Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Roebuck's Residence Questioned

Accusations have been made as to the residency of State Representative candidate Tommy Roebuck.

According to Arkadelphia real estate broker Bud Reeder, Roebuck lives in Hot Springs. Roebuck, though, says his legal residency is in Arkadelphia at 1038 Pine Street.

Reeder said Roebuck has a home on Hot Springs worth $750,000, and took out a 30 year loan at 8 percent to pay for it. In fact, he said, Roebuck is paying $6,000 a month for the house on Osprey Point, an exclusive, gated community on Lake Hamilton.

Reeder claims Roebuck lives in the Hot Springs home and, therefore, can't legally run for office in District 36.

He also claims Roebuck took county property by erecting a gate across a county road at Ridge Creek Point, a subdivision built by Reeder.

The gate takes 25-feet of county road, he said. This offense is a class C misdemeanor.

According to the covenant of the subdivision, "no fences, enclosures or part of any building of any type or nature whatsoever shall ever be constructed, erected, placed or maintained closer to the front lot line than the building setback line applicable and in effect as each lot; provided, however, that it is not the intention of this paragraph to exclude the use of evergreens or other shrubbery to landscape front yards. All fences shall be of wood or woven wire construction and their designs shall be approved by the Allotter in writing." Reeder is the Allotter.

The covenant further states, "the restrictions herein set forth shall run with the land and shall bind the present owner, its successors and assigns, and all parties claiming by, through or under it shall be taken to hold, agree and covenant with the owner of the lots hereby restricted, and with its successors and assigns, and with each of them to conform to and observe said restrictions, as to the use of said lots and the construction of improvements thereon, but no restrictions herein set forth shall be personally binding upon any corporation person or persons, except in respect to breaches committed during its, his or their seisin of title to said land, its successors, assigns, and also the owner or owners of any of the lots hereby restricted shall have the right to sue for and obtain an injunction, prohibitive or mandatory, to prevent the breach of or to enforce the observance of the restrictions above set forth, in addition to ordinary legal action for damages and failure of the Allotter.

In a letter dated Feb. 25, 1997, Reeder wrote to Roebuck noting the fence being illegal under the covenant of the subdivision.

Reeder wrote his intent was to have the encroachment removed, saying he had the legal grounds to do so.

"If no action is initiated within 60 calendar days," the letter stated, "of your receipt of this notice, then the owner of the road (Clark County) and custodian of Clark County (County Judge Grady Runyan) will be requested to fulfill his duty in keeping private obstructions and rendering any public passage impassable to pedestrian or vehicular traffic."

A document dated Dec. 14, 1998, notarized by Judy Beth Hutcherson from Clark County Circuit Clerk Billy C. William's office, and signed by Runyan, gives Roebuck the right to keep the gate up.

In fact, it states the road comes to a dead end about 25 feet past an iron gate held in a brick column, with Runyan giving Roebuck the right to leave the gate where it is.

The reason given in the document is the situation is with a huge bluff and creek at the terminus of the county road and the county won't be able to continue the road in an easterly direction.

In fact, the Arkadelphia Country Club is behind the Roebuck home, at the foot of the hill.

Reeder said the problem he has with Roebuck stems from a hog farm Reeder's son was planning to put in about a half-mile from the subdivision.

Roebuck, he said, fought the farm, with the case going to court and Reeder's son winning. However, he added, the court battle wound up costing his son the money he needed to run the farm with, so the farm was never developed.

The land, Reeder said, had been farmland for more than 100 years, and in the Reeder family more than 60 years.Roebuck, when questioned about the situation, said his residence is 1036 Pine in Arkadelphia, though he does have plans to move back to the house on Ridge Creek Road as he has been unable to sell it.

"The house at 1036 Pine is where I get my mail and live," Roebuck said. "Everything I have is in Arkadelphia, my apartments and practice. I do have a house in Hot Springs, but it's an investment for us, we don't live there."

Roebuck said he's registered to vote in Clark County and has been voting at the First United Methodist Church for 36 years.

He has two burial plots in Rest Haven Cemetery, where he plans for he and his wife to be buried.

"This is because of the pig farm," he said. "There was no problem with the gate until I opposed the pig farm."

Reeder, Roebuck said, was supposed to put a turnaround at the end of the road in front of the Roebuck home, but never did.

Roebuck said people were driving through his front yard breaking his lawn lights and sprinklers, and needed to put the gate up because of this.

He said Reeder was showed where the gate would be placed, and agreed with it at the time.

The covenant, Roebuck said, stated Reeder would install light posts, but this wasn't done. And, he continued, the street is supposed to be 24 feet wide, but is only 20 feet wide.

Roebuck said he never would have bought the house in Hot Springs had it not been for Eddie Arnold.

At the time, Arnold was supposed to buy the house on Ridge Creek Road, put down earnest money, then backed out of the deal.

The issue was taken to court with Roebuck winning the judgement and maintaining ownership of the Ridge Creek property. "If I'd known he would break the contract," Roebuck said, "I never would have bought the house in Hot Springs."

Roebuck placed the value of the Hot Springs house at $450,000, some $300,000 less than Reeder's figure. The money, he said, was borrowed from Region's Bank in Arkadelphia.

Had the pig farm been put in, Roebuck said, it would have wiped out Caddo Valley.

Jonathan Runnels, a spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office, said anyone running for office must live in the district they're running in.

"If the local party accepts him (Roebuck) we do to," he said. "If someone wants to challenge this it will be an issue for the courts to decide."

Todd Turner, chairman of the Clark County Democratic Committee, said he's familiar with the allegations, but the party has not been asked to take a stand.

In the primary, he said, both Roebuck and Brown Hardman met the residency requirements and nothing has changed to his knowledge.

Rhonda Williams, Clark County Clerk, said Roebuck is registered to vote in Clark County, according to her records.

Roebuck himself said anyone who wants can visit his Pine Street home.

District 36 for the Arkansas House of Representatives includes most of Clark County and a portion of Nevada County.