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Hazen gets ready for Christmas. (See page 6.)
Volume 122 Number 47 - USPS 225-680
Serving all of Prairie County and the Grand Prairie
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Community Calendar of Events Hazen Senior Center opens daily from 9:00 a.m.- 1:00 p.m. Lunch is served from 11:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. Tuesday November 21 Quorum Court Meeting 6:00 p.m. Annex Building Thursday November 23 Thanksgiving Friday November 24 Carlisle Bison vs EPC Fred Hardke Field 7:00 p.m. Monday November 27 Des Arc School Board Meeting 6:00 p.m. Hazen School District back to school Tuesday November 28 Des Arc City Council meeting 6:00 p.m. City Hall Thursday November 30 DAIDC meeting County Annex Building in Des Arc 10:00 a.m.
Community events are brought to you by the Hazen Chamber of Commerce and the
Please call F&M Bank (255-3042) or The Grand Prairie Herald (255-4538) to list events.
Hazen gets ready for the holidays... Members of the Hazen Chamber of Commerce spent a sunny Saturday last week decorating the city park downtown in anticipation of the Christmas in the Park luminary event scheduled for Saturday, December 9th from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. The group plans to decorate the whole town with luminaries, and anyone can purchase them in honor of, or in memory of, a loved one for $2 each from Chamber members. There will be carriage rides, a live nativity, caroling, and Santa Claus will be there again this year.
Carlisle Council puts CD’s toward firetruck By Debbye Harrison Carlisle City voted to cash in all of the city’s certificates of deposit to pay on the new fire truck leaving no reserve funds for city emergencies. Ordinance #336 was unanimously passed by Council members Todd Turner, Anne Anderson, Jon Plafcan and Larry Flynn at the November 14, 2023, meeting. Council members Kevin Kegley and Mary Edelman were absent. The new fire truck which has been delivered costs $534,000. The old one was involved in a wreck on I-40 on the way to a call. Insurance paid $114,000. To finish
covering the cost, a loan had to be secured from Cadence Bank for $71,776.17 at an interest rate of 5.9%. These costs do not include insurance on the truck. Leaf and limb pick-up has stopped! What has been done in the past has been done illegally, and the Council voted to stop all pick-up until something else can be done. A proper disposal place is needed. This will have to be permitted by both the state and the EPA. Randy Phillips is willing to explore the possibility of setting up a properly permitted property if he can be assured that the city will give him the contract for the leaf and
limb disposal. At this time the cost cannot be determined. Ordinance #335 was passed which requires all pools above and inground to have a selfstanding 48” fence that completely surrounds the pool with a gate that is self-latching. The pool must be properly maintained and sanitary. Existing pool owners have 30 days after publication of the ordinance to comply. Those who plan to install a pool must have a plan submitted with their construction plans. This ordinance is designed to protect the homeowner from any accidents occurring from children outside the res-
idence who might be wandering through the neighborhood and accidentally fall into the pool. The fine for noncompliance is $25 per day. C. J. Rathbun, Executive Director of the 911 Board, spoke to the Council about the new configuration of the 911 system. He explained that an efficiency study was made after revenues for 911 fell due to a decrease in landlines. The new system will have a minimum of one in each county and more in the
heavily populated areas. There will be a total of 82 in the state. Cabot is housing the one for Lonoke County and Des Arc for Prairie County. Fees have increased and may continue to do so even though there have been efforts to offset some of the costs. The Christmas Ladies reported that 95% of the Christmas decorations are out, and they received high praises for all of their work. No more donations are needed for this year (but would be gladly accepted for next year!)
Hazen City Council votes to give employees bonuses The Hazen City Council met on Thursday, November 16 with all council members present along with Recorder/Treasurer David Hoover and Mayor David Hardke. After some discussion and with only one council member dissenting, the council voted to give a 3½ percent Christmas bonus to all of the fulltime city employees. There are 19 full-time employees, and the bonuses will cost the city $43,000 including payroll taxes. The employees will also receive a cost of living raise beginning in January. The council members and Mayor Hardke spoke highly of all the city’s employees, and added that there had been no turnover in employees for quite some time. The mayor gave the council members a proposed 2024 budget to study before the next meeting, and announced the notice of award to ETI Services of Malvern in the amount $106,391 to replace the filter media in filters 3 and 4 and the new underdrain in filter four at the water treatment plant. American Rescue Plans funds will pay for the
work. Hardke also said that the street overlay program in the city has been completed. Hardke said that he and Utilities Director Chad Swaim had a preconstruction conference regarding the installation of a new spiral screen at the wastewater treatment plant. “That’s your first line of defense,” Hardke said. Hardke hopes that these will be installed within 120 days, but he added that electronics are still delaying projects. The project will cost less than expected, Hardke said. The council members praised the improved quality of the Hazen water. In departmental reports, Swaim said that three more water leaks had been repaired along with two gas leaks. The dog pound light has been replaced and a drain there has been unstopped. Ray Raper has finished with the electrical installation in the city park downtown. The utilities department is in the process of fixing leaks at the water plant, and have replaced about 90% of the dials on meters within the city. There are plans to fix a hole in front of the high school while the stu-
dents are on Thanksgiving break. Hardke said that another sewer pipe located on Prairie Street will be replaced before it collapses. “We’re trying to keep pace,” Hardke said. Fire Chief Seth Skarda reported that his department responded to one grass fire and burned down two condemned houses. The department also had six first-responder runs last month. Hardke said that next year’s budget is still being tweaked and will be completed by next month’s meeting.
Auxiliary decorates towns... The Women’s Auxiliary of the American Legion decorated Prairie County with fall scarecrows placed in various places. The Auxiliary does several service projects throughout the year.
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