Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Emergency sirens being repaired

Having emergency sirens installed across the county was a mistake, Nevada County Judge James Roy Brown said.

When addressing the siren situation at the January meeting of the Nevada County Quorum Court, he said repairs are being made on the county's 38 sirens, and, to date, 21 are fully functional. Four of the sirens have been converted to use solar power, and some simply have no power going to them at all.

The reason for this, he said, is when the rural water system was installed in the southern part of the county those using wells just shut their wells down. The problem, though, is the sirens were connected to the power source for the wells, and they, too, were shut down. This meant when the batteries ran down in the sirens, they were useless.

"It will take more than $20,000 to get the other 17 up and running," Brown said. "We have $18,000 in the budget for this and may need to appropriate more. I'll try to keep the court up to date on the sirens."

Nevada County, he said, is the only county in Arkansas with 38 emergency sirens.

There was discussion among the justices about doing regular testing to make sure the sirens are working properly. Brown said the problem is finding someone who will commit to calling and letting someone know if the sirens go off during the test.

In some cases, he said, the sirens can't be heard if a train is passing by, and some are hard to hear during severe weather. And, he added, there have been instances where people disconnected them from their power source because they didn't want to hear the sirens.

"Most who got into sirens," he said, "wish they didn't. There will be a time when we won't be able to afford to maintain them."

The Court approved a resolution to adopt the National Incident Management System (NIMS) for emergencies.

Jim Cross, Nevada County Emergency Management Coordinator, said this system is through the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM), though the funding comes from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The resolution, Cross said, is requires so the county can go through the NIMS system and all emergency personnel can be on the same page. The training will be included, he added, saying NIMS will affect all municipalities.

Congressman Mike Ross, he said, was instrumental in helping obtain a grant for $49,474 through the Cops More program to help upgrade the radio system for the Nevada County Sheriff's Office and the Nevada County Rescue Unit. The money will be used to buy two new repeaters, one at the Sutton site and the other on the CenturyTel tower in Prescott.

"The north end of the county will benefit more," he said. "This will enhance the entire county's radio transmissions. The Sutton tower has been turned already, contracts have been let and a generator has been installed so we have juice at both sites and it won't go down in storms."

Brown said the county has to use all the grant money. The county, he added, went ahead and started working on the project though the amount needed wasn't known at the time. But, it had to be done in order to pay the contractor, Bolin Communications, for the work done.

The Court passed a budget for the Nevada County Ambulance Service. Brown said the city raised its portion and the Court can amend its budget at the February meeting. The NCAS budget will be $45,000 in all from both the city and county.

Brown said the city pays the county, while the county pays the NCAS. The county cuts a check for the ambulance service monthly, but is only paid by the city annually. However, he said, the county could bill the city quarterly. No action was taken on this idea, which was tabled until the February meeting.

The justices of the peace also approved the budget for the Nevada County Library though the city has not passed its budget for 2005 as yet. Brown said once the city approves its budget the county can amend its budget accordingly.

Brown said there will come a time when the county will have to build a new jail, and when this happens the county will have to pass a sales tax to fund it.

Jon Chadwell, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office, said he's researched a jail two different times. The problem, he said, is being able to operate it after it's built. "Nevada County isn't alone on the jail issue. It's a problem all over the country."

Chadwell said things have been busy with the EDO, and there is a business moving into the old garment building on Highway 67. An announcement on the plant will be made soon.

JP Arval Mason asked about the possibility of giving the Disabled American Veterans the old Nevada County Hospital for use.

Chadwell said this would be a good group to occupy the structure and promised to look into it.

The need for a community center was also brought up. Chadwell said there are several places where groups can meet, including St. Michael's Community Room, the Hamilton-Blakely Senior Citizens Center, the Ila Upchurch building and the library.

The school, he said, works with the Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce for the annual banquet, and it's about the only place around capable of holding 300 or more people.

Hope, he said, tried to get a tax passed to build a community center and saw it defeated soundly. "I don't think a sales tax issue has passed since the state raised its sales tax."