RISON - An ordinance that would have funded a new position to assist the prosecutor’s office with filing paperwork for criminal cases in Cleveland and two other counties failed to come to vote during Monday night’s meeting of the Cleveland County Quorum Court.Ordinance 2025-7 received a motion for approval from Justice Charles Rodgers but died on the floor for the lack of a second.The ordinance would have appropriated $15,692.26 from the non-appropriated funds in the county general fund to pay the county’s share the salary for the new positions. The additional staff person was to handle the criminal case filings for Cleveland, Calhoun and Dallas counties, which are all part of the 13th Judicial District.The 13th Judicial District also includes Columbia, Ouachita and Union counties, but Cleveland, Calhoun and Dallas counties share a deputy prosecutor, Eric Marks of Texarkana, due to their low populations.In March, Marks asked the quorum court to consider funding a staff person to handle the criminal case paperwork. By doing so, he said it would expedite processing the cases through the court system for all three counties.Marks said the person they are considering for the job is already handling the public defender's office for all three counties from an office in Fordyce. He said that person would remain at Fordyce with the new position. Cleveland County Sheriff Jack Rodgers supports the idea, stating it would help lessen the load on deputies having to transport paperwork to Prosecutor Jeffrey Rogers' office in El Dorado. Rogers' office handles all the cases throughout the 13th Judicial District.However, the proposal has met opposition since it was first introduced by Marks in February. That opposition is basically for two reasons: some feel the county should not be funding a position for a state-funded office, and some complained the salary being offered for the new position is greater than what current Cleveland Co...
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