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Vol. 156, No. 226©2010 The Daily Citizen

“ ”Dream no small dreams forthey have no power to move

the hearts of men.JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE

German poet, 1749-1832

Contact us: 3000 E. Race, Searcy, AR 72143, (Phone) 501-268-8621, (Fax) 501-268-6277

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2010 50¢

OFFICIALS: CIA RUNS ELITE AFGHAN FORCECurrent and former U.S. officials say the CIA has anAfghan force to hunt al-Qaida and the Taliban.— PAGE 2A

Serving Searcy and White County, Ark., since 1854 www.thedailycitizen.com

BADGERS LOOKING FOR FIRST WINThe Beebe football team begins conferenceplay Friday night against Paragould. — PAGE 1B

Company pauses services

$12.3M bid accepted forwater plant remodel

Kensett citycouncil violatesSunshine Law

NATION & STATE, 2AOPINIONS, 4A LIFESTYLES, 5ACALENDAR/OBITUARIES, 6ASPORTS, 1B CLASSIFIEDS, 5B

I N D E X

Eric Meharg, left, inspects a fire hydrant with Casey Howell, right. The Searcy Fire Department is flow-test-ing hydrants in town through Sept. 30. Citizens should let their water run for a few minutes to ensure it isclear before cooking or washing clothes, officials said. These tests are conducted from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.Luke Jones/ljones@thedailycitizen.com

Searcy Fire Department testing hydrants

By Warren Watkinswarren@thedailycitizen.com

A local company connected to natu-ral gas development in the FayettevilleShale Play has announced a change inoperations.

Fred Toney, President of BakerHughes Pressure Pumping Services,formerly BJ Services, said the com-

pany had “paused” fracing services outof its Searcy facility, located on SouthMain Street. Fracing is the process offracturing gas wells after drilling tostimulate gas production.

“We are temporarily not doing frac

services out of Searcy,” Toney said.“We’ve taken some of those frac unitsup to other areas and we’re keepingall the people. Everybody still has ajob. We’re moving some of the BakerServices lines in there.”

Baker Hughes has worked forChesapeake Energy, Petrohawk,Southwest Energy and other operatorsin the U.S., Toney said. Chesapeakehas drilled most of the 629 producingwells in White County.

Official: 130 personneloffered transfer chances

KENSETT CITY COUNCILIn brief: The city council apparently violated the state freedomof information law in their regular monthly meeting Tuesdayby barring the public from part of its discussion of public busi-ness.Next meeting: 7 p.m. Oct. 18Location: 101 NE First Street

OPERATION CHANGECompany: Baker Hughes PressurePumping ServicesFormer name: BJ ServicesAnnouncement: Fracing servicesmoved from Searcy

By Erica SirrattSpecial to The Daily Citizen

KENSETT — The citycouncil apparently violatedthe state freedom of infor-mation law in their regularmonthly meeting Tuesday bybarring the public from partof its discussion of publicbusiness.

At the close of the meet-ing, the council went intoexecutive session and afterthe council was back in ses-sion Mayor Max McDonaldsaid that the during theexecutive session the councilhad considered the pay scalefor police officers and theprocedures for hiring. Thecouncil then publicly votedand approved the measuresdiscussed in executive ses-sion.

The Arkansas Freedomof Information Act, oftencalled the “Sunshine Law,”makes it illegal for electedofficials to discuss publicbusiness behind closed doorsexcept when consideringspecific employees or lists ofemployees. A 1977 decisionby the Arkansas SupremeCourt indicated some leewayin allowing closed-door dis-

cussion of policies if theycame up during discussion ofspecific employees.

In other business, sealedbids for street repairs andthe renovating of the munici-pal courtroom were readand discussed. One bid wasreceived by Cox Paving torepair the streets for $83,204.The roads that will be fixedare East Searcy Street andNorrid Street, the intersec-tion of Cherry and Morrisstreets, Doniphan and Eaststreets and both sides of therailroad tracks at Searcy andDandridge streets.

According to the council,who approved the bid, thiswill take care of the worststreets.

One bid was received torenovate the courtroom for$68,204. The renovationswould include refinishing thefront of the room, puttingsheet rock on the walls, newcarpet, lowering the ceilingsand a new metal roof.

