April 17, 2024

By Lisa Mills Correspondent

The DeValls Bluff City Council met on April 11 with Mayor Thelma Gray, Recorder/ Treasurer Darlene Connor, and Council Members Shirley Goff, Pam Del Giorno, Marie Flanagan, Carol Griffin, and Jackie Adcock present. The council approved a a bid from J & B Concrete for $1,638 for concrete repairs under the steps and on the sidewalk at the DHS building.

The Prairie County Quorum Court once again tabled an ordinance to appropriate the 2023 budget at its April 9 meeting. Only Justice Payne was missing from the meeting.

Prairie County Court Clerk Gaylon Hale presented the ordinance to the justices “to clean up the budget,” as requested by the state auditor.

Justice Rick Stallings, the chair of the county’s budget committee, said that he was unsure where the $54,704 in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds went, what it was used for, and why it wasn’t appropriated by the court. Hale showed the court documentation that an ordinance was passed to transfer the ARP funds, but Stallings said, “I would like to know where that went.” Hale said that the funds had

A motion was approved to require city department heads to attend the monthly city council meetings. City employees will be paid time and a half of their hourly salary to attend. The volunteer Fire Chief will be paid a flat amount of $15, which is the amount firemen are paid per event and meeting.

A proposal for a rate increase from M Triple J Sanitation was reviewed by the council. The proposal states that the GFL landfill has increased their fee by 15% so they are asking for a 5% increase to help offset their costs. The 5% increase would raise rates from $18 a month to $19 a month. A motion was approved to review the contract and get prices from other sanitation companies, then make a decision in May. Police Chief Jeremy Murphy reported six arrests were made and four traffic citations were issued in March. He stated that he is waiting for several warrants to be signed by the judge. He was happy to report he had been notified that his department is eligible for up to $44,000 from the USDA to purchase a new vehicle. He said that the application and required paperwork has been turned in to USDA. Police Chief Murphy wants to remind residents to be vigilant by keeping doors locked and property secure now that the weather is getting warm and the days longer which means more people will be out and about. He said, “The best way to assist

gone to paying the county employees a 3% raise that was passed by the court along with retirement. Asking for more information from Hale, the court tabled the ordinance once again.

Another ordinance, presented by Stallings, which would have taken money from the Local Assistance and Tribal funds to pay the School Resource officers in the two county schools, was also tabled until a line item can be created in the county general account for it.

In other business, Sheriff Rick Parson told the court that the repairs to the roof on the county jail have been completed. Parson also updated the court on the new Starlink system. He reported that the system was working better than the regular internet for a cost of

$120 a month. The county presently pays $2141 per month for internet services within the county. This includes the rental of equipment by the county. The count asked that the cost for phone and internet services be studied.

Presently, Telogic provides these services. With no other business to discuss, the court adjourned.

Orville Louis Stephens

neralservice.com

Master Gardeners student scholarships still available

Orville Louis Stephens was born April 2,1935 in Des Arc, Arkansas to William Marshall Stephens and Ethel Pauline Burnett Stephens. He went to be with the Lord April 6, 2024 at his home at Harding Place surrounded by his loved ones. He is survived by his wife of 20 years, Karen Foshee Churchwell Stephens of Searcy, Arkansas; one daughter Cheryl Pierce of Dallas, Texas; one daughter-inlaw Elsie Stephens, three step-daughters Kelly and Gene Provost of Kansas; Karrin and Mike Jozwiak of Kokomo, Indiana; Linda and Steve McIntosh of Griffithville, Arkansas; two step-sons Jimmy and Vangie Churchwell of Tumbling Shoals, Arkansas; Troy and Lisa Churchwell of Griffithville, Arkansas, and one step-son-in-law Mike Cook of Michigan. six grand children, five great grandchildren, and twelve step-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife Alma Stephens of 31 years; Dets Stephens of 13 years; his parents William and Pauline Stephens; son, Robert Stephens; two stepdaughters, Diane Cook and Debbie Gallagher; two brothers Ralph (Skipper) Stephens and Robert (Bobby)

Stephens. He worked for General Motors Fire Department for 41.5 years; Mount Morris Fire Department in Michigan for 32 years. He served as Fire Chief for 21.5 years. He helped to establish the Genesee County Fire Fighters Color Guard Association. He was President of Genesee County Fire Association and President of Genesee County Fire Chief Association. He retired in 2003 and moved to Arkansas. He enjoyed working in the garden, yard and pecan orchard, riding motorcycles, ice racing, bowling, parades, volunteering, traveling, fishing, hunting, and anything to do with the fire departments. He loved spending time at the lake with family and friends.

