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Saline’s new JPs eager to start serving |
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Monday, 19 January 2009 |
Saline County’s three new Quorum Court members say they are energized and anxious to begin serving.
They won’t have to wait long.
Republicans Allan Dabbs of Bryant, Brandi Davis of Bauxite and Kim Hanke of the Glen Rose community will join the other 10 justices of the peace on Tues-day night for the year’s first Quorum Court meeting.
County Judge Lanny Fite presides over the Quorum Court, which will meet at the courthouse in Downtown Benton.
Dabbs, 38, a chiropractor, is somewhat familiar with the wheels of government, but the two-year terms for Davis and Hanke will serve as an introduction to elected office.
“Since ninth-grade civics, government has been interesting to me,” said Davis, an agent with Phillips Moudy Duke Real Estate of Benton.
“But I never thought I’d run for office myself. When you see where our country seems to be headed and how far we’ve gotten away from our traditional values and beliefs, you feel compelled to do something.”
Davis, 31, succeeds J.R. Walters of Alexander as the District 12 representative. She defeated Walters, an independent and longtime JP, in the Nov. 4 general election.
A couple of years ago, Dabbs served one term on the Bryant City Council. He said he decided to take another stab at public service “because District 5 was filled but not active.”
“The district I live in had no representation,” Dabbs said. “I could have complained about it or become part of the solution.”
Dabbs succeeds Chuck Daniels of Bryant, who did not seek re-election.
Hanke, 57, owner of Hanke Brothers Siding, Windows & Sunrooms, said he looks forward to understanding how government, at a grassroots level, functions.
“I ran for JP because I have a sincere desire to make improvements in my district where law enforcement and volunteer fire departments are concerned,” Hanke said.
Hanke succeeds Jerry Landreth of Traskwood as the District 10 JP. Landreth lost to Hanke in the November election.
Both Dabbs and Hanke said they look forward to brining a business perspective to the Quorum Court.
“Providing proper money management, superior service to our constituents and transparency and accountability are key,” Dabbs said.
And with that focus in mind, Hanke said he hopes to raise money for volunteer fire departments.
“I am all ears and look forward to working with the different county departments,” he said. “I think there is more excitement and more cooperation among the departments, based on what I’ve heard, especially with the sheriff’s department. There is more of a willingness to work together.”
Dabbs added, “I look forward to being part of managing the growth of our county. Creating new jobs by bringing new industry into the county. I feel we have to start with infrastructure to make industry want to locate in Saline County.”
Davis is also passionate about helping Saline County facilitate growth, she said. “I look forward to making a difference, to help Saline County to continue to get better and facilitate growth and progress we are already experiencing.”
“I am very excited about the things the economic development team is working on,” she noted. “It’s an exciting time to be a citizen of Saline County.”
Challenges the new JPs foresee are handling tax dollars in an economic downturn.
“With an economic slump comes a decrease in tax dollar,” Dabbs said. “We have to spend the tax dollars wisely.”
Davis said in an economic downturn, “it’s hard to anticipate what to expect in terms of budget issues, but the Quorum Court has been very proactive in addressing any future problems that may come up. We have a great leader in Doug Curtis who works diligently to ensure the efficiency of all county operations.”
Longtime JP Curtis is chairman of the Finance Committee.
Each new JP has personal goals. For Hanke, it’s about supporting the people who serve to protect residents of Saline County.
Dabbs said he’s passionate “about a lot of things.” He is most passionate about “providing good sound leadership” those he serves, he said. “We are in great need of public servants to step up and lead this county and country in the way it should go.
“True selfless public service needs to be the attitude at the local, state and federal levels of government.” Davis said she has “so many ideas” about what she’d like to accomplish.
To name a few, she would like an e-mail/Internet forum “to make it easier for the average citizen to understand the process of county government and to help them get involved. We should make it easy for people to get involved. It’s their government.”
Davis said she would also like the county to develop some sort of volunteer program and more recycling avenues.
But she is “most passionate about keeping taxes low and government small.”
In addition, she said, “Of course we are all passionate about the safety and security of our citizens. So we want to make sure we are doing everything in our power to enable our sheriff’s department and fire departments to be the best they can be.”
The new JPs are aware of the animal control issue that took center stage last year. The county does not have its own animal control and shelter. A tax initiative that would have funded such a program failed in the Nov. 4 election.
They agree that animal control would be a good addition to the county.
Dabbs said the only problem he sees is funding an animal control problem given that the sales tax initiative failed.
“Saline County is one of few counties in Arkansas that does not collect taxes to run the county government,” he said. “Any extra funding coming out of the budget might possibly take away from existing resources we are required by law to fund already.”
Davis said the animal issue “was by far the No. 1 issue” she was asked about on the campaign trail.
“This issue is important to many people, and myself, along with other members of the Quorum Court, do want to resolve this problem. We are bouncing around a lot of ideas, looking at what other counties are doing and researching many different avenues to find a solution. I hope we will get that done this year.”
Other JPs are Pat Bisbee, R-Hensley, who serves District 1; Mel Kirby, D-Mabelvale, District 2; Mark Kizer, R-Bryant, District 3; Barbara Howell, R-Lake Norrell, District 4; Sharon Riggan, R-Benton, District 6; Doug Curtis, R-Benton, District 7; Buster Warrick, R-Benton, District 8; Owen Bullock, D-Benton, District 9; David Allinson, R-Bauxite, District 11; and Tom Lish, R-Hot Springs Village, District 13.
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