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More Prairie County pageant pictures on p. 6.
Volume 120 Number 37 - USPS 225-680
Community Calendar of Events
Serving all of Prairie County and the Grand Prairie
Wednesday, September 15, 2021
Prairie County chooses Fair Queens
Tuesday September 14 Hazen Senior High Hornets vs Stuttgart Ricebirds Ricebird Field 7:00 p.m. Quorum Court Meeting Annex Building Des Arc 6:00 p.m. Thursday September 16 Hazen City Council Meeting 6:00 p.m. City Hall Friday September 17 Des Arc Eagles vs Earle Earle Field 7:00 p.m. Carlisle Bisons vs Lamar Lamar Field 7:00 p.m. Saturday September 18 Prairie County Fair Parade 5:30 p.m. Line up at Old Acco Building Sunday September 19 Prairie County Fair Exhibit check in 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. Confections Monday only Tuesday September 21 Prairie County Exhibit Judging 8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Tuesday September 28 Prairie County Health Unit Drive thru Flu Clinic Hazen Methodist Church 10:00 a.m.-5:00 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.
2021 Prairie County Fair Queen: 1st Alternate - Rachel Gierth, Photogenic - Tana Griffin, 2nd alternate - Sterling Michelle Prince, and Queen Kylie McCune with former Junior Fair Queen Kaitlin Tosh. The 2021 Prairie County Fair opened on Saturday, September 11, with its Fair Queen Pageant held in the DeValls Bluff Community Center. This year’s fair queens are pictured here, and pictures of other winners can be found on page 6. All of the photos were taken by Ruth Corley. The fair will continue with a parade on Saturday, September 18, in Des Arc. Line up for the parade will begin at 5:30 p.m. The exhibit building will be open for attendees beginning at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 21 and will remain open each day through Saturday, September 25. The fair will end with a demolition derby on Saturday, Sept. 25, at 7:00 p.m.
Ms. Prairie County: 1st alternate/photogenic - Cindy (Price) Norman and Queen Alexandria Jean Prince with former Fair Queen Abby Richardson.
Senior Miss Queen Sue Price.
AR Rent Relief program to speed up process (LITTLE ROCK, Ark.) — Several important changes have been made to the Arkansas Rent Relief Program to expedite the distribution of assistance, including measures that will prioritize funds for tenants who are at immediate risk of eviction or who have had an application pending for 30 days or more. Gov. Asa Hutchinson asked the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) to review its processes surrounding how tenants and landlords apply and how those materials are approved for funding. The changes announced are a result of that review, which aimed to streamline the process so funds can be provided at a quicker pace. Changes being implemented now include: -Applicants who have indicated they received eviction notices or eviction/court paperwork will be prioritized. -Funds can be paid to eligible tenant applicants if a landlord does not submit the required information within 10 days of the initial application. The program previously issued rental assistance payments only to landlords if both the tenant and landlord
submitted all required information. DHS will attempt to reach the landlord at least three times during those 10 days, and the landlord will be paid directly if they respond. -The contractor handling the program for DHS is adding 70 additional staff to handle calls, help process cases, and conduct reviews as part of program integrity. This will bring the total number of contract employees working on the program to more than 160. -A new case management team has been added to focus exclusively on previously submitted tenant applications where the landlord did not submit information. Outstanding tenant applications will be prioritized based on risk of eviction and then in the order in which they were submitted. -Additional agents have been added to the call center to help with questions on the program. That number is 8 5 5 . R E N TA R K (855.736.8275). -Marketing and educational materials are being updated to reflect the changes, and new training sessions for community-based organizations and landlords
will be scheduled. DHS has reviewed the submitted applications and determined that 2,784 of them are at risk of eviction because the applicant has received an eviction notice or received court eviction papers. Of these, 1,344, or 48 percent, have been paid or are expected to be paid by next week. A total of 1,418, or 51 percent of cases, remain pending, and these applications are being prioritized. DHS also has reached out to the state’s three most populous counties – Benton, Pulaski, and
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Washington – to offer to assist to serve residents in those counties. Currently, residents in those counties must go through the county rent relief program and have not been eligible for the state program. As of last week, the state program has or will distribute more than $9.8 million in assistance to more than 3,200 households in the state outside of Benton, Pulaski and Washington counties. This represents 21.71% of the total eligible applications submitted and 24.90% of the total dollars request-
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ed. The program, which launched in mid-May, is funded through $173 million provided by the Federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program through the U.S. Dept. of Treasury. Funds may help cover past due rent, future rent, and certain utilities such as water, electricity, and gas. Payment assistance can be used for up to 15 months of rent and utilities incurred between April 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021. (Continued on p. 3)
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