He was a member of Kensett Church of Christ and the Masonic Lodge in Mount Morris, Michigan. He and his wife have been residents of Harding Place in Searcy for over a year and enjoyed his retirement. A special thank you to Harding Place staff and Arkansas Hospice employees who gave him the best of care. In lieu of flowers, if you want to make a donation as a memorial, please make it to the American Lung Association or Welcome Home Cemetery.

Visitation was held at Searcy McEuen Funeral Home on Tuesday, April 9, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. followed by a funeral service at 2:00 p.m. Burial followed at Welcome Home Cemetery in Griffithville. Searcymceuenfuneralho me.com.

Debbie

Darlene Reid

and Asa Reid, and her mother Rachel Hester. She was preceded in death by her father Bud Hester and Charles Mathis.

Debbie was the daughter of James “Bud” Hester and Rachel Hester. She was born on March 2, 1964 in Little Rock, Arkansas and attended school in Carlisle, Arkansas, where she was a lifelong resident. Debbie married the love of her life, Marvin, shortly after graduating, and they have shared 41 years loving years of marriage together. She became a wonderful, selfless, and dedicated mother to their three children.

Debbie’s energy and willingness to serve carried over to many other children of Carlisle, as well, through her tenure on the Carlisle School Board. Debbie served in all capacities for several of her 28 years on the Board. She served as Secretary, then Vice President for the Chamber of Commerce. Debbie was also a member of the Zoning Committee. Debbie was a friend to many and loved her home town.

She attended Family Christian Fellowship in Hazen and enjoyed spending Sunday afternoons with her husband, children, and her grandchildren. Debbie loved cooking for her family and listening to music with them. They were her greatest treasures. Her life revolved around her soulmate, their three children, and their families. She always had a house full and she wouldn’t have had it any other way. Debbie’s selfless love extended to many more than her own. She touched many lives with her positive spirit and leaves a legacy of selfless love.

Fran Lennette McGee

Campbell

Fran Lennette McGee Campbell, age 65, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, April 9. Even though her departure from this Earth was sudden, our Heavenly Father had this date chosen for her to enter Glory.

Fran was born April 3,1959 to Clotus Jr. and Fanelle Newkirk McGee.

Fran joins her parents and brother Clotus (Chip) McGee III in Heaven along with many other loved ones who have gone on before.

Fran is survived by her husband of 44 years, Homer; their daughter, April, son-in-love Dennis (D) and granddaughter, Tessa Herring of Almyra; an extra daughter, Trenka Kagebein, Ward her husband, Steven, and their daughters Ronnie and Reagan also of Almyra; her nephew Clotus McGee; and special niece Jaime Skarda. She was Momma Fran to many of April’s friends and later in life Grammy to many of Tessa’s friends. She leaves behind brother and sister in laws, nieces, nephews, cousins and a tremendous amount of friends.

Fran was the beloved Revenue Office Lady. She took pride in her work and enjoyed helping her customers. When she wasn’t working and her health allowed, she enjoyed shopping for a good bargain and attending whatever event Tessa or April were a part of. Visitationwas held from 11:30-1:00 April 12 at

Home

By Chris Weems

High School students in Prairie County have a few more days to apply for a Master Gardeners' scholarship to study Agriculture, as announced by Sue Clayton, chairman of the Scholarship Committee, at the regular meeting, Tuesday, April 2. Forms are available from high school principals or Mrs. Clayton.

Rhonda Betzner, president, led the meeting with 12 members present at the Prairie County Fairgrounds.

Treasurer Clayton gave the financial report.

The group’s newsletter was distributed by Vice President Amanda Stark. She also handed out the posters for the Master Gardener Plant Sale for Saturday May 4. Since this was the meeting before the plant sale, plans were made for all members to be present about an hour before the sale begins at

LITTLE ROCK – The legislature convened the fiscal session and will spend the next month working on a $6.3 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The legislature has always approved conservative budgets, and the balanced budget proposed by the governor is very conservative even by traditional standards. It calls for growth in state agency spending of only 1.76 percent, compared to traditional growth of about 3 percent in recent years.

The growth amounts to increased spending of about $109.3 million.

9:00 a.m. at the pavilion across the street from the Hazen Community Center.

The president reported that the work day in the park had been well attended and much work was done. She also reminded the members to bring their plants to the sale to add variety.

Amy Tallent gave the program. She talked about "Getting Rid of Fire Ants". Tallent said, “They are hard to handle because they are underground. The queen ant has to be destroyed to kill the ant hill." She said that it takes patience and sometimes a lot of time to get all of them. She said, "Beware, because the ant has a nasty sting that can get infected."

Dee Black and Chris Weems won the door prizes.

