Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

New Repeaters Are In Place

There are now four new repeaters on line for use by area volunteer fire departments.

Gurdon Mayor Rick Smith told the Gurdon City Council, during its regular monthly meeting Monday night, the repeater the Gurdon Fire Department will use is on Bull Mountain. The other repeaters are located at Okolona, Alpine and near Lake DeGray.

All repeaters are on line, with the GFD's radios reprogrammed, with the exception of two. Bids for the pager system have not been let yet.

The traffic problem at Main and Second streets was also discussed. Smith said the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) did a survey recently and will turn the information over to the engineering department. From there, the engineering department will make a decision.

Smith said the AHTD could recommend a flashing traffic light, a regular traffic light or some form or stop signs. Of course, he added, they could recommend doing nothing at all. The decision is entirely at the department's discretion.

This, he said, is because main street is also Arkansas Highway 53. If it wasn't, he added, the council could have already handled the problem.

The Caney Creek project was also discussed. Smith said the contractor has the bridge passable, lacking having the road rebuilt.

Once this is done, 10th Street will be repaved and the county road department contacted to redo Stone Street as agreed.

Work on Stone Street will include digging new ditches, culverts and shooting the grade, as well as completely repaving it. Smith said residents on the street will be contacted before the oil is put down so they can find an alternate route if they so desire.

More trash bins are apparently appearing in the city. Residents will be presented letters by the Gurdon Police Department, requesting them to remove the bins from the right of way.

A meeting of the Southwest Central Regional Solid Waste Management District will be held Wednesday, May 20. At this meeting, the board may decide on a landfill for the district to use as its contract with the Saline County landfill expires in September.

In the mayor's report, Smith reminded everyone this is National Police Week, as originally proclaimed by Pres. John F. Kennedy in 1962, and is also National Senior Citizen's Week as well.

A new city map has been completed by Smith, who drew it with a computer assisted drafting (CAD) program. These new maps were drawn with input from the Street Department, GPD and the Gurdon Water and Sewer Department.

A disc was given to Richard Gibson, the man who drew the maps for 9-1-1 of the county. He put the maps in color and added a street index and history.

The Gurdon and Arkadelphia Chambers of Commerce were contacted about having the maps printed in a standard manner. Smith said both agreed and the new maps will include Gurdon, Arkadelphia, Caddo Valley city streets, along with a map of the county.

Some of those sentenced by the Department of Community Punishment were used to help work on a new levy for Gurdon Lake for a project for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

Smith said more workers were needed for the project. He will contact the department to see if more workers can be sent to Gurdon so the project can be completed.

Concerning the new + cent sales tax, Smith said the city has collected $11,150.90 to date. This, he said, explains why the city has not purchased emergency warning sirens and instituted the animal control ordinance.

A second company made a proposal on the emergency sirens, Smith said, at a price considerably less than the first company last month.

He said the sirens are identical to the first ones discussed, but the second company said the city's radios do not need to be replaced. The current radios can be used to set off the tones.

When more information is available, he said, the council will be updated.

Because the renovations of city hall are scheduled to begin soon, the facility can't be used for council meetings, nor for the May 19 preferential primary election.

The election will be held at the Gurdon Senior Adult Center instead. The Clark County Election Commission has been contacted and made the proper arrangements.

Smith said a place to hold municipal court is still being sought, with three or four options available. Once a location is found for court, it will most likely be where the council will meet until the renovations are completed.

In addition, those city residents interested in filing petitions for city council can pick them up at city hall. However, the candidates can't begin collecting signatures until Aug. 15, and must be turned in by mid-Sept.