Water pipes still run dry

County makes arrest, but taps still dry in Hardy development

By Amy Widner

LITTLE ROCK — Water was cut off on Oct. 10 to about 20 households in the Biggers Bluff development outside Hardy, and despite efforts that have addressed the cause of the problem, a solution still feels far away for residents who have now gone nine weeks without water.

Biggers Bluff water manager Clifton Johnson is accused of collecting money from Biggers Bluff residents for the water payment but never turning these payments over to the city of Hardy, the source of water services. After about two years of nonpayment, he owed the city $21,712.

Sharp County Sheriff's investigators looked into bank records and found that Johnson had received enough money from the residents to pay the bill at various times but never had. Instead, statements showed he spent money on personal items.

They arrested him on Nov. 20, and he posted bond the same day. His arraignment date has been set for Monday, Jan. 5. He is charged with theft by deception for taking the water payments from Biggers Bluff residents and theft of services for not paying the city. Both are class B felonies.

Detective Sgt. Mike Counts worked on the case.

"We've done what we can," Counts said. "We let him know we're not going to put up with him treating them this way. After we did the work to track all of this down (Johnson's bank records), there's no doubt in my mind that it was a theft. He was just deceiving those people, and that had to stop."

Still, Counts knows Johnson's arrest hasn't done anything to restore water to Biggers Bluff residents. They can't buy water from the city because Biggers Bluff is outside of the city limits. Sharp County Judge Larry Brown has been sending a tank truck with water to the community to address the problem. Many have put up the money to have wells dug on their property, something Counts said one resident told him cost $13,000.

Neither does it restore money to the city, which has an annual budget of about $800,000, according to an Oct. 23 article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Hardy Mayor Nina Thornton told the Democrat-Gazette that Johnson's debt put a significant dent in the city's budget. The City Council voted unanimously to shut off water service.

Counts said: "Some of them have dropped wells, some of them can't because they don't have the money. We've done what we can by making sure he doesn't get away with it. The judge can press him and order him to pay restitution, but there's no guarantee they would ever get the money. Even if he does pay it, there'll still be no water. Everyone's just in a bind."

Biggers Bluff residents filed a complaint with the Sheriff's Office, and Counts said that they interviewed and collected documentation from about 10 different Biggers Bluff families to make sure residents had paid their bills.

"They paid all their money to have the water, and then he took their checks and it all went to him," Counts said. "We tracked all the checks, and they all went to him. The account was in his name, and we checked where he was spending money, and he was spending it on himself, not the bill."

David Bathrick, who owns Biggers Bed and Breakfast, got fed up with the inconsistency of the Biggers Bluff water system and had a backup well drilled last year. These days, he is watching the drill rigs drive by on the road outside as his neighbors join him.

"Everybody up here on the hill has drilled their own wells," Bathrick said. "The water system still hasn't been turned back on. It's kind of a dead issue anymore. I don't think it'll ever be turned back on."

Bathrick estimated he spent $11,000 to $12,000 to get the well drilled, and he is expecting to spend anther $4,000 or $5,000 so that his water will meet the standards for businesses required by the Arkansas Department of Health. He's going ahead with the project, because he doesn't see that he has any other choice.

"We gave up," Bathrick said. "We found out by complaining to the officials, and everybody was going around saying they were going to do something about it, and then they took a look into it and realized they couldn't do anything. I know the city has worked with him on this. I don't blame them."

Bathrick and his neighbor, Burton Cook, got a taste of working with Johnson a few years ago when the Biggers Bluff water system failed. Bathrick and Cook approached Johnson and offered to help him pay for a new water pump.

"I thought at the time about suing him, because we offered him the money to get it fixed and said he could just take it out of our water bill until it was paid back, but he just flat said no," Cook said.

Cook had his own well drilled after that.

"And they sure are drilling like crazy up and down here now," Cook said.

Biggers Bluff was developed by Wayne Watkins, who has fled from several criminal charges against him and is believed to be living in Mexico. Watkins made an agreement with the City of Hardy to use water from their supply and pay for usage. He installed a pumping station to pump water from the Hardy supply to Biggers Bluff.

- awidner@arkansasonline.com