Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

JPs Instruct County Judge To Talk To All Elected Officials About Allegations

Nevada County JPs instructed County Judge James Roy Brown to talk with each elected official about alleged ethic problems exsisting.

The motion, approved by all nine JPs during Monday's regular monthly meeting, directs Brown to talk with the officials about possible ethic violations in which (an) employee(s) may be drawing a paycheck but not working.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Danny Rodgers read the ethics law which deals with an elected official hiring someone within intent to gain monetarily from that hiring.

Brown was told by the group to advise the officials that further action could and would be taken if the problem continued.

JPs had already discussed a nepotism law which could prevent hiring of family members by elected officials.

Rodgers told the group it needed to check with legal counselor Mike Rainwater of the Association of Arkansas Counties (AAC) before passing the motion.

He told JPs he saw problems with the act, a copy of which has been passed by Pike County, and he would be unable to defend the motion in court.

Brown reminded JPs on the smallness of the county and the problems with the way the act was worded.

The passage of it would not allow a county official or department head to hire a relative - even if that blood relations might be the best qualified.

JPs agreed to send a copy of the act to Rainwater for his opinion.

During monday's meeting, JPs tabled the matter of smoking in the courthouse.

Brown told JPs it might be possible and necessary to ban smoking on courthouse grounds to the back door, closest to the sheriff's office.

He said there were a lot of smoker's in the foyer of the building during court sessions and some complaints had been made to his office and to JP Billy Bob Rhodes.

Brown said 13 of the 26 courthouse employees smoke. A smoking ban was passed more than two years ago but was vetoed or unsigned by then county judge John Henry.

JPs received a copy of a complaince report on the Nevada County Jail. It will probably be discussed during July's meeting.

The report dealt with problems concerning a lack of written policies for strip searches, disciplinary action, personnel conduct, contraband search/seizure, security measures for trustes and others.

It noted Sheriff Steve Otwell was newly elected and had not drafted a written policy and procedures manual, but will do so.

Nevada County's jail will house 25 prisoners.

It is composed of two 6-ft. x 8.6-ft cells and two 7-ft. by 6-ft. cells each housing two prisoners.

In addition there a two 4-man cells which are 6-ft. x 6-ft. and what is classified as a drunk tank.