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Clell Lewis
TUESDAY, May 10, 2016 / Vol. 2 Issue 19 / 75 cents
Committee approves leasing graders
This part of Boar Road in Clinton is impassable after the bridge washed out earlier this month, causing residents to have to travel several miles to get around it. (Photo from Facebook)
The Van Buren County Quorum Court road committee made plans last week to lease five graders. Payments on the Caterpillar graders will be $1,038 per month per machine for 36 months, a total cost of $186,840. The county will be responsible for replacing blades as well as paying for fuel, lubricants and tires, but other repairs will be covered under the deal. County Judge Roger Hooper said the county spent more than $152,000 on parts and repairs, including blades, over the past three and a
half years. He said the deal will save the county 50 percent on maintenance. A second bid was for John Deere machines with a monthly cost of $1,747 per grader. The full Quorum Court will consider the recommendation at its next regular meeting. Hooper said the road department has spent $1.2 million of its $4.6 million budget so far this year. A mild winter in which sand trucks were rarely needed helped cut expenses, and much of the gravel hauled this year has been close to work locations, he said.
Chip and seal work will begin in June, the committee members were told. Justice of the Peace James Kirkendoll commented at the meeting that he has been hearing from residents concerned about an ordinance passed at the the last Quorum Court session that allows setting weight limits on county roads. The Voice also has been hearing from residents asking how the weight limits will be decided and enforced. The ordinance did not supply specifics. Kirkendoll did not comment further.
Clinton man charged after wife injured A Clinton man has been placed on suicide watch at the Van Buren County Detention Center after being charged with first-degree domestic battery last week. Witnesses told deputies they saw Bobby Joe Nixon III pull his wife out of a vehicle, hit her and drag her into their house on Highway 95 West on May 1, according to court papers filed in the case. One of the men called 911. The report said the woman came back outside shortly, screaming, the witnesses said. One told the deputy when he saw blood on the woman he went back inside to get a tow-
el. The deputy's reported noted "a large amount of blood on the ground" when he arrived. He stated three men were standing over the woman and a young girl was walking around nearby. The report said the woman had a cut above her elbow. The deputy said he could not tell about other injuries because of all the blood. The woman told deputies that they were fighting because Nixon does not work or help her around the house. She said after pulling her inside, Nixon picked her up and threw her on top of a kitchen table that had a lot of glass on it.
Paramedics took the woman to Ozark Health Medical Center. At the jail, according to the report, Nixon refused to sign paperwork, including a no-contact order. He told the deputy he loves his wife, they fight, but nothing and no one was going to keep him away from going back to his house and seeing her, the affidavit states. The deputy reported that Nixon said he was going to kill himself. The jail has implemented its suicide policy. Nixon is being held on $10,000 bond. His arraignment on the Class B felony is set for May 23.
Bringing home the gold -- The Shirley Girls Track team (from left) Erika Phillips, Ariel Privitt, Steffanie Howard, Graysen Berry, Teigha Black, Jessica Ramer and Alyssa Gatlin, won first place at District Tournament at Hendrix College in Conway on April 25. The Lady Blue Devils are led by coach Keith Brown. Way to go, Lady Devils! (Photo by Dallas Phillips)
Dennard ladies extend helping hands
Blooming blackberries -- Old-timers call the last cold snap of the year "blackberry winter" because it often happens when the wild blackberries are blooming. So last week's cool down could be the last of the season. The blooming blackberries pictured are competing for the same space with red honeysuckle in a large stand of brambles near Crabtree. (Photo by Jeff Burgess)
"Little is much when God blesses it." That's the motto of a group of women living in the Dennard community who make it their work to help others. In 2011 the group began Ladies' Helping Hands of Dennard. Even though the group is small, the women say God has richly blessed their outreach. Some of the local projects that the group has assisted with are making and filling Christmas stockings for the foster children of Van Buren County and assisting with the Christmas party for the children. The group made clothing protectors for the residents of Ozark Health Nurs-
ing Center in Clinton and Highland Court in Marshall. The ladies adopt a resident from Ozark Health Nursing Center and Highland Court each year. Gifts are taken to these residents on holidays and their birthdays. Christmas cards are taken to all the residents at Christmas. The group made bibs for some of the children attending Van Buren Special Services school. It also has collected supplies for Dove House, given money to Lacey's Love and bought Christmas gifts for needy children. It has given money to families for medical expenses and to help pay funeral costs. When a tornado destroyed sev-
eral homes in the area in 2013, the group started putting together "Blessing Tubs." The ladies make quilts so each blessing tub includes a quilt and other household items. But the most important item in each tub, the ladies say, is a new Bible. The tubs are given to families who have lost their homes in fires or storms. Last Christmas the ladies fixed lunch and invited some from the community to come eat with them. They also delivered several lunches to shut-ins in the community. The group buys school supplies each year to donate to the "Back to School Bash" in Van Buren County. The ladies of-
fer help outside Van Buren County as well, including donations to The Salvation Army and the Red Cross. They also have sewed clothing for the children at the Project Hope mission in Managua, Nicaragua, and collected sewing supplies and used cards to be used by the ladies at the cancer center, part of the Project Hope mission. The group's primary source of funds is proceeds from an annual yard sale. The Ladies' Helping Hands meet the second Wednesday of each month at 10 a.m. at Faith Church in Dennard. A hearty welcome is extended to all. For more information contact Linda Vallery at 745-6639.