans, Gary King, Doyle Sullins, Dennis Tipton, Lucas Childress and Justice Bobby Willeford. Justices Mary Sue Roe and Lawrence Holloway. After the presentations, the state audit was discussed. The county has paid $400.00 for incorrectly coding some checks, causing the budget recap to be out of line with the
appropriation journal, according to Skarda. Skarda next gave the proposed 2019 budget committee report. The budget committee members are Judge Skarda, Justice Holloway, Justice Bobby Willeford and Justice of the Peace Elect Judy Hinson. The budget will include 3 additional mills which will raise $54,050 in revenues. The base pay beginning in 2019 will be $19,240 per year to meet the new minimum wage of $9.25 per hour. Christmas bonuses of $500.00 for full time, $200.00 for full time employees with less than 90 days service and $100.00 for part-time will be given out this year. The Sheriff’s Department salaries will be increased from $10.00 an hour to $12.60 per hour. This will make the yearly salary of deputies $26,208 per year. “We hope that this will help us keep people here,” Skarda said. “The Sheriff’s budget request is higher due to increases in salaries, fuel, oil, and vehicle expenses,” he said. The 2019 budget request of $2,942,073.86 will leave a surplus of
$112,376.14 that can be used for improvements if the 90 percentanticipated revenues of $3,054,450 is correct for the year. The county will remain in a hiring freeze for the time being. Two ordinances were passed to allow the county to purchase two Ford F150 trucks for the Sheriff’s Department. One of the vehicles had already been purchased in August. A resolution was also passed adopting the Prairie County Hazard Mitigation Plan. The plan allows the county to request disaster when it is needed. “All this does is give us the ability to apply for federal money,” Skarda told the court. The Federal Emergency Management Agency requires that governmental agencies have a plan in place to apply for federal funds, and that plan must be reviewed annually. Carroll Sisson addressed the court regarding the Nuisance Dog Ordinance that had previously been suspended. After some discussion, the court decided to table the ordinance indefinitely.
August The Back-to-School Bash is held at the Hazen
Hazen Chamber of Commerce and the
Please call F&M Bank (255-3042) or The Grand Prairie Herald (255-4538) to list events.
the
Taylor Rollins opens the Cozy Nook Art Gallery in Lonoke. The Quorum Court and the Des Arc and Hazen City Councils vote to fund school resource officers for the Des Arc and Hazen school
Community Center. Dean Walls, the long time publisher of The White River Journal dies at the age of 96. Tim Jacobs of “Arkansas Term Limits” speaks to Prairie County residents about the term limit proposal on the 2018 ballot. Rice Field Day is held in Stuttgart. The Des Arc City Council votes to rename the city’s baseball field in honor of
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