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Sue Jones
TUESDAY, April 3, 2018 / Vol. 4 Issue 14 / 75 cents 1 killed in crash
A North Carolina man died March 26 in a three-vehicle accident in Bee Branch. A 2017 Dodge Ram was southbound on Highway 65 when it crossed the center line and struck a 2017 Chevrolet Impala head on. The pickup continued south and struck a dump truck, according to an Arkansas State Police report. Jesse Taylor Jr., 53, of Kingston, N.C., driver of the Impala, was pronounced dead at the scene by Van Buren County Coroner Joe Tsosie. Steven Horton, 47, of Marshall, driver of the Dodge Ram, was injured, according to the report. The report states he was not taken to a hospital. Traffic was backed up in both directions for several hours. The roads were dry and the weather clear, according to the report.
A contract is signed with Medic One last week. Pictured are (from left) Clinton Mayor Richard McCormac, Ryan Kibler of Medic One, County Judge Roger Hooper and Fairfield Bay Mayor Paul Wellenberger.
County signs contract with Medic One
Easter at the park - The young and not-so-young turned out at Clinton City Park for the big Easter Egg Hunt Sunday. More photos, Page 2. (Photo by Robert Snyder)
Counting the years - A crowd gathered at the high school cafeteria to enjoy a meal and catch up with old friends Saturday evening at the annual Clinton Alumni Banquet. Featured speaker was Renia Robinette, daughter of former teacher Chesley Robinette and school staff member Linda Robinette. Robinette spoke about her experiences with cancer and reminded everyone to take some time to really listen to others. Mark McKnight was named distinguished alumnus for 2018.
The Van Buren County Ambulance Commission met last week to review the performance of Medic One. The commission chose Medic One, ousting Southern Paramedic Services last December. Southern pulled out a few days later and Medic One took over only nine days after its selection. It hasn't been without some rough spots, though, as six times there have been no Medic One ambulances available and the call has been answered by Fairfield Bay ambulances and by the sheriff's office transporting people to the hospital. 911 Dispatch numbers show that in January and February there were 106 times when there were no Medic One ambulances available. There were no calls for an ambulance during those times, dispatcher Judy Wells told the committee. The average time no ambulance was available was 45 minutes to an hour. Some changes were made
in mid-February and the number of times there was no ambulance dropped from 73 in January to 33 in February. Medic One's Ryan Kibler said he thinks they have "done a pretty good job." He said all counties run out of ambulances. "We'll have as many ambulances (in Clinton) as the market will bear," he said. Kibler said his office has received compliments on their clean ambulances and professional employees. He said they have not received any complaints. A few times Kibler said the company had a lot of plans for Clinton but he didn't feel comfortable beginning them until a five-year contract was signed. That was taken care of after the meeting. Committee Chairman Brian Tatum closed the meeting saying, "Did we cut an ambulance? Yes, we did. Did we get the professionals we were looking for? Yes, we did."
Hink says sewage backup fixed
Clinton resident Thu Welborn lived through some horrible years before she found happiness with an American GI. The Voice is honored to reprint her book, My Life, beginning on Page 8.
Residents in Simlock Acres in Clinton should be breathing easier now. After recurring problems with sewage backing up into yards, at one house in particular, Water Department Manager Richard Hink called in some big guns from Little Rock to get the job done. Badger Daylighting Corp. brought in a truck Friday that could apply thousands of pounds of pressure to break up clogs blocking a sewer line. They began at the manhole cover that was closest to the major backup and worked their way down the line until they got everything washed down to the sewer plant. Hink said most of the backup was rainwater,
Workers use high-powered hoses and other equipment to unclog sewer lines Friday. but some was sewage. Still more of the blockage was made up of debris, such as a deflated basketball, wads of diapers, dish towels - and other items that should not be flushed. Hink said people in the subdivision
deserve better, and he thinks Badger's work, at $2,500 a day, has taken care of the problem. He says he does not believe the sewer problem was infrastructure because the water/sewage flowed smoothly after one
particular manhole was cleared. Hink said he thought the side yard of the most affected house would dry up within the hour Friday. He said if anyone experiences sewage problems they should call him.