75¢
Carlisle Bison fall to Clarendon. See story on p. 3.
Volume 120 Number 43 - USPS 225-680
Community Calendar of Events
Serving all of Prairie County and the Grand Prairie
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Hornets and Eagles have gameless homecomings
Thursday October 28 Food Distribution at First United Methodist Church in Hazen 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m Friday October 29 Hazen Alumni Association Fish Fry Fundraiser Drive Thru Hazen Community Center 5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. Hazen Hornets vs Carlisle Bison Hornet Field Senior Night 7:00 p.m. Des Arc Eagles vs England Lions Lions Field 7:00 p.m. Saturday October 30 Hazen Community Drive thru Trunk or Treat City Park East 5:30 p.m. Sunday October 31 Happy Halloween! Sunday November 7 Daylight Savings Time Ends Monday November 8 Biscoe EHC Meeting First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall 10:30 a.m. Tuesday November 9 Quorum Court Meeting Des Arc Court Annex Building 6:00 p.m Community events brought to you by Hazen Chamber of Commerce
and the Please call F&M Bank (255-3042) or The Grand Prairie Herald (255-4538) to list events.
Despite the fact that both the Hazen Hornets vs. England and the Des Arc Eagles vs. Marked Tree homecoming games were cancelled due to forfeiture, the annual homecoming festivities were continued with coronation ceremonies, field ceremonies, and parades. The HHS picture above and others (See page 4.) were taken by Ruth Corley. The DAHS picture below and the others (See page 5.) were taken by Silver Smith and Lisa Mills.
Hazen Council changes pension administration The Hazen City Council voted to assign the administration of the Hazen Fire Relief and Pension fund to the Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System (LOPFI) after the Hazen Firemen’s Pension Fund Committee agreed to the change at its meeting held on October 7, 2021. “It’s going to be a good situation,” Hazen Mayor David Hardke told the council at the October 21 meeting. The plan will go into effect on January 1, 2022. Council Members Larry Anthony, Barbara Rogers, Steve Chlapecka, Rick Wiggins, and Tim Juola were present, along w i t h Recorder/Treasurer David Hoover, Police Officer Teddy Walker, Fire Chief Seth Skarda, and Mayoral Assistant Tracie Vail. An ordinance was passed to change the pension management. Police Chief Bradley Taylor joined the meeting via Facetime and reported that Belga, the Police Department’s drug dog, will be retiring. Taylor was with three other Hazen police officers at training in Camp Robinson and could not physically attend the meeting. The council voted to replace Belga, who is 10 years old, with another trained dog from the same breeder for $11,250. During her time with the Hazen Police, Belga has been involved with 3007 misdemeanor and felony drug cases, Taylor said. Hardke reported that the ultraviolet light system at the sewer treatment plant needs to be replaced and that the lowest bid for the job came from ETI Services, Inc. in Malvern. The council voted to take the $95,134 necessary for the replacement from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) money. The
city received $138,000 in ARP money from the federal government. Hardke said that more repairs may be needed, but right now the ultraviolet system will be replaced and two extra lights will be added. Other cities who use this system have been pleased with it, he said. The city also has approximately $54,000 left in CARES Act money as well, and the city is working on a plan to spend that money before the December deadline. Hardke would like to use that money for possible COVID pay for city employees. The council passed a resolution to fix the day for the hearing of a petition to vacate a portion of East Cleveland Street that lies between North Grove Street and North Woodlawn Street. The property owners on either side of the street have made the request. A hearing of the petition will take place at 6:00 p.m. on November 18, 2021 at the city hall. Streets beside the baseball field have sunk, and the city is getting together bid specifications to bid out that work in the spring. The 2023 state grant for street repair won’t come soon enough, Hardke said. He also reported that the grain bins at the baseball field are now gone, and there are plans to drop the tower this week. The city will do a “one call” to warn residents before that happens. Randy Phillips has agreed to do the demolition in exchange for the metal from the buildings, which saves the city approximately $70,000. The caboose at the depot has been repainted, and the holes in the roof have been fixed. The lettering on the caboose will be replaced soon. Aristotle will be
installing a larger receiver to handle the load on the fiber that has been laid, and the renovation of the bathrooms in the lower hallway of the high school has been completed for a total of $27,745.45, which is under the $32,000 budgeted. The city’s two water tanks have been inspected, and some additional things may be needed, according to Hardke. A new overflow valve and a vent will need to be installed and possibly mixers in the tanks, which will cost $22,000 per tank. The complete Suez Company report was handed out to the council members to review before the next meeting. Fire Chief Seth Skarda reported that his department had six first-responder calls and had aided in an 18wheeler fire. He also said that his department had hosted fire prevention programs for several groups of local children. The Water and Sewer Department has repaired six leaks and has replaced shutoff valves and meters, and has installed several meter boxes. The water main that was hit near the armory on
Industrial Drive was repaired as well. A sewer line behind the Masonic Lodge is too close to a house, and the line must be moved 300 feet. The cost to move the line could be as much as $50,350. The gas lines to three houses set for demolition have been killed. At the end of the meeting, the council members discussed the problem of feral cats and pit
bull dogs within the city limits. Some of the cats have already been removed by Animal Control Officer Tony Sayger, and owners of the pit bulls have been reminded that those kinds of dogs are permitted in the city, Hardke said. The city intends to run a notification in the local paper quarterly to remind citizens of the pit bull ban.
Carlisle Library gets new tables... The Carlisle Public Library would like to send a shout out to the City of Carlisle and these wonderful guys for the amazing picnic tables we were surprised with. The library is working on creating a public garden and a welcoming outdoor space for children and families to utilize for games and activities, and these tables are a very appreciated part of that! So thank you to DeRon Ricks, Jamie Cook, David Sutton, Eddie Reeves, Kaleb Elmore, and David Walters II for their hard work on these!
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