75¢
PC 4-H announces winners. (See p. 4.)
Volume 120 Number 11 - USPS 225-680
Serving all of Prairie County and the Grand Prairie
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
DVB Council rescinds condemnation of Main Street property By Lisa Mills
Community Calendar of Events Stop by your Prairie County Public Library for Free candy bag for Easter (4th grade & younger) while Supplies Last
Wednesday March 17 St. Patrick’s Day Monday March 18 Hazen City Council Meeting 6:00 p.m. Hazen Community Center Saturday March 20 Spring Begins Monday March 22 Hazen School Board Meeting Hazen School District starts Spring Break Thursday March 25 Commodities at Hazen First United Methodist Church Drive Through 10:00 a.m.12:00 p.m.
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.
At the March 11th De Valls Bluff City Council meeting, City Attorney Mike Stuart informed the council that the vote to restart the condemnation process of the Carrell property on Main Street could not be accepted because the three yes votes (for condemnation) were not enough to pass the motion. He also stated that he had received the quit claim deed that transferred the ownership of the property from Carrell to the new owner, Studio Drift, represented by Martin Smith. Stuart said that further action would need to be addressed to Smith. A building permit was approved for Gregory Nelson Masonry to begin masonry work on the building. Smith addressed the council stating that he has begun the process of searching for needed contractors for the necessary building rehabilitation work. Mayor Castleberry told Smith that he would have to have approval from the Corp of Engineers due to the flood area. Smith stated that he doesn’t
Many buildings along Highway 70 in DeValls Bluff are in states of severe disrepair. The building that is now owned by the Studio Drift company has bricks falling off the sides and missing windows.
have to have the Corp’s approval, but he does need Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approval. FEMA told him that they do not have flood standards for that area and therefore approval is not needed. Attending the meeting were Mayor Brooks C a s t l e b e r r y , Treasurer/Recorder Darlene Connor and council members Marie Flanagan, Raymond Watson, Richard Henry, Alice Metcalf and Lalisa Wright.
Council members were given copies of a letter sent to DeValls Bluff gas customers on March 10th regarding a substantial price increase in February. The letter states that the city’s natural gas supplier, Symmetry Energy Solutions, has stated that they will work with the city for payment, and the city will then work with customers for payment. Excessively large gas bills are an issue being faced by all cities in the region that own their own gas com-
panies. The increase is due to the recent snowstorm which caused increased gas usage. A bill from Xtrication Xtreme for $26,862.30 for Fire Department equipment was presented to the council. Fire Chief Kelly Hutchinson reported that this purchase had been approved by the council, but Mayor Castleberry stated that the purchase approval was contingent on the department obtaining a loan and the loan had not been received. Therefore
three bids would be required before payment could be made to Xtrication Xtreme for the equipment purchase. Sheriff Rick Hickman reported 103 patrols and 6 calls in February. The calls included 3 alarm calls, 2 harassment calls and a general information call in reference to a man sleeping under the bridge. Fire Chief Kelly Hutchinson reported one large fire requiring assistance from multiple departments.
Hazen City Council discusses increase in gas prices for customers The Hazen City Council met in a special meeting on Thursday, March 11, to discuss the increase in the city’s natural gas bill from Symmetry Energy Solutions, LLC due the recent snowstorm. According to an email received by the city from Symmetry, “The extreme and unprecedented weather event that began on or around February 12, 2021...impacted a substantial portion of the continental United States, severely disrupting the supply, transportation and distribution of natural gas across a multitude of pipeline systems.” The city’s estimated gas supply charges received from Symmetry for natural gas during the month of February totals $84,877, with additional charges of $695.39 for FTS charges and a total transport charge of $148,178.90 for operational flow order charges from the Mississippi River Transmission (MRT) service. The MRT charges are not normally on natural gas bills received by the city, according to Mayor David Hardke. With all of the additional charges, the total bill to the city is estimated to be $234,510.71. By comparison, the estimated natural gas bill for the city in January was $26,056.27. Symmetry has told the city that some of the wills froze during the cold weather. The Attorney General’s office wants to know why the gas companies were not prepared for such an event. According to Hardke, The Arkansas Attorney General’s office “is on top of this.” But even if
it is determined that “price gouging” has occurred, it will take several months to recoup the funds. After a Zoom meeting with the Attorney General’s office that included members of the Hazen Utilities Department and City Attorney Keith Rhodes held on March 10, the city decided to prepare a proposal to present to the council that would reduce natural gas bills to city consumers by 46%. Hardke suggested that the possible $148,178 operational flow order charges from MRT be paid by the city with money that has been put aside for utilities projects and repairs. The city presently has $600,000 saved from sales tax revenues for the utility department improvements. The auditor from the state’s legislative audit department has approved the proposed transfer of the funds as long as the sales tax funds have not been dedicated, which they have not. “We’re grateful we have these funds; some towns don’t,” Hardke said. After a short discussion, the council voted to use the utilities saved funds to offset the cost to the city’s natural gas consumers. The city has requested that Symmetry send a copy of the 1993 contract that the city entered into with the company. Letters will be sent out to city gas customers explaining the increase in charges and what the city is doing to help. When Councilmember Tim Juola asked how much time can be given to people to pay off their bills, Hardke said “There are some issues that we’re going to have to deal with.” The city
intends to allow payment plans to pay the gas portion of the bills if needed. Hardke said that one particular bill that he had seen was $908, but the proposed reduction would change
the bill to $418. Similarly, a bill for $127 would be reduced to $587. Hazen Public Schools would be charged $8919 rather than the present $19,390 on its bill. The
water bills for customers have already been sent out without the gas charges. “If we can help the people in this town, that’s great,” Councilmember Barbara Rogers said.
PC Quorum Court passes two ordinances The Prairie County Quorum passed two ordinances and one resolution at its regular meeting held on Tuesday, March 9 in the courthouse annex in Des Arc. All justices were present. The first ordinance passed amended the 2020 county budget to allow the transfer of $15,000 received in 2019 for county court security grant in order to pay the bills in 2020. The money was used to purchase a generator for the Des Arc Courthouse. The second ordinance allows the County Sheriff’s Department to purchase two new vehicles. Two Dodge classic pickups will be bought from Steve Landers in Little Rock at a price of $28,074 each for a total of $56,148. Landers is a state authorized purchasing site, so no bids on the
vehicles were needed. The loan for the vehicles will be financed through Farmers and Merchants Bank for three years at 3% interest. The money has already been appropriated within the Sheriff’s Department budget. The ordinance was passed with Justice Hatcher abstaining. “I abstained because I arrived late,” Hatcher said. The justices also passed a resolution to apply for an Arkansas Rural Community Grant for the benefit of the Crossroads Volunteer Department in order to purchase a pumper truck. The department has raised $35,000 in money and inkind services to match the $15,000 grant for which they are applying. The 1981 model pumper truck that the fire department is presently
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using requires $16,000 worth of repairs. There will be no cost to the county. A discussion with the Legislative Audit Department initiated by County Attorney Abram Skarda concerning the county food bank revealed that the 2020 audit of the county had not been done as of yet. Some of the justices had expressed concern that the food bank was being run directly by the county with little oversight. To alleviate the problem, the County Judge, directed by a state auditor, the food bank was made a non-profit organization with its own separate account. The Legislative Audit Department is happy with the change, and will notify the county if anything else needs to be done. (Continued on p. 3.)
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