Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Grant Gives Emmet New Park

Ground was officially broken for Emmet's new fun park Friday morning.

State Sen. Mike Ross, along with State Rep. Percy Malone, were on hand for the ceremonies, overseen by Emmet Mayor Chuck Otwell.

Otwell said the process to get a park in Emmet began about six months ago, with Malone and Ross helping speed it up. The park, he said, was made possible through a $20,000 grant from the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

Ross, speaking to the crowd, said he grew up in Emmet and wanted to play a role in helping the community make changes.

At the time, he said, the city had no sewer system, which posed a health problem for the citizens. Through dedication and hard work, Ross was able to help Emmet procure a sewer system.

In addition, there was no park for children to play in when Ross was a child. Again, with his help, Emmet's young people now have a park.

"This project is a reality," Ross said, "because of people working together. Government should work for the people and not against them."

Otwell then told Malone and Ross Emmet needs an underpass so traffic can bypass the railroad tracks when a train is running or stopped. He said the city would need to get an engineering study done, along with a cost analysis before going further with the idea.

Malone told those gathered these are the kind of events he enjoys attending, because it's fun for him to work with communities on such projects.

He said Emmet represents what communities can do when the people work together for a common goal. "Working together," Malone said, "makes it better for everyone.

"All you are doing here is going toward making the community grow."

He said the park will be a safe place for Emmet's children to play.

Malone continued saying in counties like Nevada County, where the people are doing their best to provide safe places for their children to go and good schools for them, there is no reason the young people shouldn't be able to return to their hometowns and make a living after graduating high school and college.

"This park," he said, "will improve the quality of life (in Emmet). It will help with industrial prospects. You are doing things to improve your fire department, school and city hall, along with the quality of life.

"These are all signs of being alive and well in the community, and things are getting better."

Otwell took over center stage again saying with Malone's help the Emmet City Hall may be getting an energy grant for its central heating and air conditioning.

He continued saying Emmet is blessed to have an open minded city council he can go to with projects, explain the plans and work with them on it.

"They're the boss of the community. If not for them, we couldn't do what we've done."

Ken Easton was the next to speak. Representing the Parks Department, he said the fun park project actually began 30 years ago using federal money.

Now, however, the project is funded by the state.

Easton said the park project was then-Gov. Bill Clinton's idea. In 1989 Clinton said a grant program was needed for small communities in the state.

In 1991, the program became a reality with turnkey grants of $10,000 being awarded.

However, because of increased costs, the amount of the grants awarded has been increased to $20,000.

Emmet City Clerk Anita Allen showed the display she took to Little Rock for the Parks Department, along with a diagram of how the park will look when completed.

She said there will be a planting day when all the residents of Emmet are invited to bring their favorite plant to the park and work on beautifying the region.