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March 9, 2016
THE POLK COUNTY
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1168 Hwy 71 S • Mena, AR 71953 • 479-243-9600 ...............................................................................................................................................................................
Your DAILY News Sources: KENA 104.1 FM & MyPulseNews.com
Sawyer to be Next Sheriff
R un- O f f E lecti on Se t f or C i rcui t C lerk R ace BY LEANN DILBECK & MELANIE BUCK • news@mypulsenews.com
Playing with Fire
A total of 5,4 6 4 Polk County voters cast their ballots in the 2016 Presidential Primary on Tuesday, March 1st, creating a voter turnout of 4 5.57 % of the 11,990 registered voters in the county. Several local races were determined with new office holders in the primaries, long before the ovember bids come into play. Polk County voted dominantly Republican with 4,7 2 casting Republican ballots, 5 in emocratic races, and 59 on-partisan. Scott Sawyer has been voted in as the next Polk County Sheriff after a tight three-way race. Sawyer pulled in 5 .55 of the vote with 2,34 ballots cast in favor of him. His opponents, Mickey Simmons and Tim Milham won 39 and of the vote respectively. CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
Mayor Delivers State of the City Address BY MELANIE BUCK • news@mypulsenews.com
Mena Mayor eorge Mc ee gave his annual State of the City Address at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. The address was given to a full house of attendees and covered a synopsis of 2 5. Economic development was the first topic in Mc ee’s address. An operating budget of 4,549,52 . was approved by the City Council for the year 2 5. The city “approached the year with a conservative budget, being very aware of the many challenges facing cities and at the same time considering the need to maintain our current level of services to the citi ens of Mena. He explained that due to careful management practices, the city’s financial outlook is stable. For example, the city was able to pay cash for the purchase of a new fire truck versus having to borrow the money. CONTINUED ON PAGE 20
Up to 12,000 Arkansans to Lose SNAP Benefits BY MELANIE BUCK • news@mypulsenews.com
The state of Arkansas has sent out their third and final notice to 2, Arkansans, announcing the last month to receive their benefits will be March 2 . In anuary of this year, HS confirmed with The Pulse that Polk County had 1,6 4 7 SN AP cases representing 3,7 persons. The letters were sent to ‘able bodied adults’ that currently receive S AP benefits, or rather food stamps, as the program is most commonly known. The targets of the system are ages 49 years of age who are considered physically able to work and have no dependents. early two do en states across the nation are implementing the same program, called S AP Limits. The state has honored waivers that allowed able-bodied recipients to collect the
[PHOTO BY MELANIE BUCK] Members of several fire departments took part in an all day training on Saturday, February 27, before heading over to Mena Airport to put their bookwork into action. Mena Fire Chief John Puckett said 17 members from Mena took the training and were joined by five members from Ink, three from Cedarville, and two from Jenny Lind. CONCLUSION ON PAGE 7
CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
EXPIRES 3/16/16