Stories from Saturday, January 16, 2021

Manila City Council members reconvened on Thursday evening to finish a lengthy agenda started on Monday which was  the first meeting of the 2021 year. Mayor Wayne Wagner, along with council members Dale Murphy, Wendell Poteet, Jason Baltimore, Donnie Wagner and Steven Milligan were present. Councilman William Barnhart was absent...

Mark Crabtree, owner of Drive Automotive Sales, donated a new Stihl 271 chainsaw to the Manila Fire Department. Crabtree reached out to Sonny Dill, assistant fire chief of the Manila Fire Department, saying he would like to make a donation. “He asked me how he could help and what is something that would be a great help to our department,” Dill said. ...

During Blytheville Mayor James Sanders’ weekly COVID-19 Zoom meeting Wednesday, Dr. Valencia Andrews-Pirtle reported that staff of the Blytheville School District will receive the vaccine on Jan. 27 and staff of the Gosnell School District will be vaccinated on Jan. 28 at their respective high schools...

Mississippi County Planning and Development Committee met for their first meeting of 2021 on Thursday morning. Justice Michael White presided in the absence of Chairman Neil Burge. Justice White welcomed newly elected members Cecil McDonald, Tobye McClanahan and Aaron Fleeman...

Lisa Sitz, Lake City clerk, is doing double duty as she was appointed by city council members to fill the mayor’s position until a special election is held March 9. The mayor’s position was left vacant when former Mayor Jon Milligan resigned at the end of 2020. Milligan won his bid for a seat in the House of Representatives and is representing the people at the state level...

The Gosnell City Council met via Zoom Tuesday evening and among the items discussed was potentially purchasing a fire truck. The council discussed the 2021 budget, and councilman Richard Brown suggested purchasing the fire truck. He told the council about a 2006 Ferrara HME Pumper that is 95 percent equiped...

In their Jan. 12 meeting the Blytheville finance committee agreed to grant a $1,000 bonus for full-time city employees and a $500 bonus for part-time city employees. These checks were made possible through the CARES Act for coronavirus relief. City finance director John Callens said the act reimbursed the wages of first responders, due to them being on the front line against COVID-19, adding a total of $618,000 to the city’s general fund...