The city has $33,400 ingrant money to fix the court-room, but it will not coverall of the costs. The councildecided to table this bid untilthey could speak to Bill Mills,who owns the top story of thebuilding. Without knowing ifMills will assist in the cost,

Public forbidden tohear discussion ofpublic policies

By Warren Watkinswarren@thedailycitizen.com

A low bid has beenaccepted for a remodelingproject for the Searcy watertreatment plant, the facilitythat provides treated waterfrom Greer’s Ferry Lake viathe Little Red River to mostof White County.

The Searcy Board ofPublic Utilities accepted alow bid of $12.3 millionfrom Van Horn Constructionof Russellville at their regularmonthly meeting Tuesday.Five bids for up to $13.6million were submitted. RonPierce of Garver Engineerssaid Van Horn Constructionhas an “excellent” reputationin the industry and has satis-factorily completed work onpast Garver projects. The bidmust now receive the approv-al of the Arkansas NaturalResources Commission.

“It was a good low bidand we’re happy with thecontractor who was low bid-der,” Dawson said. “Now,

we just have to wade throughmore paperwork.”

Construction should beginbefore the end of the year andis slated to be finished by thesummer of 2012, Dawsonsaid.

In other business, accoun-tant David Spradlin present-ed the annual financial audit,which was approved unani-mously by the board.

Pierce discussed the buf-fer zone along the Little RedRiver, upstream and down-stream of the city’s weir onthe Little Red River. In theJuly meeting, a question hadbeen asked as to whetherthe board should considerstudying the buffer zone incase the Health Departmentrequired the board to pur-chase the property in futureupgrades to the weir or intakestructure. Pierce reported that

Judsonia Elementary School seeks supportive dadsBy Luke Jonesljones@thedailycitizen.com

A local school is searching forfathers of students to support theirchildren’s institution by helping out oncampus.

“It’s just awayofgetting thedadsoutand involved,” said Audrey Chandler, afifth-grade teacher at Southwest MiddleSchool who is heading up the event.

The program, called Watch DOGS(Dads Of Great Students), will kick offSept. 28 at 6 p.m. in the Riverview-

Judsonia Elementary School cafete-ria. All fathers are invited, as well asstepfathers, grandparents or friends ofstudents. They will be able to sign upfor various on-campus tasks.

Riverview-Judsonia has hosted theprogram for two years previously.

“The first year we had several dads,”said principal Lance Perry. “Last yearwe had not nearly as many, but thisyear we would like to have one to twodads per week during the school year.”

WATCH D.O.G.S.When: Sept. 28, 6 p.m.Where: Riverview-Judsonia ElementarySchool cafeteriaWho: All fathers, stepfathers, grand-parents or friends interested in sup-porting their school

Watch D.O.G.S. programlaunch party approaching

Study of bufferzone on Little RedRiver to begin

WATER PLANTREMODELCost: $12.3 millionConstruction to begin: Byend of yearConstruction to finish:Summer 2012

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Volunteer sign-up sheets willbe available for a variety ofjobs.“If they can come out on a

Tuesday from 12 to one, theycan help out with playgroundduties,” Chandler said. “Theycan help out with recess duty,making copies for teachers orvolunteering in PE. You’vegot to kind of tweak it wheredads want to come.”“You have to see what

their interests are,” she said.“There’s so much that momsare so involved with and dadsget overlooked or just don’twant to come.”At the party, students will

be able to write essays on thesubject, “My dad is impor-tant to me because...” The firstplace winner will receive a$25 Hastings gift card.“We’re hoping to get

good overall participation,”Chandler said. Ice cream will

also be served.“It gives the community a

chance to be involved, someextra eyes and an extra set ofears for the campus,” Perrysaid.Watch DOGS is a nation-

al program that began inJonesboro in 1998. Accordingto www.fathers.com, 1,659schools in 38 states and NewZealand participate in the pro-gram.

