The Blue Ribbon

KAIT-Jonesboro, AR-News, weather, sports, classifieds-Greene County "blue ...

PARAGOULD, AR (KAIT) – Leaders in Greene County have been working the past few months to develop a solution to resolve issues with the current jail located on Mockingbird Road.

According to Dave Tierney, a 7 member committee has been reviewing the Greene County Jail and analyzing reports by the Arkansas Jail Standard's Committee. Tierney said the group, named the Greene County Blue Ribbon Jail Committee, has been looking at different jail systems to determine the future of the one in Paragould.

"I see them soon taking a potential solution to the quorum court. We have sent a notice to proceed to a group of consultants to start a needs analysis," said Tierney, who said he was appointed by Greene County Judge Jerry Shipman to coordinate the committee's efforts. "Without a question it is probably the number one problem we have right now."

In March, Sheriff Dan Langston, Shipman and members of the quorum court received a letter from the Jail Standard's Committee, warning the county to make improvements to the jail or risk a lawsuit to shut down the facility. At that time, the committee mentioned overcrowding and jail staffing as two of the biggest deficiencies.

"On September 3rd, they will potentially file a lawsuit with the attorney general to shut our facility down and that's going to be a problem," said Tierney. "Building an addition on to what we have is a viable option but coming up with a functional solution that meets the needs for the county both today and for the future is what this committee's work is about."

Tierney said the committee he's been coordinating with has a few options on the table; however, he reminds committee members to keep the future growth of Greene County in their minds.

"The potential option as you know range anywhere from shutting the facility down to tearing down what we have and building a totally new facility and everything in between," said Tierney. "We would be doing the county a disservice if we planned for what we needed today and didn't think about the potential growth. What is the potential growth 20-years from now, 30 years from now or even 15 years from now? Where are we going to be?"

The jail at one point had a set of blueprints for a new possible jail, but no formal movement was made, according to Tierney.

For the past two months, Rusty McMillon has been serving on the committee. He told Region 8 News Monday he's visited the jail in Paragould, as well as the Dunklin County Detention Center in Kennett. He said if he decides to recommend a new jail, the set up should be similar.

Blue ribbon panel appointed, set to discuss protecting Norriego ...

With the continual erosion and congestion issues surrounding Norriego Point, city leaders have appointed members of the community to a blue ribbon panel in an attempt to garner input on ways to stabilize the ever-shrinking point.

“We need to find some long-term protection and armoring solutions for the point,” said Capt. Mike Eller of the Lady Em. “We want to do it in the most cost-efficient way possible, while still looking at long-term solutions.”

Eller is one of the eight locals that will make up the blue ribbon panel, which has 60 days to meet and discuss options for Norriego Point before reporting back to the city council. His counterparts are Capt. Kelly Windes, Capt. Steve Wilson, Legendary CEO Peter Bos, Jimmy Neilson, Guy Tadlock, and John Medina. There is still one vacancy on the panel.

For Eller, Norriego Point is one of the most critical pieces of infrastructure in the city for marine protection and the general health of the harbor as a whole. He said it’s critical to not only the fishing industry and boat operators, but also the city itself and local businesses.

“Everything is funneled into one tiny little stretch there,” he said. “The more Destin grows, the more some of these long-term issues need to be addressed. I want to help lend ideas and suggestions from the fisherman’s perspective.”

Capt. Steve Wilson of the Southern Star told The Log one of his main ideas was to widen and keep the entry and exit point of the harbor deep enough for navigational travel without concern that boats would scrape their bottoms.

“We should have easy entry and exit to the harbor,” he said.

He also wants to address the congestion aspect, which he says “is an accident waiting to happen.”

Peter Bos says the panel looks forward to the challenge of finding feasible solutions to protecting the point. He said given the constant state of erosion in the area, “we are in a very vulnerable time.”

“In my opinion, it’s more important than Mountain Drive, fixing boardwalks and such,” he said. The harbor is what sets Destin and Okaloosa County apart from everywhere else on the coast, and the most important thing we can do is protect the harbor and the point.

The Blue Ribbon, A Novel (1874)

The blue ribbon

The Blue Ribbon

The Blue Ribbon, what Thomas Edward Murphy has done for the promotion of personal temperance ; with some account of the work of his father, Francis Murphy, and of his brother, William J. Murphy

The blue ribbon