Monticello Live

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Last Thursday night, local citizens, serving as committee members interested in rebuilding the Sadie Johnson Community Center met with ETC engineers and Mayor Allen Maxwell, and approved the preliminary drawings of the new structure to be built at Jordan Park on the site of the old building which was destroyed by fire last year.

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John Wayne & April Ross

Dwight, Sherri, Callie, and Justin Witcher

The Drew County Fair Board voted at their last meeting to recognize 2 local families, both well known for their decades of farming traditions, and both longtime supporters of the Drew County Fair, as the “2011 Drew County Fair Farm Families of the Year.”

John Wayne and April Ross, of Florence, and Dwight and Sherri Witcher and family, of Selma, were honored for their lifelong dedication to farming, and to the Drew County farming tradition.

Both families will serve as Parade Marshalls for the 2011 Drew County Fair Parade.

Around 7 o’clock, Saturday morning, Monticello Police received a phone call reporting a break-in at Western Sizzlin’ restaurant.

This was the 2nd burglary at the restaurant this week, after the one discovered Monday morning.

Monticello Police are investigating the crime, and encourage anyone who may have seen a suspicious vehicle or person to call them at 367-

This photo of Lake Monticello at sunset  was submitted by a MonticelloLive.com reader.

Thank you for sharing that sunset with the rest of us.

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Vandalism has taken place in our local Monticello parks again over recent weeks, as shown by the photos above.

The top left shows (inside of the circles) where a loud speaker was taken from the ball field at Jordan Park. City workers discovered the speaker missing Monday morning when they arrived at work.

The top center pic shows where the “men” and “women” signs were removed from the new restrooms at McCloy Park, last week.

The bottom row of photos show where the pavilion at Lake Monticello’s table were “re-arranged” with litter scattered around the receptacles on both ends of the lake earlier this month.

Between the closing times of Western Sizzlin’ and Pizza Hut and when employees arrived at work Monday morning vandals forcefully entered both local restaurants in apparent efforts to get money.

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Around 1:18, Friday afternoon, several 911 calls came into Monticello Dispatch, reporting the drowning of a 17 year old male, from Missouri, in Lake Monticello’s south end, near the boat ramp.

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Several Monticello area musicians have been making “Music News” lately.

CashboX, recently featured on the cover of Cashbox Magazine, were featured KATV Channel 7’s “Good Morning Arkansas” program, Friday.

Also, “Roots Country” True County Music Chart, based on internet radio airplay, includes Monticello’s Brison Reed at #10, and Shay Hood at both #14 and #20, with her 2 latest releases.

Around 5:30, Friday morning, a Drew County Sheriff’s deputy and SEEMS ambulance responded to a home on HWY 83 North, in response to the report of a man accidentally shooting himself in the shoulder with a rifle.

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District Judge Ken Harper was on the meeting’s agenda to speak to the City Council Thursday night about the recent incident involving the MEDC and the courthouse doors, which led to an alleged incident between MEDC executive director Nita McDaniel and Harper.

MEDC president Benny Ryburn asked for a few minutes to speak about the incident. Ryburn said McDaniel and judge Teresa French had agreed on how to handle the door situation.

“I think everything has been blown out of proportion,” he said. “Mrs. McDaniel nor the MEDC have been in the wrong. She consulted with judge Teresa French, they came up with a solution to the problem of overcrowding at the front of the building. (more…)

Robert Jackson, of North Bailey St., was arrested by Monticello Police, Thursday evening around 10 pm, and charged with DWI 5, driving with a suspended license, and fleeing.

Jackson was seen by a police officer, whom he refused to stop for, until he’d made several turns, and driven across a yard to get to his residence, as he allegedly made several turns without a signal and ignored a couple of stop signs.

Judge Bynum Gibson set Jackson’s bond at $20,000

On May 27, 2011, Monticello lawyer C. C. “Cliff” Gibson, III, was appointed by Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe as a Special Associate Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court regarding a case in which Supreme Court Justice Don Corbin recused.

This is Gibson’s fourth time to serve as a Special Justice on the Supreme Court. He is a senior partner in the Gibson & Keith law firm in Monticello, and also serves as County Attorney for Drew County. Gibson has also been active in state and local community affairs by serving over 10 years on the governing board of Legal Services of Arkansas, and as a director and president of both the Monticello-Drew County Chamber of Commerce and the Monticello Economic Development Commission.

A past recipient of the Distinguished Service Award of the City of Monticello, Gibson is also a 32nd degree Mason and has twice served as Master of Eureka Lodge No. 40 in Monticello. He and his wife Lisa are members of the First United Methodist Church in Monticello, and their children are Joy O’Neil Sills and C.C. “Chad” Gibson, IV.

According to reports from the Arkansas State Police, the reason for the May 19 crash of a log truck, where the driver was air-lifted from the site near Enon Baptist Church, was that the log truck first collided with a utility trailer that came loose from a passing vehicle, causing the driver to lose control.

After hitting the utility trailer, the loaded big rig swerved right, then left (into a bridge railing), across a deep ditch, into a line of trees, where the tractor-trailer came to a stop. with the load of logs crushing the cab.

According to Prosecuting Attorney Thomas Deen, Jimmy Shrum stated that he initially did not realize that he had lost his trailer.  He did go to the sheriff’s office and ultimately did return to the scene of the accident to provide the needed information.   Based on that information, the state declines to pursue felony prosecution. The misdemeanor charge filed in district court remains (more…)