Other Days: August 9, 2023

10 YEARS AGO AUGUST 7, 2013 Due to budget cuts, Cleveland County will only be able to improve about half as much county roadway this year as it did last year. Judge Gary Spears said the county will be able to 'chip and seal' only about three miles of county roads due to budget cuts. Spears reported that the reduction is a direct result of having to cut $145,000 out of the road budget for 2013. The Rison City Council endorsed an idea Tuesday night of formally looking into the possibility of tearing down the old Phoenix Hotel building on the east side of Main Street in downtown Rison. The building, which is a century old, has fallen into disrepair in recent years, with most of the roof and second floor having collapsed onto the first floor of the structure in the first block of Main Street. The building is owned by the estate of the late Danny Powell, who last used the structure as a florist and gift shop. The city recently razed the old Ackerman building, just south of the Phoenix, when bricks from the structure at the corner of Second and Main began falling onto the sidewalk. Arkansas Fourth District Congressman Tom Cotton of Dardanelle announced Tuesday his candidacy for U.S. Senate. Cotton's congressional district includes Cleveland County and much of southern Arkansas. He is serving in his first term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Cotton is the only Republican to have announced his candidacy for the seat currently held by Senator Mark Pryor, a Democrat, who is seeking re-election. The Rison City Council decided to table a recommendation by Mayor Vernon Dollar to raise the deposit fee for residents wishing to connect to the city's water system. The mayor asked the council to consider raising the water deposit from $100 to $150 for homeowners and from $100 to $200 for renters. Dollar stated that the fee hike is needed to combat the unpaid bills the city has endured over the past few years. The Woodlawn Bears ...