February 11, 2015
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THE POLK COUNTY
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1168 Hwy 71 S • Mena, AR 71953 • 479-243-9600
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Ellison Wins Appeal to FEMA BY MELANIE BUCK Polk County Judge Brandon Ellison submitted, and won, an appeal for the denial of funds through FEMA for the replacement of a bridge on Polk 62 that was damaged in the May 30, 2013 flood. Ellison first applied for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding after the area was an officially “declared event.” FEMA denied the funding based upon, “noncompliance with maintenance recommendations, as contained in the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department’s report, dated October 23, 2012.” FEMA determined the failure of the bridge is directly attributed to deferred maintenance noted on the bridge report instead of being “a direct result of the declared event.” The 2012 report, written more CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Valentine’s Day Specials pg16-17
MRHS Supports ‘Go Red for Women Movement’
Above are just a few of the employees from Mena Regional Health System who, on Friday, February 6, all wore red in a show of support for the ‘Go Red for Women’ movement. The National Wear Red event is set aside as a movement to honor women and raise awareness about heart disease being the number one killer of women. For more information, visit www.GoRedForWomen.org
Affirmed Landmark Case Leads to Additional Arrest & Lawmakers Seeking to Clarify the Law
Andi’s Law Awaiting Governor’s Signature
BY MELANIE BUCK Arkansas State Representative of District 94 Rebecca Petty has won justice by way of House Bill 1012 for her daughter, Andi Brewer, the 12-year old rape and strangulation victim of Karl D. Roberts in 1999 in Polk County. The bill, named Andi’s Law, gives victims and their families the right to watch the execution of their attacker either in an adjacent room to the execution room or via a live secure satellite feed to a private location on prison grounds. “It was quite the fight, to put it lightly. It’s where we need it to be and I couldn’t be more pleased. To give crime victims part of their voice back was what this was all about,” Petty said. Petty took office in January and made her first priority to fight to honor Andi and to revise and protect victim’s rights. “I didn’t speak of the situation for many years, probably about 10 years or so. Every now and again I would gripe about how bad we were treated the night that Roberts was supposed to be executed, but was CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
Hebert Opens Stache’s Cookery
BY MELANIE BUCK On the heels of a landmark decision made by the Arkansas Court of Appeals issued last week to keep Melissa McCann-Arms in prison for taking drugs while pregnant, Prosecuting Attorney Andy Riner is bringing another case to Polk County courts by way of Jessica M. Fox. Fox was arrested on Monday, February 2, 2015 for two counts of Introduction of Controlled Substance into the Body of Another Person. Fox gave birth to a child on October 17, 2013, which tested positive for four different drugs: methamphetamine, amphetamine, opiates, and Oxycodone. Fox tested positive for the same drugs with exception to opiates. The arrest was delayed pending the appellate courts opinion in the McCann-Arms case. JESSICA FOX
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AMYE’S BACK! BY MELANIE BUCK Amye Hebert is back and has brought Stache’s with her. Hebert opened her new restaurant, Stache’s Cookery, on Monday, February 9, and is serving up menu items that you won’t get elsewhere.
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