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1 SECTION - 14 PAGES V OLUME /Y EAR 109, WEEK 36 (5,671 TOTAL WEEKS)
“A FREE P RESS AND A F REE P EOPLE - A N U NBEATABLE T EAM ” D ES A RC , A RKANSAS (C OUNTY S EAT ) P RAIRIE C OUNTY
P U B LI S H E D E A C H T H U R S D A Y S I N C E 1 9 0 7 THU RSDAY, APR IL 14, 2016
Hot Springs Bathhouse Row circa 1910 At right is the “Horse Shoe” bathhouse, wth sign in window boasting of 21 baths, including 5 porcelain tubs. Most all bathhouses were originally wood structures, later replaced with masonry structures Shorpy photo
Land Commissioner schedules sale of tax delinquent land
ACTIVITIES CALENDAR THURS., APRIL 14, 11-1 Lions Hamburger Lunch Riverfront Park
THURS., APRIL 14
A public auction for the sale of tax delinquent land in Prairie County will be held Tuesday, April 26, at 10 a.m. at the Prairie County Courthouse in Des Arc, according to John Thurston, Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands. Registration will begin at 9:30 a.m. These are lands that went delinquent in 2014. The Commissioner of State Lands offers an online Catalog of Tax Delinquent Lands, which contains the current statutes governing the sales, auction dates, times, location and other pertinent information regarding parcels being offered. The catalog
Progress Reports go home with students
FRIDAY, APRIL 15 Des Arc Schools dismissed for snow day
SAT., APRIL 16, 9:30 AM German Heritage Festival Grand Prairie Museum Stuttgart, AR
SAT., APRIL 16, ANY TIME Sand Hill Cemetery Cleanup Day
SUN, APRIL 17, 7 AM Men’s Breakfast Gospel Mission Church
MONDAY, APRIL 18, 9 A.M. Plea Day Hearings DeValls Bluff Courthouse
TUES., APRIL 19, 9 A.M.
JPs to vote in May on carrying concealed weapon
Plea Day Hearings Des Arc Courthouse
TUES., APRIL 19, 7 PM Des Arc City Council Meet in City Hall
TUES., APRIL 19, 1 PM Retired Teachers ElAmigo, Hazen
TUES., APRIL 19, 6 PM Master Gardeners BancorpSouth, Hazen
WED., APRIL 20, 10:30 AM Alzheimers Group Lower White River Museum in Des Arc
WED., APRIL 20, 11 AM Friendship Club DeValls Bluff
THURS.,APR. 21,9 & 10 AM Jury Orientation-Courtroom DeValls Bluff 9 a.m. Des Arc 10 a.m.
THURS., APRIL 21, 12 N Chamber of Commerce F & M Bank
SAT., APRIL 23 DAHS Prom Elementary Cafetorium
TUES., APRIL 26, 7 PM Prairie County Fair Board Meet: Fair Building
Obituaries Pgs. 4 & 7
Charles Boggan, 87, Searcy Patricia Carter, 82, DeWitt Mark Edwards, 56, Ward Elizabeth Evans, 59, Brinkley Laura Holcomb, 82, Clarendon Melvin James, 83, Humphrey Preston Jones, 82, Missouri Jeanette King, 75, DeValls Bluff Theresa Lee, 62, Carlisle Cathy McIntosh, 57, Searcy Murle McIntosh, 83, Griffithville Roy McKenzie, 61, Louisiana Anita Rhodes, 67, Missouri Betty Scroggs, 81, Jonesboro Marty Simpson, 58, Stuttgart Wilma Smith, 93, Fairfield Bay Chris Thornton, 80, Hickory Plains James Vail, 77, Humphrey Naomi Vance, 92, Des Arc J.R. Westbrook, 74, Keo
USPS improves from C- to BTracking Chart format Revised - See Pg 13
can be found on the Commissioner’s website at www.cosl.org, providing current information resources about each parcel. “Bidding begins at the amount of taxes and fees that are due on the property,” Thurston said. “Owners of delinquent parcels should remember that they have only 10 business days to redeem their property if it sells at auction.” property Delinquent owners may call the office at 501-324-9422 to request a Petition to Redeem, or they may look up the delinquent parcel on the COSL website and print it from there.
