Of the people, By the people, For the people
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Meghan Daniel Turner
TUESDAY, January 22, 2019 / Vol. 5 Issue 4 / 75 cents
JPs: No more money for food pantry By Warren Johnson
The first Van Buren County Quorum Court meeting of 2019 was held at the Courthouse Annex last week. County Judge Dale James announced the county will begin video recording the QC meetings and uploading them to the county-run website www.enjoyvbc.com for the media and public to view. James stated this will ensure that more people have easier access to the meetings. A State of Emergency ordinance for a voluntary tax to benefit the VBC Aging Program. Van Buren County Sheriff Lucas Emberton reported animal control had picked up 59 animals during the month. Emberton stated things are very busy and all hands on deck are excited and he is ecstatic about the response and help he has received. Emberton told the justices of th peace that the county had received its first drug dog from the prosecuter's office that day. Emberton said they are begging for one spot to be opened up in February training for the dog's handler to be trained. In other news, the VBC Solid Waste Department has been donating a driver and truck to make runs to Little Rock to pick up food for the Food's For Life food bank located in Clinton which serves Van Buren County. The cost to the county for truck maintenance, fuel, and payroll is estimated to be $1,200 per year. James stated he had received a letter from Scott Spencer, chairman of the board for the food pantry, asking for the program to continue. It has been going on for the past eight years. James stated he was unaware of this arrangement before receiving the letter from Spencer. "They are a very worthwhile group,” James said. “I just felt that needed to be transparent. I will do whatever you tell me to do, but I felt this needed your approval." Justice of the Peace Mary Philips opened discussion on the ordinance. "I think the world of Food For Life,” Philips said. “I think it is a wonderful organization, and I donate to it, but I do not think it is the county's responsibility to haul the food. It is a non-profit and relies on donations from the county? “How many other non-profits are there in the county, that rely on the county? Do we give some type of service like this to other non-profits? If we give it to one, we should give it to all." Philips reiterated, "We did a lot of cutting back on our budget. We cut back on the Senior Center. We cut back on the historical museum. We took a lot from the sheriff's department, and yet, we're going to give $1,200 to a non-profit?” A vote was taken on the ordinance. All of the JPs, with the exception of Virgil Lemings, voted to discontinue the donations from the county to Food's For Life. Watch the entire Quorum Court meeting at https://www.facebook.com/TodayinVBC/videos/386641582090454/
Fisher out, Chalk in at Clinton In a surprise move at last week’s meeting, the Clinton School Board accepted the resignation of Superintendent Joe Fisher and in the next breath hired Jay Chalk as his replacement. According to unofficial minutes of the meeting, the board went into executive session with Dr. Fisher at 6:08 p.m. Fisher exited the meeting at 6:28 p.m. and was called back in at 6:46 p.m. The executive session ended at 6:57 p.m. Eleven minutes later, the board had unanimously accept-
ed Fisher’s resignation and announced the new hiring. Asked if the district was required to advertise such an opening, board President Sherrin Richardson said it was not. She added that Chalk had applied for the position of superintendent last spring, but he accepted the job at Atkins before he was interviewed by the Clinton board. Chalk was formerly principal at Gravette and has been a superintendent for less than a year. His mother, Barbara, lives at
Dennard. Fisher’s one-year contract ends June 30. In an interview with The Voice, Fisher said being at Clinton was a “great experience.” He said that as a man of faith, he believes God “put me here.” He said he leaves the Clinton district in stable financial condition and with a good audit from the state pending. Mentioning several improvement projects around the campuses, Fisher said, “There are so many good things going on around
Fisher here.” Fisher praised his staff and administration as well as the community and business supporters. “It has truly been an honor to work side by side with these people,” he said.
Principal pulled from high school In a note on Facebook, Superintendent Joe Fisher told parents and guardians that Audra Stewart has been named the acting high school principal at Clinton. She will assume all duties and responsibilities of working with students, teachers, parents, and the community. Stewart has been a part of the Clinton School District for the past 20 years where she has most recently served as Elementary School Assistant Principal. Fisher declined to comment on the status of current Principal Kalyn Evans.
Program takes on opioid misuse By UA Extension Office
Pretty as a picture – Snow covered the landscape and surrounded this old smokehouse Saturday in the Dennard area. (Photo by Jeff Burgess)
Ex-county deputy arrested Shortly after 4 p.m. January 4, 2019 Jeffery Todd Maxey, 46, of Heber Springs, walked into the lobby of the Cleburne County sheriff’s office with a rifle and barricaded himself into a lobby bathroom, according to the Cleburne County sheriff. Maxey made statements to deputies that he would shoot himself or any police officer that tried to take him into custody, the news release states. Several agencies responded, including SWAT teams from the State Police and White County. After approximately four hours of negotiation,
Maxey was taken into custody without further incident, and transported to a neighboring jail to be held. No one was injured in the standoff. Maxey is likely to face felony charges of terroristic threatening, aggravated assault and commercial burglary, according to officials. The former deputy is being held in the White County jail on $500,000 bond. Maxey was fired from the Cleburne County sheriff’s office following a February 2017 incident where he was accused of illegally passing a school bus while on duty. While the ticket was
Maxey ultimately dismissed in district court, the incident cost Maxey his job. He next was hired by Sheriff Scott Bradley at the Van Buren County sheriff’s office. Maxey left the department in September 2018.
Opioid misuse and abuse continues to be on the rise. Arkansas has the highest prevalence of non-medical use of pain relievers among those ages 12-17 in the United States, and fourth highest prevalence among those ages 1865 years. The state is 8th in the nation for the number of opioid painkiller prescriptions per 100 people. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) proposes tightening the prescribing guidelines to limit opioid prescriptions and is recommending non-drug approaches such as exercise and cognitive-behavioral approaches. To help fill the non-drug approach access gap, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service is introducing Programs to Address Opioid Misuse and Abuse in Rural Arkansas. One of those programs will be held in Van Buren County. The sessions will be Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27 and March 6 and 13 in the Courthouse Annex Quorum Court Room. Extension Agent Torrie Caston will lead the sessions. Classes will be 1:30-3:30 p.m. Deadline to register is February 1 and must be done in person at the Van Buren County Extension Office. Contact Caston at 501-745-7117 for more information. Spots are limited so register soon. Thanks to a Rural Health and Safety Education grant UACES has partnered with University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Centers on Aging to offer the Chronic Pain Self-Management Program (CPSMP). CPSMP is a low-cost community-based program led by a team of two trained facilitators. Spanning over six weekly sessions, the aim of CPSMP is to increase participants’ self-efficacy for pain management, leading to improved health outcomes. Sessions cover: 1. Techniques to deal with problems such as frustration, fatigue, isolation, and poor sleep 2. Appropriate exercise for maintaining and improving strength, flexibility, and endurance 3. Appropriate use of medications 4. Communicating effectively with family, friends, and health professionals 5. Nutrition 6. Pacing activity and rest 7. How to evaluate new treatments The overall purpose of this program is to address opioid misuse and abuse by providing complementary and alternative pain management strategies for rural Arkansans suffering from chronic pain, improve the health and well-being of these Arkansans, and to minimize or eliminate the need for opioids for pain treatment.