Of the people, By the people, For the people
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Kathryn Hunt
TUESDAY, July 24, 2018 / Vol. 4 Issue 30 / 75 cents
High winds blow through county
JPs hear about Tahoes, dog bites, troubled girls
Homeowners Kristy and Michael Sowell, who live on Libby Lane in Dennard, narrowly escaped serious damage to their home last week. Kristy says some gutters were damaged but the roof was not. “We got lucky,” she said. The damage at the Sowells’ home occurred last Thursday. Conditions in the county got even worse early Saturday morning. Many lost power and Petit Jean Electric crews worked through the night to get it restored. Most were back on by around 10 a.m. Saturday morning Trees and limbs were reported blocking roads on School Hill in Clinton. The story was the same on Highway 336. There was no reports of injuries. Weather conditions for this week is forecast to be hot and dry through Thursday with a chance of rain Friday through Monday.
Two Van Buren County deputies wrecked their Tahoes last month, Sheriff Randy Gurley told the Quorum Court last week. Neither deputy was injured, but one of the Tahoes was a total loss. The insurance payoff, Gurley said, was $30,254 on the 2016 vehicle. The deputy was going to Shirley on a call when he was run off the road, Gurley said. Justice of the Peace Dell Holt asked how many wrecks this particular deputy has had. Gurley said besides colliding with deer a few times, he has had two wrecks. “We don’t need an officer on our force who can’t control their vehicle,” Holt said. Gurley said the deputy is no longer driving a Tahoe. In the second wreck, Gurley said the deputy was turning around to pursue a man who was thought to have been trying to pick up a child around Highway 110 when his steering locked up. The Tahoe went off the road and turned over. Gurley said he believes the problem was a manufacturing defect but General Motors did not agree. The sheriff also told the Quorum Court that Van Buren County has more than 100 convicted sex offenders living here, and another one who is in jail may have cancer. He said if the doctor for the detention center decides the inmate needs expensive tests, that cost will fall on the county. Medical costs for the jail had been down this year after a doctor was hired to come to the jail instead of taking the inmates to the emergency room when they need medical attention. Animal Control Officer Tim Pike reported that he answered 40 calls last month and picked up 19 dogs and 16 cats. He said there were four dog bites and one cat bite. A woman on Magpie Lane was attacked by a pack of eight dogs, he said. Six of them were caught and tested negative for rabies. In the cat bite,
he said, a woman stopped to help a cat that had been Gurley run over and it bit her. The justices of the peace also heard from a representative of Judge Tony Braswell’s office. Leanne Brown said the judge has received a $1,000 grant from United Way to begin an intervention program for juvenile females who have had brushes with the law. It is a six-month program and will accept six girls. The program will help the girls with their self-esteem, provide them with exercises classes and books. Brown said the girls come from bad situations at home. She said girls are committing domestic crimes more than boys of the same age group. “We just want to break that cycle,” Brown said. Also: * Circuit Clerk Debbie Gray said her office got rid of its postage machine for a much more cost effective way of mailing items. She said she is now using stamps.com, which costs about $16/month. Election coordinator Jeff Hall addressed the JPs about the cost of this year’s elections, noting that the county had an unexpected election and runoff because of the death of a state representative. County Judge Roger Hooper said the county expects to get about $80,000 back from the state for the elections and will need to reappropriate some of that back into the election commission account. 911 coordinator Tayler Fisher explained the process 911 dispatch has used to begin updating equipment. Craig Fisher, who manages county buildings, said the county did not receive all the grant money it had applied for and could not afford all the electrical updates the history Courthouse needs at one time. JPs approved eight ordinances last week. Those ordinances can be found on Page 10.
Hardy
Ezell
session of drug paraphernalia, a Class D felony, as well as misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. She was in the parking lot of a grocery store in Shirley when someone called the sher-
iff’s office and a deputy said she was behaving erratically, according to the report. The report states the deputy found a used syringe in her car. Her court date is Aug. 30 for plea and arraignment.
(Photo by Kristy Sowell)
This is the scene Wednesday in Alread, a day before the winds began.
(Photo by Robert R. Gaut)
Officers find drugs, guns in home Two Arkansas Department of Community Correction officers were checking up on a probationer when they found drugs and a weapon. Jordan Patrick Hardy, 30, of Lute Mountain in Shirley, was in possession of a fully loaded .357 Magnum pistol tucked under his mattress, according to an affidavit for arrest. During the July 12 search of his home, of-
ficers also found about 7 grams of what appeared to be methamphetamine, 10 marijuana plants and other items, the report states. The correction department officers called in the 20th Judicial Drug Task Force. Hardy was charged with simultaneous possession of guns and firearms, a Class Y felony; possession of firearms by certain persons, a Class D felony;
possession with purpose to deliver meth/ cocaine, a Class B felony; possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class D felony; manufacture of a controlled substance, a Class D felony; and misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance. Plea and arraignment are set for 9 a.m. Aug. 30 in Van Buren County Circuit Court. Also awaiting a day in court is Brandi Gann,
37, of Clinton, who is facing charges of possession of a controlled substance meth/cocaine, a Class D felony. Her plea and arraignment are set for Aug. 30 in Circuit Court. Gann and Steven O’Neill were arrested around 11 p.m. July 17 at the Johnson Hole, according to the report. Kelly Ezell, 32, of Mountain View, has been charged with pos-