Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Festival profitable

Successful was how Mary Godwin, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce described the recent festival to the Prescott City Council.

With the carnival on-site, she said, the 14th Annual Prescott-Nevada County Chicken and Egg Festival made more money, and sales for the T-shirts designed by Spot Daniel continue.

In fact, she said, the Chamber may have to place another order for the shirts because of the demand.

There was also an overall increase in several events, especially the athletic competitions, she said.

"We're all excited about Jessie Ward winning Miss Arkansas," Godwin said.

The Chamber has scheduled a reception for Ward on July 11.

Karen Ward, Jessie's mother, said all functions must first go through the Miss Arkansas office for approval.

Parks Director Steve Crow said McRae Park is being used a lot, especially on Sundays, as out-of-town teams are playing softball there.

"We're slowly getting things done," he said. Piping has been added to the fence at McRae Park, and the benches and bleachers have been repaired.

The Little League All-Star Tournament will start July 7, he said, with six teams, along with one from Prescott, involved. The double-elimination tourney will run through July 13 or 14, depending on how the games shape up.

Before the tournament starts, he said, the backstop posts need to be painted.

The council approved $1,700 to get work done at the James Johnson Sports Complex, including painting the backstop posts.

Other work to be done includes padding on the backstop fence, and installing a new infield surface. The infield work will be done in conjunction with the Prescott School District, Crow said.

The new infield surface will be more of a crushed rock, which will drain better and faster.

He will order 24.5 tons to cover the baseball fields at the complex, with the school district expected to pay for a third of the cost.

The money to pay the park's portion will be taken from the sales tax funds allocated for park use.

Danny Beavert said the city should look at putting up a metal building along the lines of the new Rosston Fire Department.

The building, he said, could be used as storage for park equipment, and housing for a \firetruck on the east side of the railroad tracks.

A metal building of this sort, he said, would cost about $35,000 to build.

Prescott Mayor Howard Taylor said the library board visited a total of eight libraries to get an idea of what might fit in the space the city has for a new library.

He hopes to let bids on the project by August.