Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Top Headlines Of 2016
Many newspapers provide the Top 10 stories of the year in their area. The Enterprise-Leader covers three thriving cities, plus outlying smaller communities.
All of these communities have had their own top headlines for the year and what one may consider a top headline, someone else may not.
Following is a list of some of the top stories in 2016 for each community.
FARMINGTON One Dies In Gas Main Fire
One person died in an accident that occurred Dec. 16 when a vehicle struck a natural gas valve setting located above ground along the side of Main Street.
The vehicle was traveling west on Main Street about 4 p.m. when it hit a 45 mph sign and then hit the gas mechanism above the ground. The two-inch valve setting was connected to a fourinch high-pressure gas main. An explosion occurred almost on impact, igniting the vehicle and a duplex located at the corner of Kelly and Main streets.
Several f ire departments fought the natural gas fire throughout the night, protecting the area with continuous water streams going from all directions for more than eight hours.
Black Hills Energy worked for more than eight hours on solutions to turn off the natural gas. The company finally was able to turn off the gas by capping off the lines going into the damaged site. Gas company officials said its priority in dealing with the crisis was safety of everyone concerned and not to disrupt gas service to their customers.
Farmington Man Killed In Standoff
A Farmington man died June 24 following a standoff and an officer-involved shooting outside the suspect’s home at 133 Neal St. Randy Blecher, 50, was taken to Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville after the shooting and pronounced dead.
Farmington fire and police responded to a structure fire about 5 p. m. that day. When officers arrived, they encountered Blecher holding a pistol and a rifle. He fired toward the officers and officers called for backup.
A stand- off ensued between police and Blecher as the structure fire raged in the background. Reports indicated Blecher held a gun to his head multiple times and eventually through negotiations came out to the middle of the intersection. At 6:05 p.m., the suspect raised one of the weapons and pointed it toward sheriff ’s deputies. They fired multiple times, striking Blecher. The officers were found justified in their actions.
Record Sales Tax Collections
The city of Farmington collected a record amount of money from its local 1-cent sales tax in 2016. Records show that for the past 11 years, money from the city’s 1-cent sales tax has increased each year and has gone from $267,434 in 2006, to $653,189 in 2015 and to
$688,459 in 2016.
City officials attribute the increasing revenues to new businesses in town, people moving into the western part of Washington County and the convenience of getting into and out of businesses in Farmington.
Dairy Queen Opens
People lined up Aug. 29 to be the first ones into a new DQ Grill & Chill located at the corner of Double Springs Road and Main Street. The restaurant handed out coupons for 52 free Dairy Queen blizzards for the first 100 customers.
The restaurant is owned by Cheryl Zotti and Tom and Kendra Moore and initially opened with 73 employees. Store owners said they selected the corner along Main Street because of the amount of traffic along U.S. Highway 62.
Voters Approve Alcohol Sales
Voters in November overwhelmingly approved the local question of whether to allow the sale of alcohol in Farmington. By an almost 2-to-1 margin, results in the Nov. 8 general election show the local initiative passed: 1,852 (65.65 percent) to 969 (34.35 percent).
A local committee called Growth for Farmington spearheaded the campaign to get the alcohol question on the ballot. Members of this group included individuals and representatives of local businesses. In promoting the initiative, Growth for Farmington said a vote in favor of retail alcohol sales would keep more tax dollars in the community, provide more revenue for city services and create local jobs.
According to reports filed with the Arkansas Ethics Commission, Walmart of Bentonville was the biggest donor to Growth for Farmington. Walmart contributed more than $105,000 to the campaign.
School Construction Starts
Phase 2 of a new Farmington Career Academies high school kicked into high gear in 2016 when Farmington School Board opened bids for construction on March 17. Phase 2 is a 99,000-squarefoot building that provides academic space, commons area, media center and offices.
Crossland Construction of Rogers submitted a low bid of just under $13 million, a cost of about $130 per square foot. School officials were excited about the low bid because it was $2 million under the estimate given by the district’s architects, Hight Jackson Associates. Crossland’s bid gave a completion date of late November 2017. Now, the company is saying students may be able to move into the new building by the first day of school in August 2017.
Other Farmington stories of note:
Work began in 2016 to redesign Highway 170 from Main Street to Clyde Carnes Road; Williams and Folsom elementary schools were named top performing schools in the state and received cash awards for their performances on 2015 state tests; Farmington School District hired Soderquist Leadership of Siloam Springs to develop a strategic action plan for the district.
LINCOLN Harps To Build New Store
A new Harps Food Store in Lincoln will be 50 percent larger and have a fuel station and will be located on four acres on Pridemore Drive, west of Lincoln Post Office. Construction on the new store started in 2016 and it will open in spring or summer 2017. The new store will have 22,000 square feet, compared to 14,000 square feet in the current store.
Lincoln Refinances Bonds For Savings
Lincoln City Council in March approved an ordinance to refinance seven water and sewer debt obligations, saving the city almost $700,000 in interest costs over the next 28 years. It was the first refunding bond issue that the City Council had approved in many years.
The ordinance approved by the Council authorized the issuance and sale of water and sewer refunding revenue bonds for a principal amount of $5,755,000. Seven of the city’s outstanding water and sewer debts were consolidated into one bond issue. The average interest rate for the bonds over the life of the new issue will be 3.43 percent, according to officials.
