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THE TAILGATE NEWS, southernarkansastailgatenews.com *JULY 24, 2020 8 within 10 days for $125,000 or less and even though we need to find a permanent solution to this prob- lem, right now we need the sand out of there because it is a threat to Prescott’s water supply.” Nelson said Prescott Water Department does not have the 50- foot boom necessary to do the job so the city will need to hire it done. “The sand and silt will come back,” Nelson said. “But we have to get what is there out to keep having water in Prescott. We will be looking for a more permanent solution and hope to find one soon.” Nelson said a permanent fix may involve putting a similar pipe at a different spot in the river. After presenting the problem, Nelson asked the City Council to approve $100,000 to spend on cleaning the sand out of the existing pipe from the depreciation fund, “which I am hoping will do the trick for now.” Nelson said a pond water sup- ply in between Prescott and the Little Missouri would keep the city residents going about a month in an emergency but the water supply to Prescott would be at risk after that if the sand were not cleared away from the river pipe. The council agreed to the $100,000 request so Prescott will not risk losing its main water supply. $3 MILLION PROJECT Nelson said he is pleased to announce a lot of progress on con- necting 34,500 feet of 16-inch pip- ing from the Little Missouri River to Prescott to Firestone. “We are replacing iron pipe that has been there since 1964 and it is worn out,” Nelson said. “This is a $3 million project.” Nelson said his crew just did a $250,000 project and had a big break in the work, which is why they were able to work on the $3 million project. He said it got start- ed in January of 2019. Nelson said there was a leak under a creek and that fixing job was able to be included in the larg- er project. “While that project was going on, we had another mishap and a geyser,” he said. “In February of 2019, we put a new line under the creek, that is belt line, not PVC.” Then in March, the crew did lines at the Prescott Golf Course, both blue pipe and white pipe. Then that was used as support for the 20-acre pond toward the river. “Then in April and May, we kept going with new line from that pond all the way to Firestone,” he said.“So that got water flowing 5 miles from the river to Firestone.” Nelson said the city was still using the old line to Firestone in January and would continue to do so until the new line was complete- ly ready. He said on May 27 the new pipe from the river into town was completed, as was a new intake valve. This finished the $3 million project. “So you can see, we have come a long way and accom- plished much. We will solve this sand problem and get things run- ning smoothly as soon as we can agree on a permanent solution that will keep sand out of our 20-inch pipe. Again, my feeling is we will have to move it to another spot in the river,” he said. TA ROAD SPEED LIMIT In other business, the Prescott City Council passed Ordinance #1 for 2020 in order to save money on repaving. By way of explanation, the city street located north and adjacent to the Travel Centers of America’s Truck Stop property, which leads from State of Arkansas Highway 371, running east and west along the property of TCATS regularly requires the City of Prescott to resurface said street due to the heavy volumes of traffic by trucks entering in and out of the center. The ordinance reduces the speed limit from 30 to 15 mph and this is said to be a way to reduce the frequency of the need for resurfacing. Moreover, Jamie Hillery, of the Chamber of Commerce, said she still intends to have the Chamber banquet and will announce a time and date for the already postponed event as soon as possible. “We may do it online,” she said. “However, if Corona Virus restrictions continue at about what they are now, our Fall Festival will probably not be approved.” Hillery did say Nevada County will have a carnival and livestock show as a partial county fair in September. Specifics will be announced later. SOLAR ENERGY Jason Carter, counsel for the Municipal Power Association, talked extensively to council mem- bers about making appropriate billing rules via an ordinance for those customers choosing to use solar power in combination with traditional electric service to save money. Carter said, “This is really not a revenue draw for the city. It is more of an opportunity for citizens and local businesses to save money on their electric bills.” Carter talked of giving cus- tomers credit for solar energy cre- ated and keeping safety first. USED CARS AND TRUCKS Paul Shepherd Paul Shepherd Auto, Inc. 2109 Pine St. P.O. Box 973 Arkadelphia, AR 71923 Tel: (870) 246-3999 Fax: (870) 246-3999 In-house financing WE SELL, BUY, TRADE, GOOD, CLEAN USED CARS (Continued from Page 1) TRY CLASSIFIEDS - $3 one week; $10 four weeks; $20 for 10 weeks. Send money to: Tailgate News, John Nelson, editor, 216 N. 16th Street, Arkadelphia, AR 71923. Questions? Call us at: (870) 353-8201 and leave a voice mail so we will call you back. • 2016 Governor’s Challenge Award Recipient • Procare Therapies • Short-term Rehab • Out patient services • Long-term Skilled Care • Memory Care Unit • Respite Care • Hospice 2701 Twin Rivers Drive Arkadelphia, Ark. 71923 Phone: (870) 246-5566 ...because everyone deserves great care! Courtyard Gardens Health & Rehabilitation Come visit an old friend today! Now Non-Profit! Prescott approves water line fix from river, hears about solar energy perks, face mask rules WATER SUPERINTENDENT - Prescott Water Superintendent Perry Nelson explains how sand has seeped in around a 20-inch intake pipe at the Little Missouri River and if Prescott does not clean it the entire city’s water supply could be cut off. The cleaning is to cost $100,000 and City Council members agreed to finance it. (John Nelson photo) SOLAR POWER - Jason Carter, general counsel for the Arkansas Municipal Power Association, talked with Prescott City Council members Monday, July 20 concerning the proposed rules for blending solar power customers into the Prescott elec- tric company billing, as those customers will need both sources at times. (John Nelson photo) MASK FINES - Prescott Police Chief Joey Beavers said the face mask mandate by the governor has no detaining power. He said fines can be issued, but all he can do to detain is use existing laws like loitering or trespassing. “Mostly, if they are in a store with no mask and not abiding by social distancing, I can ask them to leave.” (John Nelson photo)
