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DAES celebrates G.U.I.D.E week. (See p. 6.)
Volume 120 Number 12 - USPS 225-680
Serving all of Prairie County and the Grand Prairie
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
White River Irrigation District to move forward on construction
Community Calendar of Events Stop by your Prairie County Public Library for Free candy bag for Easter (4th grade & younger) while Supplies Last
Thursday March 25 Commodities at Hazen First United Methodist Church Drive Through 10:00 a.m.12:00 p.m. Hazen City Council public meeting regarding zoning 5:15 p.m. Hazen Community Center
Sunday March 28 Palm Sunday Thursday March 30 GFWC Elsie McCain Club Meeting 6:00 p.m. Nick’s Saturday April 10 Movie Night Faith Under Fire DVB Auditorium 6:00 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.
Construction is expected to start in Prairie County on the first two miles of canals for the White River Irrigation District (WRID) in midMarch, weather permitting. This information comes after the most recent WRID board meeting was held Thursday, March 7 at WRID President Dan Hooks’ farm shop. This will be the first dirt work for the canal construction. Prior work includes a pump station, 7,500 feet of twin 10-foot diameter pipelines and a 70-acre regulating reservoir near DeValls Bluff. This is a significant move to see the project gain momentum to its goal, which is supplying farmers in portions of Prairie, Monroe, Lonoke, and Arkansas counties with muchneeded water for crops from the White River. “We are doing good, for where we are,” Hooks told the group assembled. With the COVID-
White River Irrigation District (WRID) Board President Dan Hooks gives updates to board members and others present at the March meeting of WRID board. 19 restrictions the group has moved its monthly meetings outside with plenty of social distancing. The WRID office, located at 207 E. Front St., in Hazen is still open weekdays. The prime contractor
will be Garrett Excavating, of Hot Springs, with contractors John Neukam, of DeWitt, and Dale Shook, of Casscoe/Stuttgart, doing most of the dirt work. The bids for this work
ranged from $3.6 million to $5.2 million. Money was secured through a National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) grant along with loans from the Arkansas Agriculture Department.
“The first five bids were all very good for this work, very competitive. The bulk of the work was the 663,000 yards of earth fill in the levees,” Dennis Carman, WRID chief engineer and director, said. The unit cost for the low bid was $4.09 per cubic yard. That work will include excavating the borrow, moving it and placing it in the fill, which is similar work when area farmers build reservoirs. Nearly 40 percent of the dirt will be moved a mile. This work will start near DeValls Bluff. They predict that future dirt work will be lower as the cut and fill becomes more balanced with less haul distance. “These bids were excellent for the first contract,” Carman explained. The WRID will administer the contract and NRCS will share construction inspection duties.
Carlisle Council hears plans for summer food program By Debbye Harrison The Carlisle City Council met March 16 with all members present either in person or by Zoom. Special guest was Sherry Rollins, Librarian. Ms. Rollins announced the plans for the Summer Food Program sponsored by the Library. The program runs from June until the second week in August. This year the Library will provide hot meals for lunch and pack a breakfast for the next day. The First United Methodist Church is providing the kitchen for the food preparation, and then delivery will be made to satellite sites in different parts of town. These will be announced later.
The Arkansas Food Bank is partnering with the Library through the Summer Food Service Program. This is a federally-funded, stateadministered program to serve healthy meals to children and teens in low-income areas during the summer. There are 396 children who rely on free or reduced meals at school. This program helps to fill that gap in the summertime. Along with the prepared food, the children will have a Food-toTable fresh vegetable garden on the Library grounds. They are encouraged to learn how to plant, grow and harvest fresh vegetables by participating in this hands-on experience. Later they will be able
Delta Regional announces SEDAP program for 2021 The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) has announced the States’ Economic Development Assistance Program (SEDAP) 2021 application cycle for projects. Central Arkansas Planning and Development District (CAPDD) is the front-line project manager and administrator for DRA in the three (3) distressed and eligible counties in Central Arkansas: Lonoke, Monroe and Prairie, as well as any non-distressed DRA counties. While priority is given to distressed counties, all counties within the DRA’s footprint are eligible to apply for SEDAP funding. DRA counties are listed at dra.gov. CAPDD is charged with the responsibility of providing technical and application assistance for the DRA 2021 SEDAP applicants in the funding process. The States’ Economic Development Assistance Program may be used to fund projects for basic public infrastructure, transportation infrastructure, business development including entrepreneurship, and workforce development and training. Projects must be located in the 252 coun-
ties and parishes served by the Delta Regional Authority. Priority is given to projects that demonstrate innovation and small business focus, a regional approach, multiple funding partners, and emergency need. Counties, cities and nonprofit agencies within Lonoke, Monroe, and Prairie Counties and applicants within nondistressed DRA counties interested in submitting an application to the Delta Regional Authority are encouraged to contact Conya Spencer regarding eligibility and grant assistance at 501-6762721 or conya.spencer@capdd.org The process for application submission is through a web-based electronic application that can be found at https://dra.gov/fundingprograms/investing-inthe-delta/. All applications must be submitted to CAPDD through this website by June 6, 2021. For more information, the DRA 2021 SEDAP Administrative Program Manual and Eligibility Clarification Notes are available at dra.gov/funding-programs.
Carlisle Public Library Librarian Sherry Rollins tells the Carlisle Council of the library’s plans to provide Farm-to-Table summer program. (Debby Harrison photo.) to take the fresh vegetables home with recipes and instructions on how to prepare them for the family. The supplies for this garden are being donated by the Arkansas Food Bank. Last year 652 lunches were prepared for children who came to the park. It is expected to
be a much larger group given the ability to deliver to satellite areas in town. Bowen Furnell has been hired for the summer with funds provided by the County Library. Councilman Mike Walker reported that the Water and Sewer Committee is recom-
mending an increase in water deposit and reconnect fees. There is a deficit of more than $71,000 in the Water Department collections due to people moving and not paying their water bills which the current $50 deposit doesn’t cover. The Council voted to amend Ordinance 331 and raise the deposit for water connection to $150. The deposit will be returned if the bill is paid in full at the time of disconnect. The reconnect fee will be $75 if the water department has to disconnect service for lack of pay. The Fire Department asked to use the Softball field at Rockefeller Park for a fund-raising softball game against Lonoke. The game will be played March 28 at 2:30. The teams will meet again in two weeks at Lonoke.
Des Arc City Council addresses gas bills At the City Council meeting held on March , the recent gas bill was discussed at length. The decision was made to use the city's portion of the county sales tax to pay for the near $200,000 beyond normal bill that is being charged to us. While the Attorney General's office and the Public Service
Commission are investigating, we may not receive any solution from them any time soon. Meanwhile, we and our customers, have this bill to pay now. After the city covers this overage, the charge to our customers will be considerably less. The water, sanitation, and sewer amounts will remain the same, but
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the gas and gas tax amount will reflect this change. New bills are already being issued. The majority of them should be going to the post office today. The due date has also been extended to the 29th. If you have any further questions or concerns, please call City Hall.
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