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Cleveland County Judge Jimmy Dale Adair of the Rye community passed away Friday, Jan. 2, at Baptist Hospital in Little Rock. Previously serving as the foreman of the Cleveland County Road Department, Adair was appointed as county judge in September 2025 to fill the unexpired term of the late County Judge Jimmy Cummings, who died while serving in office in August 2025. Adair’s term was set to expire on Dec. 31, 2026. He is the third Cleveland County Judge in the past five years to die while serving in office. Long-time County Judge Gary Spears passed away in January 2021 followed by Cummings in August 2025.