Other Days: December 31, 2024

10 YEARS AGO JANUARY 7, 2015 After delivering several gloomy forecasts throughout the year that county general could finish 2014 with a negative balance, County Treasurer Jack Hopson told the Cleveland County Quorum Court Monday night that strong tax collections helped the county finish with more than $48,000 in the bank. Hopson and County Judge Gary Spears warned the Quorum Court last summer that a decrease in state turnback money and lower sales tax collections could leave county general with a negative balance at the end of 2014. Even as recently as November, Hopson said it was still in question whether county general would finish the year in the black.Rison Shine Downtown Development will begin developing a new strategy to continue its revitalization of downtown Rison and the surrounding area with the first meeting of the new year for the organization to be held this Friday afternoon.The Rison City Council unanimously approved a rezoning proposal Tuesday night that could be the first step toward possibly landing a new plant at the city's industrial site on Highway 79 north of town, on the east side of the highway across from the treated materials facility. Mayor Vernon Dollar informed the council during its regular monthly meeting Monday night that he had been in discussions with a Pine Bluff pallet company about the possibility of building a new pallet-making operation at the vacant 40-acre site.The Cleveland County Quorum Court approved a motion Monday night to move their meetings back to the secondfloor courtroom of the courthouse. The court voted last year to move their meetings to the Veterans Building across the street. That move was prompted by better lighting and acoustics in the new Veterans Building. Over the summer, however, the county received a grant to revamp all the lighting in the courthouse, and with the improvements the JPs decided to move the meetings back to the courtroom.20 YEARS AGO JA...