The Daily Citizen Thursday, September 23, 2010 • Page 3A

LOCAL

you never know where color will pop up

You’re InvitedThursday, Sept. 2310am – 5:30pm

Winter 2010 Colors & StylesLAUNCH PARTY

1627 E. Beebe Capps, Searcy • 501-268-2290Mon-Fri 10-5:30; • Sat 10-4:00

DrawingsDoor Prizes

RefreshmentsGift with Purchase

“We have contracts otherthan Chesapeake and thoseare going to be maintained,”Toney said. “We’re work-ing out of Searcy but we’renot basing all our equipmentthere. There are some otheroperators like Chesapeakecoming or like Petrohawkcoming in and we have rela-tionships with those opera-tors and will be working forthose guys when they showup. Nothing’s closed, we’rejust putting things on pause onthe frac side.”Toney said 130 Baker

Hughes employees at theSearcy facility were stayingin Searcy but that some maychoose to relocate.“We have had offered jobs

for them to transfer if they

would like to,” Toney said.“Everybody has a choice, andit’s up to the individuals.Adam Hart, developer of

a state-of-the-art flex facilitynear the entrance of theBaker-Hughes facility designed toattract gas-related subcontrac-tors, said he had no first-handknowledge of any decisionsmade by Baker Hughes.“The tenant we have in

our facility is not leaving andthey are happy where theyare because they work forNOMAC and other oil fieldgroups,” said Hart. “We’relooking at groups who arelooking to expand their opera-tions. The energy industry iscyclical and operations andservices groups tend to comeand go.”

the council wouldn’t vote onthe bid.After receiving a signed

petition from the HousingBoard and property owners onMills Street, the council votedto close Mills Street betweenBirch and Dogwood streets.This matter was brought uplastmonth butwas tabled untilthe council had heard from theHousing Board.Police Chief Jim Dwyer

asked the council to givepart-time police officer ErekBalentine a full-time positionas an officer.“He’s been an asset to the

police department.” Dwyersaid, “He’s made at least 25drug arrests and between fiveand seven DWI arrests.”Dwyeralsoasked thecoun-

cil to hire Jeremy Bennett,who has 650 hours of SWATtraining and over 100 hoursof hostage negotiation train-ing. He’s also worked on thedomestic violence unit and

worked with police officers inAfghanistan.The council voted to pro-

mote Balentine to full-timestatus and hire Bennett.Also authorized was the

purchase of a 2001 Ford truckfor $4,500 to serve as thenew Animal Control truck.The council also voted to pur-chase a dart gun for AnimalControl.Even though the coun-

cil has previously approvedlarge purchases such as this,McDonald said, “There’s notone piece of equipment thatwe don’t own the title to in thecity of Kensett.”McDonald said all of their

city trucks, large equipmentand the backhoe are complete-ly paid off.The next regular monthly

meeting of the Kensett CityCouncil will be 7 p.m. Oct.18. The council meets thethird Tuesday of the month at7 p.m. at 101 NE First St.

current Health DepartmentPolicy does not require thebuffer zone be purchased solong as the utility’s intakestructure remains at its cur-rent location; however, thispolicy could change. Aftersome discussion, the boarddecided to go ahead withthe study at the estimatedcost of $5,000-$10,000 toidentify the property andproperty owners along thebuffer zone.Utility manager Dan

Dawson received approvalfrom the board to allowGarver Engineers to studythe capacity of the HoneyHill Pump Station. Dawsonsaid the station takes waterfrom the four million gallontank on Fuller Lane and fillsthe Honey Hill tank on WestCountry Club Road whichserves the majority of thewest end of Searcy. The sta-tion is at maximum capacityduring the summer and hasrun 24 hours a day dur-ing much of this summer,Dawson said. Some surplusfunds from the water plantexpansion project could beused to upgrade the station,Dawson said.

Randy Zook, president and chief executive officer for the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, describedthe group’s legislative agenda Wednesday at an Economics Club luncheon sponsored by the Searcy RegionalChamber of Commerce. Also pictured at the event, held at Harding University, were, from left, former Searcychamber president Jim House, current Searcy chamber president Don Harlan and state chamber vice presidentKenny Hall. Warren Watkins/warren@thedailycitizen.com

Legislative agenda

Water: Bid acceptedCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A

The Baker Hughes facility on South Main in Searcy, is no longer headquarters forfracing services, according to company officials. The company was formerly BJServices and continues to use the BJ Services logo and name. Warren Watkins/war-ren@thedailycitizen.com

School: Dads soughtCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A

Fracing: Companymoves equipment out of countyCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A

Kensett: Law violatedCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A

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