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Wilma Barnum
TUESDAY, April 10, 2018 / Vol. 4 Issue 15 / 75 cents
Atkins chief hired to lead Clinton schools The Clinton School Board selected a new superintendent last Wednesday at a special meeting that convened at 8 p.m. Dr. Joseph Fisher, currently with the Atkins School District, has been selected from about 20 candidates. He was given a one-year contract. The School Board vote was unanimous following a two-hour executive session, which left about 35 people waiting in the hallway for the de-
cision. Also at the meeting, the board decided to spend up to $9,000 to join other schools in Southwestern Energy’s lawsuit against Van Buren and some other counties. SWN claims that its product has been overvalued by Van Buren County. The county uses a formula devised by the state and County Judge Hooper upheld the county Equalization Board’s ruling, which led to SWN’s lawsuit.
Garden delight - Spring continues its advance as these tulips demonstrate in a flowerbed near Dennard. (Photo by Jeff Burgess)
DOC officer kills suspect Customers target of scam
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 6.
Reynolds Sells meth because jobs don’t pay, suspect says
A 28-year-old Clinton man who told a deputy he sells methamphetamine because he can’t get a job that pays good money is facing several felony charges. Richard Paul Reynolds was found parked in a driveway on Highway 110 asleep behind the wheel on April 4, according to an affidavit for arrest. Deputies found a glass smoking device, several small bags of a crystalline substance, which weighed close to 20 grams and field tested positive for meth,
A Paragould man was shot to death by law enforcement officers Friday afternoon in Searcy County. Deputies and Department of Correction officers were searching for Daniel Allen Yielding, 23, around 12:30 p.m. Yielding was wanted for an outstanding warrant for a parole violation. He was seen fleeing a home in Marshall, police said. Deputies and state correction officers spotted Yielding armed with a knife in a wooded
area Friday afternoon, police said. According to authorities, Yielding was ordered to drop the knife but refused to comply and moved toward a correction officer, who fired his gun as Yielding advanced. Yielding's body was sent to the state Crime Laboratory for an autopsy. The Arkansas State Police investigation will be submitted to the Searcy County prosecuting attorney, who will determine whether the use of force was justified.
It seems a new scam is born every day. Some customers of Miller Sanitation in Clinton have recently received letters saying they owe money to the trash service and can pay it off to a company called Omega. These letters are phony and no one should send Omega any money. A Miller employee was surprised that a scammer would try to use them in their scheme since the trash service does not even let bills go that far past due without cutting off service. She wants everyone to know the let-
Sanders
Gearhart
Burrell
a .25 caliber gun and ammunition. Reynolds’ arraignment is set for May 15 in Van Buren County Circuit Court. He has been charged with possession of meth or cocaine with intent to deliver, a Class A felony, possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class D felony, simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, a Class Y felony, and possession of firearms by certain persons, a Class D felony
ty sheriff’s office executed a search warrant on April 3 at 331 Fairhaven Drive, Fairfield Bay, the home of Johnny Gearhart, 46, and Blakely Sanders, 53. According to the affidavit for arrest, investigators found items taken a week earlier from a home on Banner Mountain. Those items included a microwave, an oven, nail guns and several saws, the report states. Also found were numerous items of drug paraphernalia, marijuana and suspected meth residue. Both men have been charged with theft by receiving, possession of drug
paraphernalia, both Class D felonies, possession of paraphernalia, a Class B felony, possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor, and possession of a controlled substance, also a misdemeanor.
2 charged with drugs, theft
Agents from the 20th Judicial District Drug Task Force and the Van Buren Coun-
Nervous man arrested
A Greenbrier man was arrested at a friend’s house in Bee Branch on April 6 after authorities noticed he was acting nervously, according to an affidavit for arrest. Robert Burrell, 41, told an officer he had some marijuana in his pocket; a glass pipe and some
bag with white crystalline substance also were found, the report states. Burrell was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance, both Class D felonies.
Man faces multiple charges
A Clinton man faces several charges after sheriff’s deputies say he took a car, which he abandoned later, and had a handgun that he threatened three people with on March 27. Mason Nixon, 22, has been charged with aggravated assault, terroristic threatening, and possession of firearms by certain persons, all Class D felonies, and unauthorized use of a vehicle, a misdemeanor.
2 face charges
Two people were arrested after dep-
ters are not coming from Miller Sanitation and says to report those letters to the police, sheriff’s office and state attorney general’s office. The fake letter states that “Effective immediately, all payments towards your Miller’s Sanitation Service account … must be sent directly to Omega RMS, LLC.” It offers to let the tardy customer make four easy payments to catch up their bill. This is one of many scams out there. Remember to never give your personal information to someone who calls you.
uties arrived at a house on Highway 9 that was thought to be vacant. According to an affidavit for arrest, Brett Salva walked over to a vehicle and tried to hide a glass smoking device used for meth. That led to a search of Jamie Wissenburg’s purse where a small glass vial with a granular substance was found, the report states. The two were transported to the Van Buren County Detention Center where a plastic bag containing a crystalline substance later field testing positive for meth was found beside the deputy’s vehicle. A used syringe was found by jailers in Wissenburg’s pocket, the report states. Wissenburg, 50, of Star City has been charged with possession of meth and possession of drug paraphernalia, both Class D felonies. Salva, 54, of Conway faces the same charges.