Weather keeping flooded road closed
Periods of rain are making it difficult for city and Pulaski County road crews to alleviate flooding problems on a three-quarter-mile portion of Faulkner Lake Road that has remained closed since early December, a city spokesman said.
Each period of heavy rain delays the ability for the water to run off the roadway that goes through a wetlands area that drains into the Arkansas River, city Communications Director Nathan Hamilton said. The ability for the water to drain off the road also is affected by beaver dams, he said. The road in the eastern part of the city divides city and county boundary lines.
Hamilton said that any significant rainfall pushes back the reopening of the roadway by another two weeks.
"As soon as the weather cooperates and allows the water to drain off the road, we will need another week to repair it," he said. "There is certainly a reason for the detour. The opening date is completely dependent on the weather."
The city and the county are working together on the flooding, which will require a redesigned road and funding for a permanent solution, Hamilton said.
Groundbreaking set as 600 Main rises
An official groundbreaking on the 600 Main Building near the under-construction Argenta Plaza downtown will take place at 2 p.m. Tuesday, even though earthwork is already underway.
The $6.97 million building will be jointly owned by the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau, Taggart Architects and the Arkansas Automobile Dealers Association. Taggart is designing the building, as well as the First Orion building under construction behind the plaza site that is between Fifth and Sixth streets.
The Convention and Visitors Bureau will move from the Visitors Information Center in Burns Park to the first floor of the new building and will manage a visitors center that will offer storefront retail shopping. The Visitors Bureau also will oversee the $5.36 million Argenta Plaza city property.
The Automobile Dealers Association, now at 425 N. Broadway, will take up the second floor. Taggart will have its offices on the third floor after relocating from 4500 Burrow Drive.
Office issues advice on peddlers' visits
Door-to-door selling is illegal without a city permit, but unlicensed peddlers are making rounds in some neighborhoods, the clerk-treasurer's office warns in a statement posted on social media sites.
Anyone soliciting in neighborhoods must have a peddler's permit that includes a displayed photo identification. If the permit isn't visible, residents should ask for it, the post said.
Residents aren't required to answer the door or let peddlers inside, the clerk-treasurer's post said, and residents can call the police if they feel uncomfortable.
Residents also can phone the clerk-treasurer's office at (501) 975-8617 from 8 a.m.-4:30 pm. weekdays to verify any business license or peddler's permit.
Hayes center hosts black history event
A cultural program and lunch to observe Black History Month will be Feb. 28 for members of the Patrick Hays Senior Citizens Center, 401 W. Pershing Blvd., the center announced in a news release
The program, titled "We've Come This Far By Faith," is scheduled for 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
The program, coordinated and to be hosted by Bernice Laney, a Hays Center volunteer, will include musical selections from the Patrick Hays Ensemble Choir and a performance by the Dynamic Drummers from Booker T. Washington Elementary School. There also will be poetry readings, and Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech will be read by center members.
Hays Center members may purchase tickets at the office for $5 until Friday. More information is available by contacting the center's office at (501) 975-4297 or emailing haysseniorcenter@nlr.ar.gov.
Metro on 02/17/2019