Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Suggests Saline County is "Two Stepping" in Landfill Trial

A scene from "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" was used in closing briefs for the Southwest Central Regional Solid Waste District in its suit against the Saline County Solid Waste District.

Mack Glover, attorney for the SWCRSWD, in the written closing argument, stated the Saline County District was offering the court the Texas Two-step, in an attempt to sidestep its original agreement.

He cited the courtroom scene of the movie, which featured Charles Durning, in his brief. Glover said the court had its choice between the Texas Two-step or the Tennessee Waltz.

The suit, he told the board, is in the judge's hands. "He required a written closing argument, and he'll have to decide what to do."

Glover based most of his argument on minutes from the Saline County organization's meetings. In a Sept. 15 meeting, the minutes reflected the rates had been reduced for all customers except the Southwest Central District.

"We didn't know this until the discovery phase of the trial," he said. "They reduced phase I (of their proposed landfill construction) in size for savings and to allow them to open in October."

Glover said Steve Hines, landfill director, testified he had examined reports from the Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology, and found the Saline County landfill prices to be the second lowest in the state out of 20 landfills. The rates, he told the court, ranged from $16 to $30. Saline County charges $18 per ton.

However, when Saline County entered into an agreement with the Southwest Central District, the deal was for $14.50 a ton. Saline County has been trying to crawfish out of this arrangement for more than two years.

Robert Hunter, state recycling coordinator with the PC&E, said the department is working hard to teach recycling in the classroom.

This is being done to educate students on the importance of recycling so they can take what they learn home and teach their parents. Through active education, he said, more recycling can be done.

"We would like to get in this district and work with teachers," he said. "We need to educate people."

The PC&E will provide all necessary materials to schools. He said schools in the Southwest Central District could be supplied with the materials for about $2,500, which was approved by the board.

Hunter said it would be difficult for the solid waste district to successfully open its recycling center in Hot Springs without proper education.

Bob Venuti, director of the recycling committee, gave the board an update on the recycling center. He said five materials will be accepted at first: newsprint, white office paper, corrugated cardboard, clear glass and aluminum cans. Plastics, he said, will be considered later, once a feasibility study is done to see if it will pay for itself.

Venuti said the center needs to be subsidized until it becomes self-supporting, and the subsidy can come from a grant the district already has.

The center will have one full-time employee, a director, and a half-time worker.

The board agreed with Venuti, and voted to allocate $5,000 for advertising, publicity and promotion of the center, which will be called the Regional Recycling Center.

The target date to open the center is Jan. 2, 1996. This is to give the board time to tie up all loose ends, hire those who will be working there and get them trained.