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Karlye Coffman
TUESDAY, May 28, 2019 / Vol. 5 Issue 22 / 75 cents
Water line relocation to begin The Highway 65 North water line relocation project is about to begin. Work to move the lines is scheduled to start on June 5. Crews will begin in Botkinburg and work their way south to Clinton, according to Mayor Richard McCormac. It is part of the Arkansas Highway Department’s road widening
project and the relocation costs will be paid by the state. Other news from the May 23 City Council meeting is that Media 3 customers will finally get a chance to hear what is going on with the cable/internet company. Owner Alan Taylor will be at the council meeting on June 27, McCormac said. The meeting will begin at
5:30 p.m. at the regular meeting room at the Municipal Airport. In some good news for the city, new flood plain maps should be ready for review by the end of June and will provide more accurate base flood elevations. The maps currently in use are out of date. Streets and Parks Manager Charles Wilson said the city will be-
gin free mulch Fridays, giving away mulch from 7 a.m.-noon and 1-3:30 p.m. Fridays until they run out. It is located on the old boat factory pad on Factory Road. Call City Hall at 7458110 for questions.
Also at the meeting:
* Water Department Manager Will Hinchey stressed the need for a workshop with coun-
cil members and water commissioners. One topic for the meeting would be the new automated water meters the department is planning to install. * An ordinance on trees was approved on second reading. It will get a third reading at the June meeting. * Holloway Engineering firm was selected to work on safe
sidewalks around the schools. The project is mainly funded by a TAP grant, which pays for 80 percent of the work. The city will pay for 10 percent and the school district will pay for 10 percent, McCormac said. * Council members voted to accept state audit findings for 2017; no deficiencies were found.
Homecoming time Schedule set for annual event
Touch down - In the closing days of school, South Side-Bee Branch students got a visit from the Air Evac crew. Students in grades K-6 got to watch the helicopter fly in and out as well as view inside the helicopter. (South Side Schools/Facebook)
Jones, Mitchell win school board seats Incumbents were unseated in the two contested school board races in Van Buren County. In the Clinton School District, Zone 7, Phillip Jones defeated Sherrin Newland Richardson with a final vote of 104-77, according to figures from the county. In the Shirley
School District, Position 4, Lacey Mitchell won her race against Jason Wood, 140-106. In the South SideBee Branch School District, there were no contested races and Position 4 went to Travis Love. Election Day for the school board races was May 21.
It is a large specialized telephone cable with a specific number of strands inside and does not contain any fiber optic strands most commonly used today, according to the arrest report. The cost of the copper cable is $28 per foot; about 1,222 feet were stolen, bringing the total cost to $34,216.
way down the street at 2 p.m. Saturday. Prize money will be awarded to the top three parade entries. Starting at 3 p.m., there will be an ice cream/pie social at the Shirley Centennial Museum featuring three local authors - Carolyn Hackett, Jackie Gatlin and Freeda Baker Nichols. Also at the meeting, the April financial statements were tabled after a question arose about an adjustment for a late charge. Hackett said she had not signed off on anything
Desk set - The Voice cats, Dixie and Dottie, have made themselves at home on Advertising Director Terry O’Connor’s desk. The 5-year-old litter mates have adjusted to their new home, so come on by the Voice office on Main Street in Clinton this summer and meet the fabulous felines.
The Fairfield Bay Police Department tracked the sale of some of the cable to Jason Grimes, 42, according to the report. On May 4, Cleburne County deputies responded to a call of something burning in a wooded area and discovered Grimes and a second individual burning plastic coat-
with a late charge and Treasurer/Recorder Melissa Worthing said she did not recall paying any late charges. Hackett suggested that it might be a software problem. The council unanimously voted to table the statements for further review. Hackett also told the council members that Van Buren County Judge Dale James has expressed interest in fixing the historic Train Bridge. The council’s next meeting is scheduled for June 10, 2019.
Summer meals program
(Photo by Jeff Burgess)
2 charged in copper theft Two Heber Springs men have been accused of stealing cable from Arkansas Telephone Co. that was valued at more than $34,000. The cable, which was not being used at the time, was removed from poles and stolen from lines in Fairfield Bay in April.
Homecoming was the main item on the agenda at the Shirley City Council meeting earlier this month. This year, the annual event will have a bull riding competition on Saturday only, according to Mayor Lisa Hackett. The event will be put on by a man from Marshall, she said. There will be music from the Lucky Draw Band on Friday night and Nate Rolen and the Elites will perform Saturday. Kids’ games begin at 10 a.m. Saturday and the parade will begin winding its
ing off of large cables and removing the metal sheathing, according to the arrest report. The deputy took pictures then told the two to put out the fire and clean up the debris, the report states. A field technician with the phone company identified the cable from the photographs, the report states. Fairfield Bay police interviewed a woman who was seen with
Grimes during the sale of some of the cable. She told them her brother, Robert Burton, and Grimes were responsible for the theft and that she had only sold it afterward, according to the report. Burton, 41, and Grimes have each been charged with theft of property, a Class B felony. Warrants have been issued for their arrests.
This timber rattlesnake was spotted last week in the Crabtree area. The photographer said it was more than 3 feet long and had nine segments in its rattle.
All three county schools are still feeding kids for the next few weeks. South SideBee Branch School District’s summer meal program begins Monday, June 3, and goes through Thursday, June 27, Monday through Thursday only. Breakfast will be available from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. and lunch will be available from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. Shirley School will serve breakfast and lunch from June 6-June 28, Monday through Friday, 8:30-9 a.m. for breakfast; 11:45-12:30 for lunch. At Clinton schools, the program began May 24 and runs through June 21, 8-9 a.m. for breakfast, 11-12 for lunch at the high school cafeteria. The program allows anyone under the age of 18 to eat for free.