City Offices Relocate
Most city of Lincoln offices are now under one roof in the main building located at 101 E. Bean St., on Lincoln Square. The new building is known as Lincoln City Municipal Offices. The city clerk’s office and District court and police clerk positions were moved from the former City Hall building to the main city facility on Bean Street. This facility now houses the water department, planning services, police department, police and court clerk and city clerk.
By placing most services under one roof, the city has been able to improve the efficiency of its departments, officials say.
School Receives $100,000 Grant
Lincoln High School received a $100,000 grant from United Way of Northwest Arkansas to help students get certified in certain skills and to help the school provide personalized learning opportunities for all students.
Lincoln’s grant is part of United Way’s First Step Funding initiative, a new focus to support programs that create pathways out of poverty for children. One of the reasons United Way selected Lincoln’s proposal was that it would meet a need in the community and would leverage partnerships the school already had in place, according to United Way officials.
The money will be used to implement new classes and hire additional staff to get the process started.
City, Pound Pals Work Together
A contract between the non-profit Lincoln Pound Pals and the city of Lincoln was signed in 2016, making it possible to meet a Pals’ goal of eliminating euthanasia at the city animal pound.
Board members first approached aldermen in March proposing a partnership between the two. In June, Lincoln City Council approved a resolution to authorize separate contracts with Washington County and Lincoln Pound Pals to help provide animal shelter services to the city. Lincoln Pound Pals has agreed to pay the difference between the city’s euthanasia and cremation costs and the fee charged by the county animal shelter.
Other stories of note:
Lincoln Bright Futures had another successful year helping almost 800 children; Lincoln Middle School’s chess team brought home the national team trophy from a national chess tournament, with student Chilong Vang winning all seven of his matches; Jill Jackson was named principal for Lincoln Elementary School.
PRAIRIE GROVE City Breaks Housing Record
The city of Prairie Grove broke its record in 2016 for the number of building permits issued for single family homes during a calendar year. Through the middle of December, Prairie Grove has issued 138 building permits for single family homes. The previous record was set 11 years ago in 2005, when the city issued 118 permits for single family homes.
According to building permit records, homes in Prairie Grove in 2016 have ranged from 1,250 square feet up to 4,000 square feet. Construction is estimated to have cost more than $9 million.
Wal-Mart Closes Store
After being open only 3 1/2 years, the Wal-Mart Prairie Grove store closed its doors Jan. 28. Wal-Mart announced its plans earlier in the month to close 269 stores, including the Wal-Mart Express stores in smaller communities in Northwest Arkansas.
City officials received prior notice of the closing and expressed disappoint- ment, wondering how the closings would affect their towns. In Prairie Grove’s case, sales tax revenues were slightly down during 2016 and some of that was attributed to Wal- Mart closing its Prairie Grove store.
In June, Harps Food Stores Inc., announced plans to acquire nine former Wal- Mart Express stores, including the closed store in Prairie Grove. The former store is now up for sale. Harps in 2016 completed a $1 million remodeling project at its Prairie Grove store on Buchanan Drive.
Parks Street Bridge Reopens
It took almost five years for the damaged Parks Street bridge in Prairie Grove to finally be replaced. The new bridge opened for traffic March 9. The bridge was severely damaged by floods in spring 2011 and remained open as a one-lane bridge after that.
The project to replace the bridge met many delays during the five years. Construction to finally replace the bridge started in October 2015 with a low bid of $575,000 from Crossland Heavy Constructors of Columbus, Kan. For the next five months, traffic had to take a six- mile detour around the closed bridge.
Teacher Fired For Furnishing Alcohol
Prairie Grove School Board in January voted to terminate the contract of former Prairie Grove High School teacher Melissa Stewart because of inap- propriate conduct. Stewart was cited in December 2015, for knowingly furnishing alcohol to a minor, a misdemeanor, after she admitted to Prairie Grove police that she purchased and provided alcohol to individuals that she knew to be under the age of 21.
According to the police report, the investigation into Stewart was initiated when a concerned parent called claiming that Stewart had engaged in drinking alcohol with minors at an apartment on West Thurman Street in Prairie Grove. In February, Stewart pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor knowingly furnishing alcohol to a minor and agreed to permanently relinquish her Arkansas teaching license.
City Accepts Water Bid
Prairie Grove City Council in October approved a low bid of $1.98 million from J.L. Bryson of Huntsville to rehab the city’s 41-year-old water treatment plant. The project will allow the city to treat water for many years in the future.
School Purchases Land For $1 Million
Prairie Grove School Board unanimously voted in September to purchase 61 acres for $1 million and approved a five-year loan for $800,000 to help pay for the property. The land is located at 730 Bush St., across from Prairie Grove High School, and will be available to the school district for future growth. The school will provide 20 percent of the purchase price and borrow 80 percent from Arvest Bank.
Other noteworthy stories:
Jessee Cox, former superintendent with Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park, resigned and Susan Adkins, coming from Lake Ouachita State Park, was named to take his place; Prairie Grove approved a new residential development geared for senior adults; around 12,000 people descended on Ogden Ranch for a Luke Bryan outdoor farm concert; Prairie Grove High School was approved as a conversion charter high school; the city of Prairie Grove held public hearings on ideas for a new city park.