City agenda lacks recycler contract
A finalized recycling contract with Waste Management isn't included in the North Little Rock City Council's agenda packet filed Tuesday for its meeting next Monday, delaying the council signing off on the new contract until at least next month.
Mayor Joe Smith said at the Nov. 13 council meeting that contract negotiations were "down to two issues" and that he expected at that time that he would have a contract to the council by Monday's meeting.
Council members approved Waste Management's draft proposal in September to continue curbside recycling collection, with the council's added stipulation that a final version of the contract also be approved by the council before it could take effect. The vote was 5-4, with Smith needing to vote to break the tie.
Under a draft proposal, costs would increase in North Little Rock, Little Rock and Sherwood from $2.99 monthly per household to $3.99 monthly until March 31. The Regional Recycling and Waste Reduction District would pay the difference between the old and new price until then.
The price would then go up for residents starting April 1 to $4.14 monthly through March 31, 2020. At that time, the cost would rise again to $4.29 through the next 12 months.
Christmas festival set for Saturday
The 2018 Northern Lights Festival in the Argenta Arts District of North Little Rock will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Admission is free.
The event will be across the street from the Argenta Community Theater, 405 Main St., North Little Rock. Cast members from the Argenta Community Theater's production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol will be in costume for pictures. Holiday music will be performed. The festival will include craft booths, food trucks, face painting and Christmas carolers.
The festival is organized by the city of North Little Rock, the Argenta Arts District, the Argenta Community Theater, the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce and the North Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau. The Christmas Market is produced in part by Arvest Bank.
Museum to honor '41 attack survivor
North Little Rock's Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum will honor Harold Mainer, a Pearl Harbor survivor, at 1 p.m. Dec. 7 at The River House in conjunction with its annual Pearl Harbor Day observance.
The River House is located along the riverfront at South Olive Street and the Arkansas River Trail, between the museum and the Interstate 30 river bridge.
Mainer, from Fort Smith, served on the USS Helena with the Hoga tugboat at Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941, and later was on the USS Munsee that was alongside the Razorback submarine for the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945, according to a biography included in a news release.
The museum is home to both the Hoga tug and the Razorback submarine. The museum will also offer walk-through tours after the ceremony until 3 p.m.
Mainer, 97, is a native of Paris, which is in Logan County in west Arkansas. He is the son of a coal miner, according to the biography. He joined the Navy on Oct. 20, 1940, and received an honorable discharge from the Navy on Jan. 17, 1947.
Metro on 11/22/2018