The residents of the Pea Ridge area were given an opportunity to meet and evaluate the candidates for Benton County judge, sheriff and one of the candidates for Justice of the Peace District 1 Monday night, Feb. 8, in the Pea Ridge High School dining room. There have been numerous forums in the county in the previous weeks, but this was a chance for everyone to hear the candidates at a local location. For us who find ourselves at a disadvantage driving at night, having a forum close is greatly appreciated.
Arkansas Gazette reporter Tracy Neal provided a comprehensive report on the Forum in the Tuesday, Feb. 9, edition and in last week's edition of this newspaper. The only thing I can add to his report are my personal observations and to thank the organization responsible for offering the forum.
The Pea Ridge Optimist Club sponsored and organized the event with the assistance of Kent Marts, the publisher of the weekly newspapers, including The Times. John Lasater, president of the Optimist Club also recruited at least five high school student to participate in the forum. I hope all Pea Ridge residents who attended the forum, or read about it in the newspapers appreciate the convenience of seeing the candidates in person and recognize how important this can be in the upcoming elections. This election can be significant in the future of Benton County both at the county judge's office and the sheriff's office. These two departments control the largest number of employees and have the largest budgets of all county offices. It was evident in the discussions that we are looking at different priorities in the two offices. My immediate concern is the county judge's position.
The opening comments by the challenger to the county judge stated the highest priority of the county judge's office was county roads. There is no question roads are important to all rural residents and city dwellers as well. The incumbent county judge, Bob Clinard, has managed to get the rural roads in pretty good shape in my opinion and I do drive on them -- both paved and dirt. There is no doubt many road situations continue to need attention, but the Road Department seems to be making progress. It is my personal opinion the county judge's highest priorities should be resolving the issues concerning a new judicial courts building program and dealing with rural ambulance service.
The most important thing I observed during the county judge portion related to the ongoing discussion of a new courts complex. The challenger, current justice of the peace Barry Moehring, feels it should be located in a downtown Bentonville location while the incumbent county judge has a longer time perspective and recognizes that continued building downtown will only create a greater problem when the next phase of county growth forces the need for additional judges and space for them and their staffs.
Judging from the number of campaign signs for the county judge's opponent, Barry Moehring, a lot of money is being spent in this election. Driving through Bentonville this past week, I was surprised at the number of signs because very little advertising has come in our mail. Signs supporting Moehring greatly outnumbered Clinard's signs indicating a great deal of interest in the outcome of the election. Is it possible Clinard's support of the Arkansas Highway 102 location, by the jail, for a new judicial court building is a factor?
Back in another era, before I was elected to the Quorum Court, the need for a new courts complex, jail and administration building was an issue. Over a period of years, a new administration building was built downtown, the current jail has been constructed on Ark. Hwy. 102 and the patchwork downtown court room situation we have now came into being. It is now time to resolve that problem with the future of Benton County in mind. The biggest benefactors to having the courts in downtown Bentonville are the businesses located near the square. That doesn't allow much concern for the judges, their staffs and the many citizens called to serve as jurors.
If the only way to accommodate the future judicial growth of our judges is to re-elect Clinard, then I endorse him. Apparently the people of Benton County can affect the location of the building by their choice in this election. Building near the jail on county-owned land with the opportunity to expand the building when needed seems a commonsense solution to me. I have tried to find parking in downtown metropolitan areas to attend county and federal courts and know that a lack of planning for the future will put Benton County in the same predicament as those cities. As a taxpayer who has a fixed income, I would rather pay additional sales tax now for the benefit of the future than to pass on a headache to the next generation.
Please consider the future of the county we call home when you go to the polls to vote.
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Editor's note: Leo Lynch is an award-winning columnist. He is a native of Benton County has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Editorial on 02/17/2016