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Betty Thompson
TUESDAY, January 2, 2018 / Vol. 4 Issue 1 / 75 cents
SWN files suit against county SWN Production Co. claims that Van Buren County has over valued its natural gas holdings, and is pursuing the case in Circuit Court. SWN is appealing a November finding by the County Court that left the natural gas sales price at $3.04 per mcf. The gas and oil company wants the price lowered to $1.80. Van Buren County Assessor Trina Jones says that is the price at which
SWN sells the natural gas to its sister company, which then resells it for more. Jones and County Judge Roger Hooper say if SWN wins the case or withholds its tax payments while the case works its way through the court system, it will cost Van Buren County government and schools hundreds of thousands of dollars. See Court on page 9
This old house on Highway 95 East in Clinton was destroyed by fire last Thursday, Dec. 28. The house had been in the Kidd family for years. No one was injured in the fire, which rekindled twice after firefighters left.
Last vestiges of Christmas 2017
Inflatables around the house is a family project for sisters Diane and Janie White of Crabtree. Read more in the Crabtree news on Page 3.
The Christmas lights in Clinton City Park reflect off the water on a late December night. The lights will be on display for a few more days.
(Photo by Jeff Burgess)
(Photo by Amanda Mitchell)
Sports, politics highlight county’s year has no paid employees and is now open to the public only on Fridays and Saturdays.
A lot of news was made in Van Buren County in 2017 from sports to politics to animals. Here, in no particular order, are some of the highlights.
Water
Sports
It was a good year for sports at the county’s schools. At Shirley, the Blue Devils senior boys basketball team made their small town proud with an appearance in the 2017 State 1A Championship game. The Blue Devils went down in defeat to Guy-Perkins by 10 points, but it was a great season for the team led by Coach Keith Brown. The Clinton Yellow Jackets senior football team’s season lasted through Thanksgiving. The team went undefeated through the season before losing in the third round of 3A State playoffs to the Junction City Dragons. Coach Chris Dufrene picked up his 100th victory during
The Shirley Blue Devils senior boys basketball team made it to the 1A State finals. the season. In politics, voters rejected a ¼ cent sales tax increase, backed by the Clinton Fire Department. Turnout was low for the November vote, it was one of those elections that proves every vote matters.
iff’s office. Longtime Sheriff Scott Bradley resigned effective Oct. 1 and went to work for the Arkansas Sheriffs Association. His longtime chief deputy, Randy Gurley, was chosen by the Quorum Court to fill the seat until November 2018 elections.
Sheriff
Ambulance
Sales tax
It was out with the old and in with the new at the sher-
In December, the Ambulance Committee decided it was
ready for a change and said good-bye to Southern Paramedic Services, which had served the county for about 10 years. Medic One was chosen for a five-year contract and began work in the county Dec. 22. It was reported at the Quorum Court meeting that 75 percent of the Southern employees will remain here, now working for Medic One. The decision to make
a change came just weeks after a controversy at a Clinton High School football game in which many believed a paramedic took too long to aid a player who was having an asthma attack.
Animals
In July, SNYP Arkansas took over the Van Buren County Animal Shelter. It has been a struggle for the non-profit organization, which now
Water has been a hot topic in 2017. Both the Shirley and Dennard water departments are looking for someone to take them over. No final decisions have been made, but it’s looking like Dennard will merge with the Clinton Water Department while Shirley may go with Community Water. And the Clinton Water Department has hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of projects for the new year. Stay tuned.
Weather
On March 1, furious winds whipped through the county. At least 95 homes were damaged or destroyed, mostly in Fairfield Bay. Damages were not enough for the county to be eligible for federal aid, only state aid.