RECOLLECTIONS
50 Years Ago Pea Ridge Graphic Vol. 3 No. 24 Thursday, June 13, 1968
Mayor Jack Musteen ordered a crack down on speeding in Pea Ridge, particularly along Arkansas Highway 94 that makes a beeline from the center of town out 3 miles to the edge of the ridge leading down into Sugar Creek Valley. Speaking out at last Thursday night’s City Council meeting, he said that complaints were coming in concerning speeding on city streets and “It (the speeding) is going to be stopped.”
The fundraising underway here to purchase the large instruments needed to start a school band had grown more than $200 since last week. Monday morning, the fund stood at $360.50 in cash donations and pledges. Some sentiment appeared to be turning toward the possibility of urging the school to purchase good used instruments, in cases where these were available, in order to reduce the amount needed. It is customary for the school to own the more expensive instruments and the students to buy their own less expensive instruments. Several potential band students in Pea Ridge already own instruments, including some of those whose parents have also contributed to the band fund. It is also the hope of some of the community who are working the hardest to get the band started that no deserving student will be denied the opportunity to be in the school band just because he can’t afford an instrument.
A fire that caused approximately $100 worth of damage to a Webb Feed truck Wednesday revealed that an error had been made in the listing of the Pea Ridge Fire Department phone number in the recently distributed telephone directories. When Wilson Webb attempted to summon the Fire Department to extinguish the flames on the real wheel of his truck, he discovered that the number listed is not the correct one. It apparently was the first fire reported since the new directories were released a few weeks ago. Telephone company employees have placed an ad in this week’s Graphic urging everyone to correct the number in their directories or post the right number to have it handy in an emergency.
40 Years Ago Pea Ridge Graphic-Scene Vol. 13 No. 24 Wednesday, June 14, 1978
The Pea Ridge City Council will consider a proposal for a 5-mill city tax increase to establish a fund for street maintenance. City Attorney Howard Slinkard is preparing an ordinance for consideration at the July City Council meeting to place the issue on the November general election ballot. The council has not discussed details of the proposed street maintenance fund. But the consensus of the aldermen and mayor appears to be that revenue needs to be generated in some way and set aside to use for upgrading city streets. The current city tax rate is 5 mills. If a 5-mill tax increase is approved, it would raise the Pea Ridge tax millage back to the level of two years ago when a 5-mill tax was dropped.
The Pea Ridge City Council at its monthly meeting Thursday night at City Hall approved a final plat for development of the Country Acres II subdivision. The plat includes plans for a new street with curb and gutter, running north off of Lee Town Road, east of Davis Street. The subdivision, developed by Franklin Miller and Bill Smith, will adjoin Country Acres I on the east side of Davis Street.
30 Years Ago The TIMES of Northeast Benton County Vol. 23 No. 24 Thursday, June 16, 1988
The Pea Ridge School Board approved a minimum funding plan designed to provide for a spring sports program in the district next year. The budget for the three sports — baseball, track and cross country — totals $2,650. The School Board voted in April to suspend the spring sports program for financial reasons. A group of parents met with the board last month and then again last week with superintendent Bill Alvarez in a successful effort to salvage the program. Money to support the program, however, will not come from school funds, but rather from money raised in the community. Alvarez said that the money must be deposited to the Pea Ridge School District activity fund by Feb. 1.
Pea Ridge School District superintendent Bill Alvarez resigned Monday night effective the end of June. The superintendent informed board members of his decision during a closed door session at Monday night’s board meeting. The board reconvened in a public session about 10 p.m. at which time Alvarez made his decision known publicly. Alvarez said that even though his resignation will be effective on June 30, he is willing to stay on for a while on a consulting basis until the board has time to hire a replacement.
The sidewalk along Curtis Avenue extends from downtown to just south of the First Baptist Church. It’s almost as if somebody decided long ago that’s as far as anyone need walk — safely, that is. Mayor Mary Rogers said that to the best of her recollection, nobody has ever come forward with a suggestion to extend the sidewalk, much less to suggest an engineering study to see what would be involved and at what cost. Former Pea Ridge Graphic editor Billie Jines said that she could not recall the questions ever being raised before. Both agreed that traffic does pose a certain amount of danger to pedestrians walking along the shoulder. The extension of the sidewalk on Curtis Avenue could be a beginning to a solution of that problem.
20 Years Ago The TIMES of Northeast Benton County Vol. 33 No. 24 Thursday, June 18, 1998
Pea Ridge Elementary School principal Kim Glass told the Pea Ridge School Board Monday night, “We do not want to force the core curriculum on anyone. The objective is to align our curriculum and provide richer literature for our students.” A few of the board members expressed their concerns over the core curriculum that the elementary school is trying to implement. Glass estimated approximately nine schools are testing the curriculum. She said that one school had been using it for five years and had seen an increase in test scores.
The Pea Ridge varsity cheerleaders competed at the National Cheerleaders Association camp in Cassville, Mo., June 1-3. The squad received five superior ribbons and one excellent ribbon for the following awards: stunt award for excellent skills; stunt smart award for excellent skill in spotting, safety in stunting techniques; nominated for the Top Team Finalist for exemplifying superior technical and crow involvement skills; Herky Trophy, a crystal pyramid, for the most teamwork and leadership shown throughout the week of all the squads at the camp; Spirit Megaphone award is given to the squad that shows the most spirit throughout the whole camp and is voted on by all the other squads. All members of the squad received superior ribbons and were nominated and received a bid to perform in Dallas at the NCA Championships as an All-Star Squad.
10 Years Ago The TIMES of Northeast Benton County Vol. 43 No.24 Wednesday, June 18, 2008
In the past 30 years, Judy Wilkerson has seen the children and then grandchildren of those first students with whom she worked pass through the halls of Pea Ridge Elementary. Wilkerson has been the district secretary since 1978 and is proud of the school and the students. When Wilkerson’s youngest son, Greg, started kindergarten, there were two kindergarten classes. This past year, there were six. She attended all 12 grades in the old building which stood on the downtown campus. Now, there are three buildings on two campuses with another building to be constructed this next year. During retirement, she plans to travel and have knee surgery, as well as being involved with her extended family.
Junior Blackhawk quarterback Kip Kelly has been named a finalist for the 2008 Arkansas Top Gun Challenge to be held July 10 in Springdale. Kelly is among 20 of what are considered the elite quarterbacks across the state. The competition is being held in eight other states besides Arkansas, with the winners of each state qualified for a spot in the National Top Gun Challenge to be contested July 25-26 in Tulsa, Okla.
The Pea Ridge Fire Department will be doing hydraulic testing on the water lines in town over the next few weeks, said Fire Chief Frank Rizzio. “Typically that stirs up the sediment that is in the lines,” Rizzio said. Residents may notice muddy-looking water from their faucets and in their toilets. The water is not contaminated, but simply discolored from elements that have been undisturbed in the lines.