Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Industrial prospects eyeballing Prescott

Industrial prospects have been showing considerable interest in the Prescott area, according to Jon Chadwell, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office.

Chadwell, talking to the Prescott City Council during its regular monthly meeting, Monday, June 16, said there are nine companies looking at the Prescott area.

"There's more activity now," he said, "than I've ever seen, even when I was with the Camden Chamber of Commerce."

Chadwell classified three of the prospects as "really good," with a couple of the others in the beginning stages of discussion.

The possibilities of getting the cosmetic company to locate in the old Nevada County Hospital building are looking good, he said, but are dependant on a number of factors.

One such factor is federal legislation which could provide funds for renovation of buildings for companies doing both manufacturing and teaching. The cosmetics company plans on having a cosmetology school on site, while also making cosmetics.

In the meantime, paperwork has been sent to state agencies to try and get funding for the company to locate here.

The EDO, he said, will reapply for federal funds in September, and will hear something by October.

Chadwell has been working with Congressman Mike Ross's office to see if it can help with the estimated $2 million renovation cost of the hospital building.

An architect, he said, estimated the cost of building a similar structure at $4 million, because of the way the foundation was built.

Renovating the facility makes sense, he said, as it is one of the soundest buildings in town structurally.

Chadwell said the target date for Rip Griffin's Truck and Travel Center to be operational is the end of the year.

At this time, buildings are being constructed on site.

Steve Crow, director of the Prescott Parks and Recreation Department, said Prescott finished hosting its third district tournament in the past seven years.

This, he said, speaks well of the program and parks department. "We're trying to make each one better than the last."

For this year's tourney, the backstop fences were painted, padding was added and crimson field conditioner was put down to help with drainage.

The city, he said, helped out quite a bit, especially in getting the infield material spread.

The tourney played out as expected, with Prescott and Fordyce the final two teams. However, the two squads met on opening night with Prescott winning, and going undefeated to capture the title.

Fordyce fell 6-4 to get things started, with the next victim being Gurdon. Gurdon lost 13-8. This was followed by a 14-2 win over Hampton and a 6-5 win against Fordyce in the finals.

For the second time in three years, Prescott's 11-12-year-old team will be making an appearance in the state tourney. This year's state tilt is being held at Walnut Ridge.

The 9-10-year-old team and 13-14-year-old team went 1-2 in their tournament games.

Crow said if Prescott High School puts down a grass infield on the girls's softball field, the city could host a state baseball tournament, as it would have two fields with 200-foot fences available for play.

Hosting a state tourney, he said, would bring people to Prescott and add money to the city's coffers.

Councilman Dick Bright said one of the next projects for the baseball program should be permanent bleachers at the James Johnson Sports Complex.

Howard Austin, also on the council, said McRae Park needs to have some work done first, citing overgrown ditches needing to be cleared out.

Crow said his department has nothing capable of cutting the weeds from these ditches as they are too steep.

Prescott Police Chief Sam Reeder said legislation passed during the recent General Assembly requires all police officers to have 40-hours of additional training per year to maintain their certification.

Some members of the Prescott Police Department, he said, have been sent to the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy in Camden for this training. The courses they will study include homicide and drug investigation methods.

Reeder is working on a schedule to make sure all officers get the required training. He told the council the training will be done at different times.

Under old business, Prescott Mayor Howard Taylor said nothing has been done about flooding on Wildcat Road.

The city, he said, needs to open the ditches in the area all the way to the creek. Along with this, the galvanized culverts need to be replaced with new plastic ones, as the plastic culverts are more durable.

The city, he said, also helped with the parking lot at the new Prescott Senior Adult Center.

It seems part of the lot caved in and had to be replaced. City crews put down 40 bags of concrete and rolled it into place.

Plans for the proposed new library should be ready by the August meeting, Taylor said. From there, soil testing will be done to see how the foundation will have to be built.