Save the dates, 5 p.m. June 13 and 7:30 a.m. June 14, for this special American Legion presentation of the Flag and observation of Flag Day.
Harrison is listed as one of the eight best towns for retirees. YEA!!!
https://www.worldatlas.com/cities/8-best-towns-in-arkansas-for-retirees.html
It's World Bicycle Day! Go for a bike ride. Have you used the bike trail adjacent to Crooked Creek and soccer fields?
Make plans to learn more about poison hemlock at this event sponsored by the Boone County Conservation District.
Nationally known public speaker, Paul Butler, is speaking at the Leadership Summit for law enforcement and emergency personnel at Creekside Community Center.
Everyone is invited to the Ribbon-Cutting for the new outdoor Pickleball Courts on Tuesday, June 3, at 1:30 p.m.
The Water Department will be closed today (Friday, May 30) for employee training from 11:30-1 :30 p.m. Thank you for your kind understanding!
There's still time to get an excellent deal on a three-month family membership at Creekside Community Center.
Planning Commission hears about new terminal
The director of Boone County Regional Airport, Judy McCutcheon, and Engineer Greg Thomas from Garver Engineering met with the Planning Commission about the proposed new $7 million terminal.
The commission's chair, Pat Brown, said, “With the new law recently passed, city planning commissions have no say over county buildings, but we appreciate the airport still wanting to keep us in the loop.”
McCutcheon said, “We want to build this building right, and if you have any suggestions or see problems, we want to know about them.”
Brown asked about security.
“We do have an area that can be sectioned off for TSA if needed in the future. But as long as we only have nine-passenger planes, we don’t have to send passengers through TSA.” she said.
“We are restricted to only 18 round-trips each week, because we are subsidized,” McCutcheon.
Brown asked if the discussion in Washington about eliminating the EAS (Essential Air Service) would affect the airport.
She admitted it would destroy the airport. We would only have the FBO (Fixed Base Operator) and the Rental Car business. But even those two businesses would be affected if we didn’t have an airline to purchase fuel and bring people in.”
She asked people to speak to their representatives about this issue. “But from what I'm hearing, they want to support the president.”
“But there are two statements about EAS in the news that are both false. The first one is that planes are flying only half full. That’s not true. And the second is that EAS is funded by taxpayers. That is definitely false. EAS is funded by international flights in US Airspace. There are no tax dollars involved at all.
Trying to decide what is best for your family this summer?
Fire Department opens Station Two
The Harrison Fire Department is excited about moving into the new downtown station. Two firefighters were on duty in the building on Wednesday night, May 28.
Fire Station 3 brought over one of their trucks to test out the space and help move equipment into the building. Chief Marc Lowery said, “No worries. We’ll get Station 2’s truck in here soon.”
Lowery said they would keep Engine 2 and Rescue 2 at the new location because the station is closer to the Buffalo River than others. Rescue 2 is frequently used in high-angle water rescues and for stranded or injured hikers.
The new station can accommodate four firefighters at a time, with three lockers in each room for the department's three shifts.
“We only plan to have a two-man station here right now, but wanted to leave room to grow,” Lowery said. “It all depends upon the need on this side of town.”
The overall site turned out very well. Some had doubts about a station fitting on a piece of land next to Creekside.
“Some also had concerns about pulling a fire truck out of the station and turning onto Pine Street,” Lowery said. “But we tried it and it works just fine.”
There’s even room for the shift guys to park their vehicles.
“I like the glass doors, too. They look so nice. At night, it will be all lit up. Eventually, we will have our sign up. But that was the first thing to be cut out of the budget when needed,” he said.
Bridge Construction after a very wet Memorial Day weekend. Central and Main construction.
Here are some bridge construction photos taken on Friday, May 24.
Don't forget Thursday is the Red Cross Blood Drive at City Hall.
Water Tower hit by lightning
The Skyline Water Tower was hit by lightning early Sunday morning, May 25. In spite of all the protection built into the system, the lightning caused major damage to its electronic components. Emergency alarms notified the staff, and they have been working on the problem since Sunday morning.
Many water customers noticed a drop in water pressure. Now, all systems are being controlled without the aid of the computerized equipment that connects all the towers and tells them when water levels drop.
Harrison Public Works staff members Harley Sisco and Nathan Case appreciated Don Crawford's help from the Carroll Boone Water Association. Don said, “I’m glad to help out.”
The workers explained, “Lightning fried a lot of parts. These controls operate tank levels, and each tank has an antenna that pings to this one to let us know what is going on with water usage at each tank. But because this equipment was fried, we are having to operate each tank the “old school” way, by hand. We are manually telling the tanks to fill as needed.”
“There is a built-in lightning arrester with an attached fuse. If lightning hits the equipment, it should blow the fuse, but it didn’t.”
“We have to manually check the gauges and calculate the tank's footage level. It had gotten slightly lower than needed, so the lower water pressure was noticed.”
Customers shouldn’t have any more water pressure problems at this time.
Please watch for rising waters. "Turn Around, Don't Drown" protects you, your family, and emergency personnel.
LRS will pick up trash and recycling as scheduled, even though Monday is Memorial Day. Thank you, LRS. Service days will not be changed.
LRS will pick up trash and recycling as scheduled, even though Monday is Memorial Day. Thank you, LRS. Service days will not be changed.
Don't forget. All city offices will be closed on Monday, May 26 to observe Memorial Day. Thank you to the many families who have made sacrifices for our freedoms.
International Existing Building Code presented
Fire Chief Marc Lowery presented his report to the City Council on Thursday, May 22. He reported that the new fire station could be moved into as early as next week.
“We are having a final walk-through with the architect on Friday (May 23), and hopefully we can move in next week.”
“The Dollar General on Pine Street and the Baxter Health Facility completed all their inspections in May. We are also finished with Bryan Properties, so that’s good,” he said.
“I’ve also included a proposed ordinance to update the city's Fire Prevention Code. I tried to highlight the changes in the 15 pages. One of the bigger things we want you to be aware of is the International Existing Building Code. This code gives us options for existing buildings around the city or older buildings downtown. If you have to apply the strict building codes to older buildings, it’s difficult. We’ve updated and clarified our previous code. I’d like you to read this and bring it up again at the Council meeting,” Lowery said.
