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Carol Black
TUESDAY, April 23, 2019 / Vol. 5 Issue 17 / 75 cents
Library pay proposal pulled
Brush fire - At 8:10 p.m. Friday, April 19, the Burnt Ridge Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to a brush fire in the area of 1834 Oakland Road. Firefighters requested assistance from Shirley and Fairfield Bay Fire Departments. Firefighters stopped the fire from reaching a nearby gas line. No structures were in danger. Burnt Ridge has recently seen its ISO rating lowered to a Class 5 and area homeowners may be entitled to a decrease in their insurance rate. (Photos from Burnt Ridge Fire Department Facebook)
Closed for day
The Voice of Van Buren County office will be closed Tuesday, April 23. It will reopen on Wednesday, April 24.
SNYP news
Lori Treat, director of SNYP Arkansas, animal shelter, announced Sunday that her organization will step down as shelter manager effective June 1, 2019, barring “a miracle.” The
non-profit group took over the shelter in July 2017 after the Van Buren County Quorum Court debated shutting it down, with some justices of the peace saying it was a drain on funds. Treat declined to say Sunday what would happen to animals remaining at the shelter or when the shelter would stop taking in animals, saying it is a “county issue” and all questions should be re-
ferred to the county judge or Clinton mayor.
Police arrest
Clinton Police apprehended two male suspects in their mid20s at Murphy gas station on April 17. The two were wanted for questioning involving two murders and a stolen vehicle out of Waco, Texas. They were taken into custody without incident.
After several days of heated debate on social media, an ordinance that would have approved raising the pay for the Van Buren County Library administrator to more than $25 per hour was pulled before Thursday’s Quorum Court meeting. Earlier this year, the board chairman told the Quorum Court about the library’s bleak financial situation and said a funding source needs to be found before January 2020 or the library faces uncertainty in making payments on its building loans. Also at last week’s meeting, justices of the peace tabled Treasurer Mistie Wilson’s request to hire a full-time assistant. Wilson said funding for the position, which she proposed to pay $15.52 per hour, would come from a 2 percent commission paid on everything that comes through the Treasurer’s office. JPs agreed that the position is needed, but questioned the timing as the county faces continuing financial problems. Nikki Brown asked if there might be an underutilized employee in another department that could work part time for the treasurer. Wilson said the position needs to be full time so that the person will stay after training. She noted that if something were to happen to her, the county would be in a bind without anyone to sign checks and run the office. Brown said she thought this was a position that could be funded at budget time, but she noted that the Quorum Court budget committee has not met yet this year. JP Virgil Lemings said, “We can’t keep
spending money when we don’t know what we’ve got.” The next ordinance to be considered was the sheriff’s office proposal for lawn care. Sheriff Lucas Emberton said his office got estimates for lawn care at several agencies in the county, then cut the estimate in half. He said the money they are requesting would pay for truck maintenance and the time an employee spent to take the equipment and inmates to the job sites. “I can’t offer free services anymore,” Emberton said, citing the $289,000 cut from his budget. He said the sheriff’s office is not trying to make money and that this would be a break-even deal. Costs were broken down by department or agency, and were $520 for the Community Center; $900 for the Courthouse Annex; $520 for Safety/Maintenance for Animal Shelter; $600 for Health Department; $520 for District Court; $900 for Library; $900 for Solid Waste. The offer also was made to the Clinton Senior Center, which declined the service. The cost would cover two mowings and weed-eating a month from April through August. “Where is this money coming from” to pay the sheriff’s office, JP Ester Bass asked. County Judge Dale James said the money to pay for county offices would come from the county general fund and paying it to the sheriff’s office would put it back into the fund, so it would basically be a washout. He said the Health Department does not have any money to pay for the service and pro-
posed to cover its cost. That is “spending $600 out of county general that we don’t have to spend,” said JP Dell Holt. Holt said the county’s budget is “getting into serious territory,” and said personnel may have to be cut. “How can we appropriate money we don’t have?” Holt said, “It’ll work out, it’ll all work out,” JP Sarah Brown told him. The JPs first approved an amendment to the ordinance to remove Solid Waste and the library from the list. Library Board Chairman Phillip Ellis said he would try to get the money through Friends of the Library. Voting for the appropriation were JPs Gary Linn, John Bradford, Sarah Brown, Nikki Brown and Lemings. Voting against the ordinance were JPs Holt, Bass and Brian Tatum. JP Mary Philips was absent. Appropriation ordinances must have a two-thirds majority to pass, so the motion failed. Earlier at the meeting, Emberton asked the Quorum Court to help put together a jail advisory board consisting of about 18 people. He said among issues he would like the board’s input on would be whether to add on to the existing facility or build a new one. The jail, he said, has “outpaced” the building. The JPs also unanimously approved an ordinance dissolving the Holley Mountain Volunteer Fire Department. Saying that the action saddened him, Tatum, who has been active in fire departments for many years, told the JPs that this would not be the last one to close. “We’re losing members left and right.”
Mom charged with endangerment A Clinton woman has been charged with felony possession of drug paraphernalia and endangering the welfare of a minor. Kayla Bigelow, 25, of Clinton and her three sons were passengers in a car that was stopped on East Mountain Road because of a broken windshield on April 17, according to an affidavit for arrest. A search of the vehicle turned up a glass pipe and a plastic bag with white residue, both within reach of the children in the backseat, according to the report. Bigelow told investigators she is five months pregnant and had last used meth three or four days earlier. William Lewis Doubleday, 70, of Shirley has been charged with
felony fleeing after a sheriff’s deputy said he observed Doubleday’s vehicle crossing the center line several times, according to an affidavit for arrest. The report states that Doubleday refused to stop though he knew the deputy was pursuing him on Highway 9 with lights and a siren on. The report states that Doubleday’s vehicle ran two oncoming vehicles off the road and drove for about three miles with the deputy in pursuit. The report states that Doubleday turned onto U.S. 65 and abruptly came to a stop on the should of the road and had an open beer when he got out. The charges against Doubleday are fleeing in a vehicle causing danger, a Class D felony; driving left of center; and
Bigelow reckless driving. Neil Adam Legenbauer, 41, of Clinton has been charged with possession of a controlled substance-meth or cocaine after a home visit from the Department of Community Corrections. A search turned up a white crystalline substance that field tested positive for methamphetamine in Legenbauer’s pants pocket, according to a court document.
This snowball bush is in full bloom on the square in Clinton. (Photo by Jeff Burgess)