Other Days: Jan. 10, 2024

10 YEARS AGO JANUARY 8, 2014 In an effort to keep the solid waste budget afloat, the Cleveland County Quorum Court voted Monday night to raise trash bills from $15.73 to $19.10 per month effective with the next billing cycle. In addition, the court also approved a motion Monday night to ask voters for a 2-cent sales tax this spring that would be dedicated solely to solid waste and would eliminate the need for trash bills altogether. Cleveland County is currently in the second year of a 10year contract with Get Rid of It, Inc., for door-to-door pickup of trash. In a related matter, Judge Gary Spears told the court that he has not formally signed the contract yet with the trash disposal company. Spears said he will not sign the contract until a dispute concerning the number of households being served through the contract can be resolved. He explained that Get Rid of It claims it is providing door-to-door trash pickup for 2,716 households in the county, while the county has bills going out to a little more than 2,500 customers. Union Pacific Railroad officials, for a second time, asked City of Rison officials about closing the Maple Street railroad crossing, but the town council rejected the idea, and the company is now expected to put in new signals with crossing arms at the location in the extreme southwest edge of town. The city has received a lot of public feedback, particularly from those living in that particular area, in opposition to the proposal to close the crossing. The approach to the rail crossing is very steep and considered dangerous, and has been the scene of some accidents, one that included a double fatality when a car was struck by a freight train. Mayor Vernon Dollar reported that the City of Rison has been awarded a $24,000 grant through Arkansas Rural Development to build a basketball court at Powell Park in the Lanwood area of the north part of town. In another matter, the city will now pay each volunteer firefighter with the Rison Fire…