Amity Mayor Don Hinkle wants to wake up the city. “The city has kind of gone to sleep over the last 20 years,” he said. “I want to wake it up.”
Born in Austin, Texas, Hinkle, 56, was elected mayor of Amity in November 2014. He ran as an independent, as did other local candidates
in the small Clark County town of 723.
“Keep an eye on Amity,” Hinkle said. “We are going to grow. It’s a great place to live.”
Hinkle and his family moved from Austin to Amity in 2012.
“Austin had just gotten too big,” he said.
Hinkle said he ran for mayor at the encouragement of a friend, the late Joel Davidson, owner of Davidson’s grocery store in Amity.
“He thought it was something I needed to do,” Hinkle said.
Hinkle said Amity had a rough transition after the November election.
“We lost our water operator, recorder-treasurer and one council member,” he said. Those positions have now been filled.
“I want to try to get back on track,” he said.
“Our water plant has fallen into disrepair,” Hinkle said. “That is the first thing I want to work on. I want to get that back up and running.”
He also wants to attract businesses, citing the Amity Trade Days outdoor market as a sign of future development.
The market is on a 54-acre site at 843 S. Mountain Road in Amity and is scheduled to open Thursday and be in operation four days monthly —
Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday before the second Monday of each month.
Hinkle said the open market, which will be similar to one in Canton, Texas, has space for 650 vendors.
“Hotels will want to come here if this market is successful,” he said.
“I also hope we can develop some sort of music fest,” he said. “There’s a lot of talent in this town.
“I want to see us be successful. I want to see vacationers who come to the Caddo River come here and tube.”
The mayor wants to upgrade the parks in the area as well.
“I’d like to see us show movies in the park at night during the summer,” he said, “and offer games for people to play.”
Hinkle has family ties to Arkansas that stretch well beyond Amity.
His mother, the late Glenda Harris Hinkle, was born in Fort Smith, the daughter of the late S. Glenn Harris and Dana Jennings Harris. The Harris family moved to Lake Jackson, Texas, during World War II.
Hinkle’s Grandfather Harris helped build a new plant for Dow Chemical Co. at Lake Jackson and helped develop the city, laying out its streets and managing real estate.
Hinkle traces his family roots in Arkansas back to the Civil War, citing surnames such as Lamar, Harris, Jennings, Rye and Pulaski.
“I’m of Polish descent,” he said with a smile. “My great-grandmother was a Pulaski. They say I look like her.”
He said his ancestor Starling Gilmore Harris fought in several Civil War battles, including Bull Run.
“He took a [musket] ball in the leg, which he carried with him for the rest of his life,” Hinkle said.
Hinkle said Starling Gilmore Harris settled near Lamar in Johnson County.
Hinkle’s father, the late Dr. James D. Hinkle, was from Hinkles Ferry, Texas, but settled in Austin in 1967, where he practiced psychiatry.
Mayor Hinkle has three brothers — David and Jeff, who both live in Austin, and Brian, who lives in Phoenix, Arizona.
Hinkle said his Grandfather Harris graduated from the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville and was a Razorback fan, as is the mayor.
“He brought me a hog hat when he sold the land in Lamar in 1977,” Hinkle said.
“Anything not burnt orange,” Hinkle said, noting both of his parents graduated from the University of Texas. “I was happy with it.”
Hinkle graduated from high school in Austin, Texas, in 1977.
“My dad wanted me to be a doctor, but I wanted to build things,” he said. “I went right to work. I like to work with my hands.”
He worked in the construction business until 1985, when he began remodeling and building homes.
In 1996, Hinkle began working as a cable splicer for Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., where he remained for 15 years, taking an early retirement.
Hinkle said he and his family vacationed in the area before deciding to move here.
“My wife fell in love with it,” he said.
Hinkle and his wife, DeLisa, bought a 1901 house in Amity, which he is completely remodeling.
“I want it to look like a 1901 house,” he said, “but have all the conveniences of a 2015 home.”
Hinkle said he is trying to do all the work himself but does employ young men from the community as helpers.
“We don’t want to give up on our youth,” he said.
Hinkle and DeLisa have been married for 14 years. She works at the Fish Nest Restaurant in Glenwood.
Between them, the Hinkles have five children.
Daughter Amanda Snelson, 30, lives in Kountze, Texas, with her husband, Andrew. They have four children — Isaiah, Peyton, Gretchen and Richard.
Son Kevin Hinkle, 29, and his wife, Lucy, live in Stamford, Connecticut, and have two children, Kevin “Nicholas” and Austin Sky.
Daughter Kathryn Hinkle, 27, lives in Kirkland, Washington, a suburb of Seattle.
Daughter Kelly Hinkle, 17, is a senior at Centerpoint High School and is interested in art and choir.
Son Kendall Hinkle, 15, is a sophomore at Centerpoint High School, where he is a member of the band.
Hinkle will serve four years as mayor. In that capacity, he works with four aldermen on the City Council: Robbie Hancock, Dora Lee Bean, Jason Mitchell and Kenneth Lyons.
The Amity City Council meets at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of the month at Amity City Hall, which is inside the Amity Municipal Building, 121 E. Thompson St.
The public is welcome to attend the meetings.
“We have an active community,” Hinkle said. “They like to get involved in government.”