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Eagles victorious at War memorial (Pictures on p. 8. )
Volume 117 Number 43 - USPS 225-680
Serving all of Prairie County, Arkansas
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Community Events Calendar Friday September 7 Hazen Hornets VS Bearden 7:00pm Hornet Field Des Arc Eagles VS McCrory Eagle Field 7:00pm Saturday September 8 Movies At The Center God’s Not Dead III A Light in Darkness 6:00p.m. Tuesday September 11 Quorum Court Meeting 6:00pm Annex Building Des Arc
Officers from the Arkansas Department of Corrections, brought dogs from their K-9 unit to aid the Hazen Police dog, Belga, in the search for the carjacking suspects last Thursday.
Local law enforcement officers arrest carjackers The Hazen Police Department (HPD), along with Joe Mills and Heath Parker the Prairie County Sheriff’s Department, the St. Francis County Sheriff’s Department, the Hazen unit of the Arkansas State Police, and the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC) K-9 unit from the Tucker Correctional Facility combined efforts to capture four carjackers from Memphis, Tennessee in the early hours of Thursday morning, August 30. The pursuit began when the Memphis Police Department received a
call that a carjacking was taking place. Officers chased the car until it crossed the state line into Arkansas. At that point the pursuit was turned over to Arkansas police. The St. Francis County Sheriff’s Department called the HPD, who took over the chase after the four exited Interstate 40 at the Biscoe exit. The HPD attempted to stop the car using a spike strip across Highway 70 in front of the Hazen Penecostal Church, but the car avoided the strip and continued on into Hazen, bailing out of their car at Water and Cleveland Streets.
City of De Valls Bluff City Council Meeting 6:00pm City Hall Tuesday September 18 Prairie County Master Gardeners Meeting 6:00pm - 7:00pm BancorpSouth
Wednesday September 19 Friendship Luncheon, DVB Methodist Church 11:00am Thursday September 20 GFWC Elsie McCain Club Meeting 6:00pm Murry’s Restaurant 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.
Chief Bradley Taylor said. The ADC canine unit was called in to track the remaining two men. Taylor said that a woman driving a car with plates from Marion, AR, a girlfriend of one of the carjackers, picked up one of the suspects in Hazen and later picked up another suspect in Brinkley. The second of these two men had been given a ride to Brinkley by a Hazen resident who had been told that the man needed to get home. The resident became suspicious and contacted the Hazen Police after dropping off the man.
When the license plate of the woman’s car was reported over the police radio, Officer Robert Nickles of the Hazen Police Department happened to be in Forrest City at the time and travelling behind the woman’s car. With the help of the St. Francis County Police, the two suspects and the woman were stopped and arrested. “I want to thank everyone who helped with this,” Taylor said. “An operation like this could not be done without the cooperation of a lot of people. We are lucky to have good relationships with other units across the state.”
Des Arc School Board expels two
Thursday September 13 Hazen Lodge Meeting 7:30pm Lodge Hall
Prairie County Fair September 18-22 Prairie County Fair Grounds
One of the carjackers was apprehended immediately. Another carjacker was apprehended after being tracked to the Hazen elementary school by the HPD drug dog, Belga. He was found between the 2 new elementary and middle school buildings behind an airconditioning unit around 4 a.m. that morning. “We called Tiffany Glover (the elementary principal) and Joe Bescancon (the athletic director and dean of students) and told them that there had been a criminal on the school grounds, but that he was already in custody,” Hazen Police
New Hazen School Board member... Darlene Connors was sworn in as the new Hazen School District school board member before the board’s regular August meeting held on Monday, August 27 in the Hazen High School library. Connors will fill the position left vacant by Greg Metcalf more than four years ago. Pictured are Connors being sworn in by Prairie County Clerk Gaylon Hale.
On August 27th, the Des Arc School Board held a disciplinary hearing before their regular meeting concerning two students who are seniors at Des Arc High School. Superintendent George Kennedy reported to the board that High School Principal Bruce Guthrie had met with him to discuss disciplinary action for two students who had been seen by him selling and purchasing the prescription drug Adderall. When he called the students to his office, he asked the student he had seen selling the pills if there were pills in the backpack. The student told him no but gave him permission to search. Guthrie stated, "there were pills in the backpack." The student seen purchasing the pills admitted to buying them. One student is an 18 year old senior enrolled in special education. The other is a 17 year old senior at DAHS. Superintendent Kennedy stated that he agreed with Principal Guthrie that the disciplinary action for the students be as follows: Expulsion for the
remainder of this semester and for the spring semester, the special education student's services to be limited to one day per week at the "In School Suspension" room, and the other student be allowed to take the two classes required for him to graduate (which can be taken in the morning) then leave the campus. The board approved the recommendation. Superintendent Kennedy stated that the students and parents were invited to the meeting if they wished to speak to the board but none attended. Principal Guthrie stated that both students would be criminally charged as adults. Several board members thanked Guthrie for his good work at paying close attention to students and his ability to spot problems and handle them in a timely and productive manner. Attending the monthly meeting were Superintendent George Kennedy, High School Principal Bruce Guthrie and board members Stewart Morton, Billy Hinson, Jordan Smith, John Reidhar, Charlie
Brown, Sylvester Holloway, and Eric Kennedy. In regular business the board approved the monthly financial statements, approved Federal Programs Statement of Assurance and Demonstration of Compliance which show that federal funds are being spent correctly and local funds are being spent as well as federal funds. The tuition agreement with The Sunshine School for four students was approved, and the Annual Report to the public was scheduled to be held at 6:30 p.m. on September 24th just before the next board meeting. Superintendent Kennedy stated that Lana Legget had been hired as a custodial/maintenance employee. Her duties include operating the cafeteria computer, cleaning the gyms and football field, and other duties as needed. OPAA representative Jerry Noble was present to find out how the (Continued on p. 4)
Dates scheduled for flu shots in Prairie County The dates and places for the upcoming Mass Flu Clinics in Prairie County are as follows: Monday, September 24 from 7:30a-5:30p HAZEN - Methodist Church/ N.Hazen Ave. DRIVE THROUGH AVAILABLE Thursday, October 4 from 7:30a-5:30p DES ARC - Drive through at Riverfront Park and walk-in at Prairie County Health Unit, 204 Main St. Wednesday, October 17 from 10a-12p
BISCOE City Hall 274 Sportsman Dr. And DEVALLS BLUFF City Hall from 1p-3p 977 E. Cypress St. School Clinic Flu dates Hazen Schools – Tuesday, October 2. Des Arc Schools – Wednesday, October 10. There will be no mass flu clinic at the Hazen Community Center. It has been moved to the Hazen Methodist Church to allow for drive through vaccinations.
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