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Margaret Johnson
TUESDAY, November 15, 2016 / Vol. 2 Issue 43 / 75 cents
Council votes to increase water bills Customers of the Clinton Water Department should expect to pay $6 more soon. The City Council voted unanimously Thursday to approve two ordinances that would each increase water bills by $3. The first ordinance established a $3 per meter surcharge to retire the bond debt. It will raise
only Clinton customers’ bills. “This is not a charge to commercial wholesale customers," department manager Richard Hink said. “It’s up to them to collect from their customers. ”How they do that and how much they charge is up to the wholesale customers," he said. Those water associations are Van Buren Coun-
ty, Bee Branch and Dennard. The second ordinance increases the minimum bill by $3 per month for Clinton customers. Hink emphasized that this was not a rate increase, just a cost of living increase to the minimum monthly bill. Councilman Jason Lynch expressed concern that this was
just a “bare bones” increase and in a few months the department would have to ask for more. Councilman Timothy Barnes noted that the increase does not take care of the “big picture,” but covers regular maintenance. “We have to start somewhere,” he said. Hink’s third request of the night
was a resolution creating a five-member water commission that would guide the department and report to the City Council. Mayor Richard McCormac said he thinks “we need one very bad.” But Councilman Johnny Moore appeared to think five members might be a bit unwieldy and that a three-member
board would be better. The vote was 4-2 to approve creating the board with Moore and Sam Ward opposed. Earlier in the evening, the council heard from the state Highway Department, which reiterated that it would incur the cost of movSee Water on page 6
City takes up issues on animals
Honoring those who served -- South Side Schools held a Veterans Day ceremony Friday featuring soldiers and speakers. Story, Page 5
The Shirley School District celebrated Veterans Day with "Invite a Veteran To Breakfast." Students presented hand-made thank-you cards and sang patriotic songs. The breakfast was hosted by Shady Grove Baptist Church.
Ozark Health Nursing and Rehab Center honored veterans Friday at the center, handing out certificates of appreciation. More photos, Page 2
Voters keep most incumbents (For complete results, see Page 6) Van Buren County went to the polls in heavy numbers this election season with more than 7,500 casting ballots. The local races were close with only 50 or 60 votes separating some candidates. Those retaining their county-wide offices were County Judge Roger Hooper, Sheriff Scott Bradley and Tax Assessor Trina Jones, all Democrats, and County Clerk Pam Bradford, a Republican. Political newcomer, Debbie Gray, a Republican, toppled long-time Circuit Clerk Ester
Bass, a Democrat, by a razor-thin margin. On the Clinton City Council, incumbents Gayla Bradley and Timothy Barnes were re-elected to their positions. In the race to replace outgoing Councilman Johnny Moore, there will be a runoff between Justin Bintliff and Shon Hastings. There also will be a run-off between Jeff Pistole and Richard Hink in the contest for Nina Bonds Baker’s seat. She did not seek re-election. In Shirley, two incumbents lost their elections as Deborah Kerrigan bested Randy Murray
and Ginny Kimmons Stone defeated Kevin Jones. Incumbent Lisa Hackett held off challenger Ashley Tackett. In Damascus, incumbent Jerry Hensley handily kept his seat. In Quorum Court races, incumbent Kevin Housley was the winner, and Richard Sundelin won the District 9 race over Judy Wells, Other winners in Van Buren County were U.S. Sen. John Boozman, U.S. Rep. French Hill and Donald Trump in the presidential race. Voters also approved all four ballot issues.
Notes Benefit set
A benefit has been set for Nov. 26 for Randy Ego, who was severely injured in an accident in early October. Ego, one of the foremost mechanics in Clinton, is owner of Independent Foreign Car Garage. He was working on his property near Chimes last month when the wind blew a tree down on him. He is currently in critical care with severe spinal damage at a Little Rock hospital. Friends and neighbors have organized a benefit to help Ego and his wife, Cathy, on the long road to recovery. Doors open at the old Walker Fieldhouse at Clinton High School at 1 p.m., and the silent auction begins at
2 p.m. It will be followed by a live auction at 3:30 p.m. Artwork, crafts, pies and more will be on the auction block. At 5 p.m., the action moves down the street to the Clinton Senior Center on Yellowjacket Lane. There will be a finger foods potluck, live music and dancing. For more information on items that will be for auction, visit the Randy Ego Benefit Facebook page. For more information on the event, call Kathy Kapus at (870) 448-6686, Steve or Holly Myers at 745-2495 or Greg or Patty Munson at (870) 496-2636.
Thanksgiving
The Voice office will be closed Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 2324, in observance of Thanksgiving. We will reopen on Friday, Nov. 25.
The Clinton City Council rejected an ordinance Thursday to ban sales and giving away animals on city streets. The ordinance was aimed at stopping sales in stores’ parking lots. Councilman Timothy Barnes abstained and the other five councilors voted against the ordinance at Thursday’s meeting. The measure was written with no exclusions, which would have prevented animal protection leagues from holding adoption events. Also at the meeting, Van Buren County Animal Control director Reta Tharp came under questioning as the shelter’s fate hangs in the balance. She told the council that Justice of the Peace Randy Story plans to introduce an ordinance at this week’s Quorum Court meeting to stop funding for the shelter. Tharp said she has cut her budget to the bone, from $140,000 in 2016 to $111,000 for 2017. There is nothing left to cut, she said. Animal Control was established in 2003 as a joint venture between the county and Clinton. There is disagreement on whether that was supposed to be a 50-50 split or if Clinton agreed to pay only up to $20,o00 per year. At a Quorum Court Budget Committee meeting last month, it was suggested that the county could bill the city for half of the shelter’s expenses each month. Councilwoman Gayla Bradley told Tharp the city doesn’t even know what expenses are involved in running a shelter. She also wanted to know how much Shirley pays toward the shelter. Tharp respondSee Animals on page 6