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Des Arc couple honored. See page 6
Volume 117 Number 12 - USPS 225-680
Community Events Calendar Monday March 5 DeValls Bluff City Council Meeting City Hall 6:00pm - 7:00pm White River Irrigation District Board of Directors Meeting 10:00am Front street Hazen Biscoe City Council Meeting City Hall 7:00pm Tuesday March 6 Hazen High School Class of 2020 Dinner & Silent Auction Hazen Community Center 5:00pm-7:00pm Thursday March 8 GFWC Elsie McCain Club Meeting 6:00pm Murry’s Restaurant Hazen Hazen Lodge Meeting 7:30pm Lodge Hall Sunday March 11 Daylight Savings Time Begins Monday March 12 Hazen Chapter # 5 OES Meeting 6:15pm BanCorpSouth Hazen Tuesday March 13 Quorum Court Meeting 6:00pm Annex Building Des Arc Community events brought to you by Hazen Chamber of Commerce and the
Please call F&M Bank (255-3042) or The Grand Prairie Herald (255-4538) to list events.
Prairie County, Arkansas
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Boozman’s office schedules mobile office for county WASHINGTON –U.S. Senator John Boozman announced that members of his staff will host a mobile office event in DeValls Bluff on Wednesday, March 7th. The Mobile Office will be held in the DeValls Bluff City Hall located at 877 E. Cypress St. from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Boozman’s staff will be available at the walk-in event to help Arkansans who are having problems involving the federal government and to hear their thoughts about legislative issues. This is a staff-led constituent service event. Senator Boozman will not be attending. “Working through issues with the federal govern-
ment can often be overwhelming. As a senator, it is one of my privileges to help Arkansans navigate through and cut the red tape – making it more convenient for citizens to use government services. Constituent service is always my top priority. My staff will be available to assist you with any questions you may have. They are looking forward to visiting with Prairie County residents and answering questions and helping resolve issues involving federal agencies,” Boozman said. For more information on this event, contact Boozman’s Little Rock office at: 501-372-7153.
Des Arc City Council votes on resignation of parks director by Lisa Mills Ronnie Ward offered his resignation as Des Arc’s Parks & Recreation Director at the regular meeting of the Des Arc City Council on February 20. Present at the meeting were City Mayor Jimmy Garth, Treasurer/Recorder Chrisana Knupp and council members Jodie Mayher, Welton Robinson, Steve Bryan, Ray McVay, Janice Huffstickler and Anna Beth Fisher. After accepting Ward’s resignation, the council thanked him for all of his hard work. Ward recommended Doug Estes as his replacement. The council approved Estes for the position. The meeting was called to order by prayer, the pledge of allegiance and roll call. The January financial report was read approved, payment of bills was approved and minutes from the January meeting were approved. No old business was discussed. In new business Alderperson Robinson reported there is a strong smell of gas in his neighborhood. Alderperson Bryan said there is also a gas smell in his neighborhood. Mayor Garth said he would have someone check it out. Police Chief Rick Parson reported 16 traffic tickets, 5 Misdemeanor charges and 5 Felony charges. He also reported that a Hummer purchased 3 years ago is no longer in use and needs to be sold. A motion was approved to
accept sealed bids with an ad to be placed in the newspaper. Mayor Garth stated an old pickup used by the dogcatcher needs to be sold. A motion was approved to accept sealed bids with an ad to be placed in the newspaper. Committee reports included: Alderperson Bryan reported for the gas, water & sewer department that gas prices have remained steady. Alderperson McVay reported for the Senior Citizens Center that everything is going great. Mayor Garth reported for the street department that repairs on potholes will begin as soon as the weather allows. Mayor Garth reported that it is time to accept bids for mowing the park, around the water tanks, sewer pumps & booster station and cleaning park restrooms. An ad will be placed in the newspaper to accept bids. Ronald Eans addressed the council with several concerns: 1. A big hole on Anderson St heading to 4th St. Mayor Garth stated it would be looked at. 2. An illegal mobile home that has previously been discussed. Mayor Garth stated that a letter will be sent to the owner, per attorney's advice. 3. Work on 3rd St. that has been approved for repairs. Mayor Garth stated that the deadline for the work to be finished is June 30th and work will resume as soon as weather allows.
State Star Events winners... Kynnedi Mothershed, Reighan McAdoo, and Kolby Fox of Hazen won the state level competition for their project "Let it Shine." They completed research about poverty, put together a project to help a homeless shelter during Christmas, and completed a project and speech over their work. They will be representing the state of Arkansas at the national competition in Atlanta, GA from June 28 -July 2nd if funds can be raised in time. Any donations for the team will be greatly appreciated!
Abundance of workshops await at Rural Life Conference Mar. 9 PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Fifteen workshops will be offered to attendees of the 62 nd annual Rural Life Conference March 9 at the Pine Bluff Convention Center. Workshops begin at 10:15 a.m. and are one hour long with a 15-minute break between each workshop. Conference participants can attend two workshops in their entirety. One workshop, Conservation Planning for Today’s Farming Sustainability, runs the entire two hours. It covers holistic farm management planning, high tunnel house cropping systems and irrigation water management, and the C o n s e r v a t i o n Stewardship Program (CSP) and Environmental Qualities Incentive Program (EQIP) and updates. Three of the most popular workshops are repeating to accommodate attendees. These workshops are Heir Property/Estate Planning, Single Family Housing (which will focus on the U.S. Department
of Agriculture’s Rural Development Program) and USDA Farm Loans and Programs with special emphasis on beginning, minority, women and veteran farmers and ranchers. Aquaculture/fisheries workshops are Backyard Aquaponics, Keys to Successful Pond Management and the Role of Habitat in Fisheries Conservation and Management. Other workshops cover soybean, rice and vegetable production; cow/calf production and grazing; forestry management, year two of the Sustainable Forestry Program; food safety and GAP certification for vegetable crops; business and marketing; and local food systems and urban gardening. Participants can also, learn about what services, other than food, that UAPB’s food pantry provides to students. The Rural Life Conference gets underway with registration at 7:30 a.m. The opening session begins at 8:45 a.m. The conference also
features a poster session and exhibits by governmental and community agencies. The conference is sponsored by the School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences. Registration is requested of everyone even though the conference is free to farmers, retirees and homemakers. The cost to professionals and agency personnel is $50, after Feb. 19, $75. To preregister, or for more information, contact Margaret L. Taylor at (870) 5757144/8535 or taylorml@uapb.edu. The Pine Bluff Convention Center is located at 1 Convention Center Plaza. The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff offers all of its Extension and Research programs and services without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative A c t i o n / E q u a l Opportunity Employer.
PC filing period is open until March 1 The Prairie County Election Commission has announced that the filing period for county offices has opened. The window for filing began on February 22 and will remain open through noon on March 1, 2018. The respective political parties are responsible for setting and receiving their filing fees. All candidates must file with their respective party and pay the requisite filing fees before the political party can turn in the candidate’s paperwork to the county clerk’s office. Candidates have until Thursday March 1,
2018 at noon to file. Those interested in running for political office should contact Republican Chairman Rick Dobson (501-516-6061) if filing as a Republican, Democratic Chairman Harvey Joe Sanner (501-516-7000) if filing as a Democrat, or the Prairie County Clerk’s office if filing as an Independent (870-2564434). County-wide candidates elected this year will serve a four-year term and will begin serving on January 1, 2019. The Preferential Party Primary date is May 22, 2018.
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