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July 30, 2014

FREE WEEKLY

THE POLK COUNTY

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512 Seventh Street • Mena, AR 71953 • 479-243-9600

MyPulseNews.com . . . Your DAILY News Source!

Quorum Court Approves Sheriff’s Plan to Seek 1-Cent Sales Tax for New Jail

BY LEANN DILBECK Polk County’s Quorum Court approved by a vote of 11-0 Polk County Sheriff Mike Godfrey’s plan to seek a 1-cent sales tax to construct a new county jail following a recommendation from JP Basil Kesterson on behalf of the Jail Committee. The committee had met July 1 and was given a tour of the facility. The approval of such a tax must ultimately be decided by Polk County voters. Godfrey gave a step-by-step presentation during last week’s standing room only meeting that included the lengthy list that remains to be accomplished prior to voters ultimately making the final decision on their ballot. Godfrey said he doubts that they will have it prepared in time to be on the November ballot, at which time the JPs will then have to decide whether to wait until November 2015 or to have a special county-wide election. A “money-pit” was how Godfrey explained the current 34-year old jail that no longer meets state requireCONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Arkansas Sales Tax Holiday This Weekend

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.– The 2014 Sales Tax Holiday is this Saturday and Sunday, August 2-3. According to the Department of Finance Administration, the sales taxfree holiday begins Sat., Aug. 2 at 12:01 a.m. and end Sun., Aug. 3 at 11:59 p.m. SEE OUR SALES TAX HOLIDAY SPECIAL SECTION, PAGES 14-15.

Dangerous Vandervoort Intersection Receives Improvements

BY MELANIE BUCK Over the last year the entrance and a short portion of Polk 17, at the Vandervoort junction, has had a tremendous makeover. This location is near the new Cossatot River High School and this portion of Polk 17 is used for the back entrance to the school. It also is heavily used by large trucks that frequent Provence Recycling. There had always been a problem CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

The Long Trail Home BY MELANIE BUCK On a journey to bring awareness to suicidal veterans, Matthew Littrell and friend Raymond Avery, are expected to pass through Mena on Saturday as part of their cross country trip on horseback. Both from Elbert, Colorado, they began their journey at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina on May 1 and will end the ride at Camp Pendleton, California. They expect the journey to last until December or maybe even as far away as January. Littrell, a former Marine Infantryman, wants to bring awareness to suicidal veterans and let them know that they are not alone. “There are 22 veterans a day committing suicide, every single day. There’s only 22 states out of the union that report veteran suicides, not including Texas or California so we can assume that the number is much higher than that, around 50 to 70,” stated Littrell. The idea for his long journey began in January 2013 when Littrell himself came dangerously close to taking his own life. “I spent a long night looking at a pistol on the table in front of me, didn’t do it. I called up the VA Crisis Line that night just to talk to somebody and the person I got on the other end of the line just didn’t CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

1020 Mena St. • Mena, AR 71953

479.394.4332 or TOLL FREE 1.888.394.4332 Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 6:00 pm • Saturday: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm

www.washburns.com


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