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Richard Collins, Jr
TUESDAY, July 14, 2020 / Vol. 6 Issue 28 / 75 cents
No mask ordinance for Clinton
Water Department Manager Will Hinchey explains some things at last week’s public hearing. (Photo by Warren Johnson)
Fire Chief DL Webb, who heads up Clinton’s coronavirus task force, says he does not think the city needs an ordinance requiring masks at this time. He said he can be something like an “ace in the hole” to pull out if Covid-19 numbers begin to rise. Mayor Richard McCormac agreed last Thursday at the City Council meeting. The City Council also voted not to rezone an area on Old Highway 9. Zoning official Tim Clark said that would be spot zoning and was not something the zoning commission thought would set a good precedence. It would be “opening a can of
worms,” Clark said. He said the reason given for asking for the change to commercial from residential was to help the owner sell the property. Also at the meeting, Water Department Manager Will Hinchey said the Clinton Water System’s total water loss for the month is 46 percent. That number includes a 27 percent loss for Burnt Ridge and a 35 percent loss for Dennard. Hinchey said the department has been putting away $20,000 a month from money from a bond issue that has been paid off. The fund now contains $120,000 and needs $150,000. But that is enough, he said, to
begin the Pole Yard project. Police Chief John Willoughby said his department had a pretty good month with no problems with fireworks. He said officers wrote 103 citations, opened three investigations and closed six. Animal Control Officer Tim Pike said in his report that he picked up one dog and three cats in the city limits. The council also gave approval to a ordinance that would require a $2,000 permit before city streets can be cut into. The permit requirement would exempt the water department and some local utilities.
Industrial water users get say at public hearing At a public hearing last week, the Clinton City Council discussed an industrial water rate for businesses that choose to request it. The rate applies to water users of 100,000 gallons per month or more. Their rate would be $6 instead of the current
$2 for usage above 100,000 gallons. Some business owners were pleased with the change, but for chicken growers Tom and Gay Whillock, they feel they are stuck in the middle. When their chicken houses are full, the rate would be helpful, but when they are
empty, that is a high rate to pay, Gay Whillock told the council. Water Department Manager Will Hinchey said at the City Council meeting that followed that his best solution would be for the couple to invest in two meters. Attending the meeting was Quo-
rum Court member Dell Holt who told the council that he has heard from constituents that believe they were lied to about how much their water and sewer bills would increase. What he said most believed was going to be a 5 percent increase is actually an annual in-
crease that will be closer to 25 percent. Clinton Mayor Richard McCormac acknowledged that there was some poor communication. Resident Ben Hayes continued his argument that “smart meters” really weren’t smart at all. He said they would require
1 killed in 2-car wreck
Filing period for municipal races near Municipal filing for Mayor Council Form of Government begins July 29, 2020 and ends at noon August 5, 2020. In a second class or incorporated town, petitions must be signed by no fewer than 10 electors of the ward or city if they run at-large. All signatures must be within the city limits. They must file a petition, political practice pledge, and an affidavit of eligibility during the one-week filing period ending at noon 90 days before the General Election. They can pickup their packets from Vicki Jones in the Voter Registration Office, 1414 Hwy 65 South, Suite 131, Clinton Ar-
kansas 72031, starting July 29, 2020 at noon. For more information, call Jones at 501-745-8683. Also, Jones says that registered voters can apply for an absentee ballot application by calling the Voter Registration Office at 501-745-8683 or the County Clerk's Office at 501-745-6995. They will need to provide their name, date of birth, their physical and mailing address if they are different and their phone number. The deadline for mailing out the absentee ballot application is September 4, 2020. When the absentee ballots are received from the Election Commissioners or the Election Coor-
dinator, the ballot will be mailed to the voter. The voters can also go online at the Secretary of State webpage and print a blank absentee ballot application off and fill it out and send it to Van Buren County, Voter Registration Office, 1414 Hwy 65 South, Suite 131, Clinton Arkansas 72031, ATTN: Vicki Jones. The voter also needs to put a phone number on the application before mailing it to Jones. Currently, council members are Gayla Bradley, Jeff Pistole, Sammy Ward, Timotjy Barnes, Shon Hastings and Jason Lynch. The mayor is Richard McCormac.
A Fairfield Bay woman was killed July 7 in a two-vehicle accident on Highway 65 South near South Side Schools. Emma Crawford, 27, was a passenger in a 2001 Hyundai Accent driven by Johnny Parrish, 46, also of Fairfield Bay, according to an Arkansas State Police report. The Hyundai was headed south, the report states, when a northbound 2001 Dodge Ram driven by James M. Lambeth, 29, of Clinton, crossed the painted median into he south outside See Fatal on page 2
Coronavirus
'Trailergate' brings charge against two
By the numbers/July 13
Van Buren County • 2 positive cases • 31 total cases • 2 deaths
Arkansas • 572 new cases (including more than 1,500 over the weekend) • 323 deaths • 439 hospitalized
Football season still undecided Covid-19 concerns have led Arkansas to set its date to go back to the classrooms for around Aug. 24 - but will there
be football? Coach Chris Dufrene, who is beginSee Football on page 2
constant software updates and suggested the money would be better used for replacing underground pipelines and not the other end, which he referred to as the “Cadillac of meters.”
Venus, called The Morning Star for over 2000 years, shines bright enough now that it can still be seen(upper right) when the sun begins to rise. This was the view Saturday morning on Sawmill Road, near Crabtree. (Photo by Jeff Burgess)
Two former Van Buren County Election commissioners are facing a misdemeanor charge stemming from an incident that occurred in February. The two men charged are Johnny Keith Rhoda, 69, former commission chairman, and George J. Silva, 75. The Class A misdemeanor charge resulted from an inci-
dent, dubbed “trailergate,” in mid-February in which the lock on a trailer parked at the Courthouse Annex was cut. The men told Clinton Police that they were looking for a way to move new voting equipment into place for the March primary and that they couldn’t find anyone who See Charges on page 2