Town Hall meeting attracts large crowd

A crowd of around 60 interested individuals attended last Tuesday's Town Hall meeting in Piggott, representing a variety of private and professional interests. (Times photo/Tim Blair) [Click to enlarge]

A group of around 60 local residents, elected officials and representatives of various agencies gathered Tuesday night, Dec. 30, for a "town hall" style meeting in Piggott. The meeting, hosted by the city and the Piggott Economic Development Commission, offered an opportunity for a free exchange of ideas on the future of the local economy and a chance to ask questions of local lawmakers and a representative of Gov. Mike Beebe.

EDC chairman Van Winton opened the meeting and served as moderator for the event. Among those taking part were Piggott Mayor Gerald Morris, State Senator Robert Thompson of Paragould, State Representative Mike Patterson of Piggott and John Moran, liason for Gov. Beebe.

Thompson and Patterson each offered an update on legislative efforts and asked those in attendance their feelings on several matters that will be put to a vote in the coming session. Thompson also told the group he is concerned about the funding for the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Education Center, adding that losing that funding is a very real possibility for ASU in the coming legislative session. (see related story this page)

Patterson also gave an update on issues to be considered by the legislature and asked the assembled group their feelings on Gov. Beebe's plan to cut another penny from the state sales tax on groceries. Patterson noted the cut would mean a drop of about $30 million in revenue for the coming year. The consensus of the group was that they would rather see more money in the state coffers than to see another cut in the tax on groceries.

Thompson echoed the sentiment, adding that he will take a hard look at the budget for the coming two years before voting to further cut the grocery tax. Later in the discussion he commented that Piggott Community Hospital is a "wonderful asset" to the area and said the region is lucky to have the facility.

Mayor Morris offered his thanks to the lawmakers and other officials for attending the meeting and reviewed some of the efforts made in the last year. He also noted the local sales tax numbers have remained steady despite the weak economy, but said state turnback monies are down.

Those in attendance discussed a variety of ideas for stimulating the local economy, including reviving the Boydsville Lake Project, construction of a vocational training facility, improving roads and highways into the Piggott area, and applying for a variety of block grants to help fund development and improvements.

The idea of trying to seek a state or federal prison for the Piggott area also was reviewed, though state officials indicated there is no funding currently available to build new prisons. The idea of trying to get a prison built in the county, which has been promoted by Judge Gary Howell, met with some resistance, and only about a third of those in attendance indicated they would want a prison built in the county.

Moran, Beebe's liason for city, county and local, gave an update on the U.S. 67 construction effort and reported the next section of the divided highway should open in the coming months. He added the section from the north edge of Newport to Walnut Ridge now is being cleared and that bids are being let on the section from that location to near Pocahontas.

Mortan said Arkansas has not been affected by the economic downturn as much as other states. According to figures released by the state, Arkansas has seen an increase of 30,000 new jobs in the last two years and about 14,000 have been in the manufacturing sector.

Jacinda Welch of Rector gave a report on that city's new training facility and noted she would like to see similar facilities in Piggott and Corning. The program, which is operated through Black River Technical College, offers a variety of classes and training to assure the local workforce is prepared to fill job vacancies when they become available.

Although no clear-cut plans for economic development were formulated at the meeting, the gathering did offer a good basis for future discussions as those efforts continue. The officials on hand also encouraged local residents to make their feelings known to lawmakers and other elected officials on the grocery tax, economic development and other items of interest to Clay County and the Piggott area.