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 7, at noon at the fairgrounds.

The proposed surplus for Fiscal Year 2025, which we’ll finalize during this year’s fiscal session, is predicted to be about $376.6 million. For the most part legislators will consider budget bills. However, there will be efforts to add non-budget bills to the agenda, which is allowed by the state Constitution if twothirds of both the Senate and House approve a resolution for their introduction.

Debbie Darlene Reid, 60, went to be with her Lord and Savior on April 9, 2024. She is survived by her loving husband, Marvin Reid, Jr., her 3 children, Andrea Hanks (Neal), Alex Reid (Sydney) and Ashley Clinton (Chris), her grandchildren Vincent Reid, Adelaide Clinton

Family-hosted memorial services was held Sunday, April 14, 2024 at Family Christian Fellowship (603 W. Washington St) in Hazen, Arkansas. Visitation began at 1:30pm and Celebration of Life at 2:30pm.

Arrangements by A Natural State Funeral Service 2620 West Main Street, Jacksonville, Arkansas 72076. 501982-3400. Online guestbook available at www.anaturalstatefu-

ing

three

at a time. The next meeting will be at Murry’s Restaurant in Hazen on Friday night, April 19, at 6:00 p.m. Judy Foot, a past president of Arkansas GFWC will be the guest speaker. This will be the last regular club year. The club outins will start with the State GFWC Spring Convention at Delta Hotel in Little Rock.

The majority of that amount, about $65.7 million, would go to the Education Freedom Account program created last year. Also, the governor proposes an increase of $38.2 million in the state’s Public School Fund. The State Police would get an increase of about $3.8 million for its trooper school, allowing the agency to add 100 troopers. State-supported institutions of higher education will receive about $781 million this year.

The governor proposes to reduce that amount by $2.45 million next year. In a speech to a joint session of the Senate and House on the first day of the fiscal session, the governor said that her reason for holding down growth in state government is to make room for future tax cuts. She repeated her pledge to responsibly phase out the state income tax.

We are currently in Fiscal Year 2024, which ends on June 30. Forecasters at the state Department of Finance and Administration predict that the state will end the fiscal year with a budget surplus of about $240.5 million.

The Revenue Stabilization Act, which is the Arkansas balanced budget law, is actually considered a non-budget bill because it doesn’t specifically appropriate tax funds. It sets spending priorities and states the purpose of various funds, but it doesn’t have specific dollar amounts as appropriation bills do.

In past fiscal sessions the Revenue Stabilization Act has been introduced and approved without controversy.

This year some legislators have filed resolutions declaring their wish to file bills affecting the regulation of data centers and crypto mines. They would amend Act 851 of 2023, known as the Arkansas Data Centers Act, which defines how local governments may regulate data centers and crypto mines.

People who live near crypto mines have voiced complaints about the constant noise levels, and local communities have expressed concerns about the amount of electric power and water used by the centers.

Senate Resolution 5 would allow legislation to create noise reduction techniques. The proposed legislation also would prohibit certain foreign entities from owning a controlling interest in an Arkansas data center. The prohibitions also would apply to agents of foreign interests.

Seven other Senate resolutions have been filed seeking to allow introduction of bills to further regulate cryptomines and data centers.

Lady Bison rout McCrory

win, pitching five innings in relief. She gave up on turn and two hits.

Bubba Barnhill scored in the fourth inning on a ground out by Ethan Lisko. Weems scored in the fifth on a double by Barnhill.

Monday. With the win, Hazen improves to 7-3 on the season. Hazen scored single runs in the second through sixth innings to lead 5-0. Eli Weems scored in the second inning. In the third, Cameron Smith scored on a sacrifice fly by Nash Arnett.

Hunter Pardon scored Hazen’s last run in the sixth on an error. England scored single runs in the sixth and seventh innings.

fourth to lead 4-2. McCrory got one back in the bottom of the fifth. The Lady Bison then erupted for four in the sixth and four in the seventh to pull away.

Pardon and Barnhill each had two hits. Both of Barnhill’s hits were doubles. Pardon got the win. He gave up two unearned runs in 6 2/3 innings pitched. He struck out 11 England batters.

Des Arc sweeps Carlisle in baseball and softball last week

By Mark Buffalo

Sports Editor

Des Arc swept Carlisle in softball and baseball last week in important 2A-6 conference games.

Des Arc won the softball game 9-3. The Eagles won the baseball game 10-4.

In softball, Des Arc scored four runs in the top of the first at Bobby Glover Field. The Lady Eagles pushed their lead to 6-0 with two runs in the fifth. They scored three more in the sixth to lead 9-0.

Carlisle led 1-0 after the top of the third inning. McCrory came back with two runs in the bottom of the frame to lead 2-1.

