July 22, 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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Celebrating the Reopening of Queen Wilhelmina Lodge
The Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism Commission, led by Executive Director Richard Davies and State Parks Director Gregg Butts, were joined by Queen Wilhelmina State Parks Superintendent Paula Magers in hosting a public open house and ribbon cutting celebrating the reopening of the lodge. The event was held Thursday, July 16. Jon Brown, Operations Manager for Arkansas State Parks said on Thursday that the lodge had been filled to capacity all but one night since its reopening on July 1. Above, city and county officials as well as the Mena/Polk County Chamber of Commerce joined in the celebration with a traditional ribbon cutting. [PHOTO COURTESY OF CHUCK HARALSON | ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF PARKS & TOURISM]
City Council Approves Resolutions for Airport, Hospital and Water Dept.
Cossatot River School District Announces New Hires
BY MELANIE BUCK At the July Mena City Council meeting, the Council heard reports from several city departments and also, explanations of two proposed resolutions from local attorney Danny Thrailkill. Thrailkill first represented the Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport, filling in for Airport Manager Will Robbins who was unable to attend. Thrailkill said the new runway lighting system for Runway 17-35 is finally complete and they are satisfied with the end result. Thrailkill said the new lights will be great for those coming into the airport and that when turned on fully, they are actually too bright. He said they had to turn the new LED lights down a bit and they are much better than the pre-existing conditions. In order to pay for the runway lights, which are part of the 40-year master plan for the
BY MELANIE BUCK Cossatot River School District has hired several new faculty members within their district over the summer in preparation for the upcoming school year. CRSD Superintendent Donnie Davis said that Raisa Whisenhunt, has been hired as an Elementary teacher at Umpire Elementary and Umpire High School will welcome Jesse Edge as Math Teacher and Layken Faulkner as FACS instructor. At the Wickes Elementary Campus, Amanda Parks, Alicia Farringer, and Mary Vertiz will be Para Pro Aides and Tonya Olalde will be a Special Education Aide. Matt Huckabey will teach music at Wickes and Vandervoort Elementaries. Emily Huckabey will teach Keyboarding at Vandervoort Elementary and East Lab at Cossatot
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