December 30, 2015
MRHS Announces Addition of New Orthopedic Surgeon BY LEANN DILBECK Mena Regional Health System is pleased to welcome Dr. Tariq Niazi to the medical staff. Dr. Niazi is currently accepting patients and will be located at the Mena Surgical Center located at 400L Crestwood Circle, adjacent to the hospital.
County Sustains Hard Hit from ‘Goliath’ Governor Declares County ‘Disaster Area’
CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
Quorum Court Approves $4.4 Million Budget for 2016
BY MELANIE BUCK County budgets requests were approved at the Polk County Quorum Court meeting in November, where Justices of the Peace adopted a request for a $4.4 million budget for 2016 and approved resolutions to apply for grants. The 2-year budget request comparison shows that 2016 requests were more than $95,000 above 2015 requests. Many departments in the general budget stuck close to their 2015 budget CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
Sludge Removal System Project at Water Treatment Facility Slated to Begin BY MELANIE BUCK A bid was awarded to Mullen Construction, LLC at Monday night’s monthly Mena Water Utilities Commission meeting for the construction of a pad at Mena’s Sewer Plant that will be used to implement their new sludge removal system. Mullen’s accepted bid of $58,461.60 will be used to complete the dirt work portion of CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
[PHOTOS COURTESY OF KAYLA WELLS] BY LEANN DILBECK AND MELANIE BUCK Polk County is among twelve other Arkansas counties to have been officially declared ‘disaster areas’ by Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, following Sunday’s torrential rains and catastrophic flooding. Other counties included in the state declaration are: Benton, Calhoun, Carroll, Drew, Franklin, Logan, Madison, Ouachita, Perry, Searcy, and Washington. The amount of aid that will CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 1020 MENA ST. MENA, AR 71953 | SINCE 1939
www.washburns.com Mon-Fri 8:30 to 6:00 • Sat 9:00 - 3:00 (479) 394-4332 • (888) 394-4332