Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Appreciation picnic scheduled for county's elected officials

An appreciation for the county's elected officials is being planned by the Clark County Industrial Council.

The picnic is planned for July 2nd and will be held on the courthouse lawn. Hamburgers and hotdogs will be served at the picnic.

Ned Perme has accepted an invitation to come and do a remote broadcast from the picnic.

Entertainment by George Baker and his band will also be there to keep the festivities going.

The CCIC was updated about the 41 acres located on W.P. Malone Drive to be used as a business park. This land has been in the designing stage for a while.

The CCIC is looking for some help from state agencies. Kevin Copeland, executive director of the CCIC, said work is underway to solicit grants for funding of the infrastructure.

Debbie Sorrells, chairman for the existing industry committee, updated everyone on the progress of the plant managers summit.

The purpose of the summit is to meet with department heads and plant managers to find out what some of their common problems might be.

The CCIC is hoping this will solve problems these industries have in common.

Copeland updated everyone on the status of the new industry committee.

On June 5th a group from the Arkansas Department of Economic Development and Teamwork Arkansas visited with Copeland and determined that Lot 18, located at the Clark County Industrial Park, is the best location for constructing a new spec building.

Lot 18 contains 20 acres the CCIC plans to build a 50,000 to 60,000 square foot building.

The CCIC also discussed financing for the new building. Some of the ideas were: a grant from the Arkansas Department Finance Authority Spec Building Program, private investors in Pine Bluff, local financing, bonds, sales tax, and foundations.

The CCIC has been in communication with the ADED about a metal building fabricator who is interested in locating in this area.

Angela Canada, Executive Assistant for the CCIC, spoke to the group on behalf of the membership committee.

Canada is new to her position and said she is looking forward to working with all the members of CCIC.

Canada updated the council on the current membership drive. At the June 11th meeting the CCIC decided to personally call prospective members via telephone or in person. The committee also decided to place an ad on the cable community channel to gain membership.

The committee has also broadened it's range for recruiting potential members from Amity, Gurdon, Caddo Valley, Gum Springs, Hollywood, Alpine, Okolona and other surrounding communities in Clark County.