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County schools begin new school year. (See p. 6.)
Volume 118 Number 32 - USPS 225-680
Serving all of Prairie County and the Grand Prairie
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Dallas Taylor to represent Ward 3 on Hazen Council Community Events Calendar Wednesday August 21 Friendship Luncheon at DVB Methodist Church 11:30 a.m.-2:00p.m.
Thursday August 22 Commodities Distributed Hazen United Methodist Church 101:00a.m.12:00p.m. Prairie County Farm Bureau Annual Meeting 6:30p.m. Tollville Parish Hall Lt. Governor Tim Griffin, Speaker Monday August 26 Hazen School Board Meeting 6:00p.m. High School Library Prairie County Republican Party Meeting Des Arc Methodist Family Life Center 6:30p.m. Des Arc Eagles VS England Lions 7:30p.m. War Memorial Stadium Tuesday August 27 Adult Bingo Hazen Public Library 11:00a.m.12:00p.m. Friday August 30 Hazen Senior Hornets @ Cross County 7:00p.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.
A new city council member and road repair within the city were the main discussions at the Hazen City Council meeting held on Thursday, August 15, in the council room of Hazen City Hall. Present at the meeting were Mayor David Duch, Recorder/Treasurer David Hardke, and Councilmembers Rick Wiggins, Tim Juola, Steve Chlapecka, Barbara Rogers, and Larry Anthony. Several citizens were present to find out who would be chosen to be the Ward 3 representative recently vacated due to the death of Clevella Mosby. Gireta Smith, Troy Young, and Dallas Taylor had each volunteered for the position. Smith ran against Mosby in the last election. The council members voted by secret ballots which were counted by Hardke. Dallas Taylor was selected to be Mosby’s replacement, and he will remain in the position for the two years remaining in Mosby’s term. After being sworn in by Prairie County Clerk Gaylon Hale, Taylor took his place on the council. The city has received a $250,000 grant to repair several streets in Hazen, but Mayor Duch requested that the council allocate another $151,124 out of city funds so that some other streets could also be repaired while the paving company was in town doing the other street work. The council unanimously agreed to the plan. The extra streets include the one that runs behind Cedar Branch apartments and the road that runs east from Hwy.
Prairie County Clerk Gaylon Hale swears in Hazen’s new council member, Dallas Taylor. 63 and the El Amigo restaurant. The money will be taken from various city funds. Librarian April Highfill told the council that the Hazen Library building has been flooding between the foundation and the under footing during heavy rains. Highfill has been cleaning the carpet and wiping down walls to keep mold from growing. The library owns the building. Highfill said that to alleviate the problem, a French drain would need to be installed. The estimated cost for the drain work would be approximately $28,000. She also said that the building also needs a new air conditioner. Highfill said that she had contacted the county judge about the problem. Duch said that he would like to see a new building built for the library. Highfill agreed. The council postponed the discussion of a new library
until the next council meeting. Police Chief Bradley Taylor reported that the recently opened Love’s station is not causing much additional traffic. “That might change when they open the tire section, though,” Taylor said. Duch told the council that the Shell Superstop will be torn down and the tanks removed. “Billy Hill will be doing the
work,” he said. He also said that the Stallings property next to the Love’s station is for sale if the sale will benefit the city. “But it can’t be sold and held,” Duch said. In the mayor’s report, Duch said that the sales tax money from the Love’s station will begin coming in next month. He said that the business is grossing about $125,000 a day at this
point, and that the three cent tax on that amount could bring in $1.6 million a year. The mayor’s office is looking at various city improvement projects including a water tower at I-40 (which will be needed if more businesses go into the area), infrastructure upgrades, a new library, the replacement of sewer lines, city water improvements, and an ambulance service. The city is asking citizens for suggestions, and will discuss them at the next meeting. The council then went into a 10 minute executive meeting to discuss personnel, and took no action afterward. When the meeting restarted, the council members discussed the drainage problem at Crowley and Water Streets, the lumber left on sidewalks in town, and messy yards. Duch said that tickets for yard trash have not been handed out yet, but the police department had been trying to help people straighten up. Duch also said that a pipe on Hwy. 249 would be repaired by the Arkansas Highway Department.
Fuller announces for Circuit Judge Searcy, AR Carla Fuller, Searcy attorney since 1992, announces her candidacy for Circuit Judge for the 17th Judicial Circuit, Division 1, which is the position currently held by The Honorable Thomas Hughes. The general election for the 17th Circuit will be in White and Prairie counties on March 3, 2020. Fuller's devotion to people who are unable to care for themselves has existed throughout her career. She has represented the most vulnerable Arkansans in emotionally difficult cases. “I've always done the jobs no one else wanted to do. I've represented abused children, delinquent children, victims of domestic violence and people with mental health issues. I've helped the wrongly accused, and I've helped the rightly accused get a fair trial. I've helped grandparents rescue their grandchildren and helped people who want to be better get into rehab or therapy." In addition to her private practice, Fuller has served the public sector as Public Defender for 16 years, and Attorney ad Litem for 25 years. An ad Litem is an attorney appointed by the Court to represent the best interest of minor children when the parents are feuding in divorce or custody cases. Ms. Fuller has gathered information and evidence regarding the best interest of her clientchildren from the parents, the children and through her own investigation. “I am very careful to remain
impartial toward the parents when I am visiting with the children. I do not persuade the child nor let him feel any pressure to choose between his parents. It is a practiced skill to remain neutral until all of the documents, witnesses and evidence are in, and it is a skill I have honed for 25 years." Fuller believes this skill transfers well to the bench. Ms. Fuller enjoys giving her time to the education of others and is frequently asked to speak to attorneys, ad Litems, CourtAppointed Special Advocate volunteers, legal support staff and students on topics related to substantive law and a career in law. “The characteristics most desirable of a judge are wisdom, experience, impartiality and a servant's heart. If a person concentrates on those, there is no room remaining for arrogance." With 27 years of experience representing clients in Arkansas, Fuller has spent a good portion of her life in the courtroom. “I have worked with some arrogant Judges who have trouble looking down from the bench and remembering why they are there. For me, the black robe signifies in a neutral way that the person wearing it is a servant to the people." The non-partisan general election for Circuit Judge on March 3 will coincide with the primary election for presidential candidates. The judicial contests will be on all the ballots.
Area buildings on Historic Register... Two local structures were named to the National Register of Historic Properties at a recent meeting of the State Review Board. Dairyman’s Bank in Carlisle located on the corner of Front and Williams was built in 1902 and was the first brick building in Carlisle. Today it is currently occupied as the office of Keith Glover and owned by Bobby Glover. The Dairyman’s Bank was later sold to the Bank of Carlisle which is now Bancorp South. The original Dairyman’s safe is on display in the lobby of Bancorp South. The second structure is the J. M. Bransford house in Lonoke owned by Peggy Bolls Baily who is originally from Carlisle and is the director of the Carlisle Museum. The architect of this home was John Almand Parks who also designed the Carlisle First United Methodist Church and the Lonoke Presbyterian Church.
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