RISON - The section of U.S. Hwy. 79 that runs through Cleveland County could soon be recognized as the Johnny Cash Heritage Highway after the Cleveland County Quorum Court and Rison City Council unanimously approved a resolution supporting the move this week.Meanwhile, Wayne Cash announced that a dedication ceremony for renaming the Kingsland Post Office after native son Johnny Cash will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 17, at a location in Kingsland still to be determined.Former President Joe Biden signed legislation in January to rename the Kingsland Post to the Kingsland “Johnny Cash” Library. Both houses of Congress had to approve the legislation renaming the post office before it went to the president.Johnny Cash was born in the Cross Roads community about three miles north of Kingsland on Feb. 26, 1932.Cleveland County Judge Jimmy Cummings presented the resolution to the quorum court during its regular monthly meeting Monday night. It was approved by a 7-0 vote. Justices of the Peace Donnie Herring and Melody Spears were not at the meeting.Meanwhile, Rison Mayor Charles Roberts presented the same resolution to ths city council Tuesday night and it was also approved.According to the resolution, the portion of Hwy. 79 between the Jefferson and Dallas County lines would carry the designation as the Johnny Cash Heritage Highway. There is a Johnny Cash Highway in his boyhood home of Dyess in northeast Arkansas.The resolution detailed Johnny Cash’s connections to Cleveland County as well as the highway’s connection to the legendary artist’s heritage to the area. Hwy. 79 runs past a field where his dad, Ray Cash, once raised cotton, while the old the Cotton Belt Railroad runs parallels to the highway through much of the county. Cash wrote a song called “Ridin’ on the Cotton Belt” that tells about his father catching a freight train at Brinkley and riding it back to Cleveland County.Cummings sai...
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