JANUARY 23, 2019
FREE WEEKLY
THE POLK COUNTY 1168 Hwy 71 S • Mena, AR 71953 • 479-243-9600
Stay Your DAILY News Sources: MyPulseNews.com & KENA 104.1 Connected! Open Pit Quartz Mining Proposed in the Ouachita National Forest By Jamie Hammack Mining is not a word heard much in these parts for quite some time, but if Barber Mining Company and the U.S. Forest Service have their way, quartz mining in the Ouachita National Forest will take place on a 21 acre tract north of Mount Ida. Some may ask “Why is this important?” To a group called Friends of the Ouachita Trail (FoOT for short) it is very important. And it should be for you and I as well. The Ouachita National Recreation Trail runs for 223 miles, beginning at Talimena State Park in Oklahoma, passing through Queen Wilhelmina State Park and ending at Pinnacle Mountain State Park, near Little Rock. What, there’s a hiking trail nearby you say? Yes. The Ouachita Trail is the premier hiking trail in this part of the United States. Many people use the Ouachita Trail as a warm up to hiking the much longer Appalachian
Trail, which runs from Georgia to Maine. Look it up on YouTube. Videos posted by hikers of their adventures on the Ouachita Trail are many and give us a glimpse of the beauty that a walk through the woods can offer. The Friends of the Ouachita Trail are volunteers who maintain the trail by clearing brush, building shelters, providing assistance through maps on their website and listing water sources so that hikers can have a safe journey. What has them upset is the proposed quartz mine is slated to be in the Ouachita National Forest and at a point will sit right along the Ouachita Trail. The mine isn’t the usual type of mine we envision, the below ground mine with miners in hard hats with carbide lights. This is a proposed open pit mine that would require removal of all vegetation. Meaning trees, bushes, shrubs and anything else above
-See Trail, continued pg. 14
Former Mena resident receives award from FBI Director for 2017 investigation Operation Shank and Bake In 2017 the FBI North West Arkansas Safe Streets Task force began monitoring a drug trafficking organization in the Western District of Arkansas. During the investigation it was found that large amounts of meth, cocaine, heroin and marijuana were being trafficked into Benton and Washington counties in NW Arkansas. The task force was able to determine that the narcotics were being brought from Los Angeles, California, Dallas Texas and Jackson Mississippi. The Safe Streets Task Force conducted control narcotics purchases and surveillance on the Nicholson Drug Trafficking Organization. In January of 2018 the FBI conducted simultaneous search and arrests warrants in Los Angeles, Dallas, Jackson, Fayetteville and Springdale Arkansas. At the conclusion of the investigation, it was determined that the Nicholson Drug Trafficking Organization was importing hundreds of pounds of meth into NW Arkansas each year. 13 arrests were made and all have been convicted in Federal Court. On December 11,
2018, Director Christopher Wray, presented an award to Benton County Detective and
-See Award, continued pg. 14
Hikers enjoying the Ouachita Trail last weekend during the wintery weather. Photo permission provided by FoOT
UARM names coach for new soccer program Submitted photo: FBI Director Christopher Wray presented award to Benton County Detective and FBI Safe Streets TAsk Force Officer James Chamberlin.
UA Rich Mountain has a new Soccer program and now the university has its first coach with the hiring of Brian Byrd. Coach Byrd comes to UARM by way of Coastal Bend College in Beeville, Texas. Before Byrd’s arrival at Coastal Bend they had won only one game in 14 years. In his 5 years at Coastal Bend Byrd led them to the regional
semis or finals every year. Quite impressive is that he also led them to victories over several nationally ranked Soccer programs. UARM Athletic Director, Morris Boydstun says that UARM has landed “The best candidate we had” and that
-See Soccer, continued pg. 9