From the Director’s Desk

from Summer 2015 County Lines

Judges’ topics include county jails, bridges

County Lines

Magazine

County Lines is the official publication of the Association of Arkansas Counties. It is published quarterly. For advertising inquiries, subscriptions or other information relating to the magazine, please contact Christy L. Smith or Scott Perkins at 501.372.7550.

Executive Director / Publisher Chris Villines Communications Director/ Managing Editor Scott Perkins Communications coordinator/ Editor Christy L. Smith

AAC Executive Board:

Judy Beth Hutcherson – President Debbie Wise – Vice President Joe Gillenwater – Secretary-Treasurer Sherry Bell Debra Buckner Cindy Walker Brandon Ellison Andrea Billingsley Jimmy Hart John Montgomery Patrick Moore Rhonda Cole Sandra Cawyer David Thompson Bill Hollenbeck Angela Hill Debbie Cross

National Association of Counties (NACo) Board Affiliations Judy Beth Hutcherson: NACo board member.

She is the Clark County Treasurer and president of the AAC Board of Directors.

Debbie Wise: NACo board member. She is the

Randolph County Circuit Clerk, vice president of the AAC Board of Directors and chair of AAC’s

Legislative Committee. Ted Harden: Finance & Intergovernmental Affairs

Steering Committee. He serves on the Jefferson

County Quorum Court. Kasey Summerville: Finance, Pensions & Intergovernmental Affairs Steering Committee. She is the

Clark County Assessor. David Hudson: Vice Chair of NACo’s Justice and

Public Safety Steering Committee. He is the

Sebastian County Judge and member of the Rural

Action Caucus Steering Committee.

Support for symbols of civility in our county family

Director’s Desk

Courage is defined as the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear.

The bravest among us are found throughout the payrolls of Arkansas’ counties. The badge on our county lawmen isn’t worn as protection or a symbol of power. Rather it is the mark of courage. Like many of you, I am saddened each day to hear a new report of yet another courageous man or woman attacked without provocation, all too often succumbing to needless injury only to make front page news one day and back page news the next.

As a child growing up in Saline County, a small county back then, I remember well the respect and admiration I held for law enforcement and firefighters alike. These were the people that helped restore order. They stood as a symbol of civility for all in their communities.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, in the United States there are about 765,000 sworn personnel (defined as those with general arrest powers). This is an amazing assemblage of society and a testament to the priority that our country places on law and order. We have been and continue to be safe because of the brave work these men and women perform.

Unfortunately a few events outside our state’s borders and heavily publicized and judged before adjudication have been and will continue to be extrapolated by some Arkansans to paint a broad brush of policing in general. Unwarranted crimes against officers — the men and women who signed on to protect us — have resulted.

At the annual AAC conference our board president, Judy Beth Hutcherson, acknowledged the fact that we in county government are a family. Remembering this and understanding the stress that our law enforcement works under, often with low pay to boot, should be a call to action for our county officials to go out of their way to act with affirmation toward our men and women in uniform.

Deputy Darren Goforth, a suburban Houston police officer, recently was shot in the back and killed while fueling his patrol vehicle. Just days later an unidentified officer in Harris County, Texas, wrote the following:

“Today while in uniform I went to a gas station to fill up my equipment and a man walked up to me and said, ‘Sir, I have your back while you get your gas.’ The man stood in the middle of the parking lot looking around. I then went inside to get some water and he remained in the parking lot watching me. On my way out I shook his hand and thanked him. While leaving the parking lot he was still watching my back and waved good-bye as I drove down the street.”

Chris Villines AAC Executive Director

“Thank you, sir. It is people like you that give us a reason to suit up every morning.”

To all my county friends, let’s be those people who give our local law enforcement a reason to suit up every morning. We are, after all, a family.

On Aug. 5-7 we held our annual conference in Springdale. By all accounts it was a huge success. You can read more about it throughout this edition of County Lines. This year’s event was well attended (more than 600), and the speakers and breakout sessions met with rave reviews from those in attendance.

One of my favorite lines here in the office comes from Jeanne Hunt, who has been the mastermind behind every conference for many years now. She says, “I think sometimes people think we sprinkle fairy dust on these conferences and they magically come together!” Well, Jeanne, they don’t think that. But you have made it look effortless for years as you put these events together.

The same can be said for Brenda “Emmy” Emerson who has skillfully put together continuing education programs for judges, circuit clerks, county clerks, treasurers, collectors and now coroners for more than two years in our ARcounties Continuing Education Program.

It has been my profound pleasure to work alongside both of these ladies as we continue to do good things here at the AAC, and it is with both a sense of loss (for me) and a sense of satisfaction (for them) that I report their upcoming retirements in June 2016. Thousands of county officials and employees have been affected in a positive way by their dedication and hard work, and some people simply cannot be replaced.

I encourage all of you to circle on your calendars Aug. 24-26 in 2016 for our annual conference in Garland County, when we will all come together to celebrate with them as they enter into retirement (that is, unless I can talk either of them out of it before then). To Jeanne and Emmy: I want to personally thank you here for all of the great things you have done and continue to do for the counties of Arkansas.

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The AAC was happy to announce that Josh Curtis joined our staff in June as the government relations director. Josh is steeped in county politics and knows the ins and outs of county government well. It has been my pleasure to see him come on board with an excitement and eagerness to learn that will suit him well as he takes on liaison duties with collectors and circuit clerks.

You can read more about Josh on page 38. We will all enjoy his dedication to the counties of Arkansas in his career here.