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Christmas lights in Hazen. (Pictures on page 6.)
Volume 120 Number 51 - USPS 225-680
Serving all of Prairie County and the Grand Prairie
Wednesday, December 22, 2021
Community Calendar of Events Christmas gremlins got in our computers this week. Sorry for the lateness of our paper. Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas!!!
Friday December 24 Christmas Eve services at Hazen United Methodist Church at 1:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Saturday December 25 Christmas Day Thursday December 30 Hazen City Council meeting 6:00 p.m. City Hall Friday December 31 Prairie County Offices will be closed to observe New Years. Saturday January 1 New Years Day Tuesday December 11 Prairie County Quorum Court meeting. 6:00 p.m. Courthouse Annex 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.
Oasis Helping Hands, of the Oasis Church of Hazen, put on their first Christmas Mall this past Saturday. The point of the Christmas Mall was to help families that have been hit with financial hardships, or lower income during this time of year. We all know how stressful it can be during the holiday season, and Oasis Helping Hands wanted to be able to help ease that burden. They ended up giving out 400 toys throughout 48 families. They helped make sure more than 100 kids would have Christmas gifts this year, and that those parents would not have worry about wrapping the gifts either. Oasis Helping Hands is thankful to be able to do these programs for our community and hope that next year's Christmas Mall can serve even more families. (Ruth Corley picture.)
County employees to get end of year bonuses The Prairie County Quorum Court met without County Judge Mike Skarda at its December 14th meeting held in the County Court Annex in Des Arc. Justice Lawrence Holloway presided over the meeting, and the other justices present were Bobby Williford, Jordan Smith, Levi Childress, Judy Hinson, Richard Hatcher, Gary King, and Paul Hooks. Also present were County Clerk Gaylon Hale, County Treasurer Tamara Dabney, and Sheriff Rick Hickman. No business was on the agenda. The county employees will receive Christmas bonuses again this year. Full-time employees who have been employed by the county
for a full year will receive $500 and parttime employees and those who have been employed by the county for less than 90 days will receive $250. Holloway told the court that the budgets were not ready yet, due to changes in the federal American Rescue Plan. “We have enough income to take care of what’s coming up,” Holloway said. There will be a called meeting on December 29 with a meeting of the budget committee before the called meeting to finalize the 2022 budget. The county’s Christmas party has been cancelled due to COVID. With nothing else to discuss, the meeting was adjourned.
AR rent relief program application deadline extended into 2022 (LITTLE ROCK, Ark.) The Department of Human Services (DHS) is pleased to announce the extension of the Arkansas Rent Relief Program: the program will continue accepting applications into 2022 as long as general rent relief funds are available. This is a change from previous guidance stating that the program would end on December 31, 2021. Eligible tenants and landlords can apply for up to 15 months of unpaid rent or utilities incurred on or after April 1, 2020. Applicants can apply to the program by visiting ar.gov/rentrelief and clicking “Apply Here.” Applicants will then be directed to the Arkansas Rent Relief Application Portal to create an account and submit an application. Before submitting an application,
applicants should gather all documentation to ensure their application is complete and accurate. A list of required documents, FAQs, and user guides can also be found on ar.gov/rentrelief. Applicants will receive a number of emails as their application moves through the review process, including when the program needs additional information from them to complete their case and the final award decision. Applicants can check the status of their application at any time by selecting “Track Status” on ar.gov/rentrelief. The Arkansas Rent Relief Program has a network of community partners that can provide one-on-one help filling out the application, if needed. A complete list of these partners can also be found at ar.gov/rentrelief.
HHS football players honored... Congratulations to these Hazen Hornets for being named All-Conference Players, Kolton Tosh, Collin Kee, Austin Duck, Justin Schlenker, Luke King, Shedrick Ward, Brandon Vaughn, Joshua Romero-Dawson, and Braylan Anderson, and to Luke King for being named All-State 2021! Not pictured: Mason D'Angelo, All-Conference. (Wendy Perry photo.)
Hazen Schools get VISA cards The Hazen School Board held a very short meeting on Monday, December 13, at 5:30 p.m. in the high school library. Present were Board President Vicki Skarda and Board Members Freddie Rogers, Roben Cohen, Darlene Connor, and Mason Sickel. The only action item was to approve Superintendent Donnie Boothe’s recommendation to enter into a VISA Purchasing Card Program. The program will provide a minimum
of 10 cards for employees to make necessary purchases. Those using the cards will have to check them out at the central office. The cards will be pre-paid cards. According to Business Manager Sarah Snider, the cards are needed because businesses have been hesitant to take purchase orders from the district. Neither principal was present at the meeting to make reports. Sickel asked about giving the Security Resource Officer, Teddy
Walker, a bonus at the end of the year. Boothe said that because Walker is not a district employee, but instead works for the city, he cannot receive a school bonus. Susan Mueller-Fritz was approved to be hired as a HIPPY paraprofessional for the remainder of the 2021-22 school year beginning on January 4, 2022. The next regular meeting will be held on Monday, January 10, 2022 in the high school library at 6:00 p.m.
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