PRAIRIE COUNTY FARM FAMILY: The John Petrus family is announced this week as the Prairie County “Farm Family of the Year”, according to Brent Griffin, Prairie County Cooperative Extension Service staff chairman. John and wife, Kristel (Hornsby) Petrus have three children, Luke, 10; Lawson, 9 and Ella, 4. Their residence is in Carlisle while their farm operation is in Prairie County between Hazen and Carlisle.
At Tuesday night’s Qorum Court monthly meeting, bravely presided over by Judge Mike Skarda who was scheduled to have another back surgery yesterday morning (Wednesday); the Court approved two ordinances: 1) Purchase of a used 2000 Chevrolet pickup truck for the southern dis-
trict. 2) Because of the risk of viruses, cessation of allowing the public to use their own digital storage devices to copy county records. Justice Ronnie Eans brought up the subject of the Court members obtaining permits to carry concealed weapons, based on See COURT Page 14
Distribution of City Sales Tax Revenue The municipal levy of sales and use tax returned to area cities by the state in March, 2016 is as follows: Des Arc ....................$ 16,725.50 Augusta ..........................22,382.34 Bald Knob .....................32,872.92 Beebe............................116,132.00 Brinkley.................. 92,283.45 Cabot............................664,022.38 Carlisle ...........................44,053.73 Clarendon ................. 44,910.36 Cotton Plant ....................1,203.99 DeValls Bluff.................14,930.92 DeWitt..........................165,187.24 England..........................54,299.54 Gillett..............................10,715.53 Hazen ............................ 45,660.54 Holly Grove......................5,806.88 Lonoke .........................129,767.22 McCrory.........................18,887.37 North Little Rock.....1,193,883.13 Searcy...........................674,814.36 Stuttgart .......................570,809.82 Ward...............................37,963.12 Municipal sales and use tax is based on retail sales and local tax. It is reported to and compiled each month by the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. A 3% levy is kept by the state. For the same period in 2015, Des Arc’s tax revenue was $17,724.82, DeValls Bluff, $13,651.02 and Hazen, $52,743.51 The new county tax approved by the voters in Prairie County went into effect in April, 2014. The new tax added .5% to the already 8.5 % in the local area.
NEW AUXILIARY OFFICERS: Three new auxiliary deputies have joined the Prairie County Sheriff’s Department, according to Sheriff Gary Burnett. They are Tanner White, Greg Bell and Sam Williams who graduated from Part Time II Officer Training classes on Saturday, April 2 at Lonoke. The Lonoke Sheriff’s Department sponsored the classes. The classes consisted of 110 hours of training, advised Sheriff Burnett. Pictured above, from left: Tanner White, Greg Bell, Sheriff Burnett, Sam Williams and Prairie County’s Chief Deputy Bill Duerson.
Farmers & Merchants announces promotions Farmers and Merchants Bank President and CEO Gary Hudson, along with the bank's Board of Directors, has announced four promotions within the bank. David Hardke of Hazen has been promoted to Community Bank President of Prairie County. Farmers and Merchants has banks in Hazen and Des Arc, both located in Prairie County.
Hardke has more than 44 years of experience in banking; 20 of those with Farmers and Merchants Bank. He is a graduate of the University of Central Arkansas with a bachelors degree, majoring in business management. He is a graduate of the School of Bank Marketing at the University of Colorado in Boulder, the Graduate School of Banking and Louisiana State University.
Hardke is has served as recorder and treasurer for the City of Hazen for 19 years and remains an active member of the Hazen Chamber of Commerce. Hardke and his wife Nita are members of the Hazen First United Methodist Church. Kirk Vansandt has been named community bank president for South Arkansas County and Lee County. Vansandt, of De-
Witt, is a loan officer, specializing in agriculture lending. He has worked at Farmers and Merchants Bank since 2008. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Central Arkansas. Farmers and Merchants Bank’s Casey Washam has been promoted to vice president and loan review officer. See BANK Page 14
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