Carlisle responded with three in the top of the

Lakyn Golden was 4 for 5 with four runs scored. She also had two RBIs and two doubles.

Libby McIntyre, Jessa Wiles and Angie Petrus scored two runs each. Also scoring were Anna Stovesand and MaKinnley Cook. Tessa Sanders got the

In baseball, the Bison fell to McCrory 11-3. Carlisle scored two in the first and one in the fourth. The Jaguars scored two in the first, three in the second, once in the third and fourth innings then four in the sixth.

Holden Jones, Eli Roberts and Daniel Ford each scored runs. Ford was 2 for 3.

Quilt Society meets April 10

By Marsha Heien

Grand Prairie Quilt Society met Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at the First Christian Church. Due to the power outage, we sat outside under the awning and enjoyed the balmy April morning. Shelley opened the meeting with the Thought for the Day with a poster: STABLE Syndrome: Stash

Hudson Goodman scored twice. Also scoring were Eli Bednar, Braylin Hudson, Ben Kearby, Cole Eldridge, Walker Harris, Chad McCary, Jacoby Tallent and Cane Childers.

Holden Jones, Eli Roberts, Bentley Parker and Baylor Hauk scored for the Bison.

The Lady Bison scored once in the bottom of the sixth and two in the bottom of the seventh to set the final score at 93. Emma Buckner and Makenzie Williams each scored three runs to lead Des Arc. Grace Knight, Kymber Buckner and Marley Widener scored single runs. The Lady Eagles had six hits. Williams had two. Emma Buckner, Kaylee McDonald, Knight and Kymber Buckner had one hit each. McDonald got the win, allowing only one earned run in seven innings of work. She struck out 11 Carlisle batters. Lakyn Golden, MaKinnley Cook and Anna Stovesand each scored run for the Lady Bison. In the baseball game, the Eagles scored all 10 runs in the top of the first.

2023/2024 Hazen High School 3rd nine weeks Honor Roll

Hazen High School announces its third week Honor Roll for the 2023/24 school year. The Honor Roll students are:

7th Grade Abby Blagg, Addie Carroll*, Jessica Cessor, Addyson Elliott, Mathew Essex, Xachary Geroge*, Matthew Gladish, Calle Gray, Ryder Greenwalt, Kayleigh Linder, Peyton Lisko, Elan Moore, Kami Perry*, Levi Turner

8th Grade Peyton Bacon, Daniya Calahan, Madison Graham, Weston Hare*, Jacob Mills-Dixon, Jeremy Paris, Taylor Reynolds, Bella Roberts, Paycen Seely*, Kenedy Self, John Simmons IV*, Tesla Van Houten

9th Grade Makynlee Anderson, Jaelynne Barnhill, Michael Bowman*, Cayden Calvert, Ryleigh Cook*, Alyssa DouglassDodge*, Isabelle Gray*, Rayna Hester*, Hannah Linder, Destiny Martin*, Kylee McElroy, Kiersten Shatzer, Jase Simmons, Bailey Sims, Luke Snider, Jalynn Thomas*, Kadence Weems*

10th Grade Peyton Anderson, Sarah Douglas*, Remington Fegley, Chase Heinmiller*, Ethan Lisko, Allyson Mooney*, Gabrielle Morgan, Cecilea Orman, Sophie Raper*, Maci Sickel*, Dylan Skarda*

11th Grade

Mattison Alberson, Rileigh Barnhill, Chloe

Caldwell, Faith Duell, Lonnie Grable, Jaci Hackelton, Similan Hongpukdee, Carson Kee, Karly Kinard*, Austin Kocourek, Makayla McCray*, Ethan Simmons, Owen Simmons*, Kendall Sisemore*, Eli Weems, Brance Williams

12th Grade Braylan Anderson, Nash Arnett, Jordyn Besnacon, Kamryn Blackard, Austyn Booth*, Taylor Griffin*, Gage Heinmiller, Colton Holloway*, Abby Hopkins, Kendrick

Hune Faith Johnson, Tamesha Larkin, Grayson Lott, Mattie Perry*, Joshua RomerDawson*, Lilly Schulze, Kaycie Seely, Aydin

Self*, Katelin Wallace, Brooke Wooten

Denotes All A’s*

Accumulation

Beyond

Life

Expectancy

Many of us say we can't die yet, we have too many projects left undone. The March minutes and treasurer's reports were given. Eight members have paid their 2024 dues. Old Business: we are still working on the comfort quilts for children in distress.

Show and Share: Marsha had the quilt top that she is making for the Disciples Women retreat in September. The meeting was adjourned but as we

Marsha's quilt for retreat