Other Days: Jan. 17, 2024

10 YEARS AGO JANUARY 15, 2014 Cleveland County Judge Gary Spears said he has reached out to Rison Mayor Vernon Dollar about having the City of Rison participate in a proposed 2-cent sales tax that would eliminate the need for trash bills. Cleveland County and the City of Rison each have their own solid waste contracts. Cleveland County's contract also includes the City of Kingsland. Currently, the county is in the second year of a 10-year contract with Get Rid of It of Arkansas, while Rison is in a contract with Waste Management. Rison residents are currently paying about $13 per month for trash pickup, while the monthly bills for the county and City of Kingsland were recently raised to $19.10 per month. The board of the Cleveland County School District voted to give Superintendent Johnnie Johnson permission to petition the Arkansas Department of Education to move Kingsland sixth graders to Rison Middle School next year. The Arkansas Department of Rural Services presented $37,500 to three different entities within Cleveland County Tuesday morning. The City of Rison received a $24,000 grant to help build a new basketball court at Powell Park in the north part of town; the Cleveland County Fair Board received $7,500 to insulate the ceiling in the exhibition building; and the City of Kingsland received $6,000 to help make improvements to the Kingsland City Hall complex. March 25 is the date that has been set for the official completion of the new music room and art room/computer lab additions to the Woodlawn School campus. Hagan Wilson of Rison won the Cleveland County Spelling Bee and will represent the county at the State Spelling Bee this spring. This year's flu season is causing severe illness and death in adults between the ages of 25 and 50, the Arkansas Department of Health warned this week. In Cleveland County there have been reports of the flu, but statistics on the exact number of cases were unavailable. 20 YEARS AGO JANUARY 21, 2004 Despite approving…