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Tuesday, 07 April 2009 |
 A RECORD NUMBER of people fill the Benton High School cafeteria Monday night to take a civil service exam. Benton police administered this exam. Another exam was given by the fire department at Tyndall Park. (Courier photo by Daniel Sample)
Exams were given for the Benton Fire Department and the Benton Police Department. Both departments reported record turnout.
The fire department test was held at the Gene Moss Building at Tyndall Park, and out of 110 applicants, 67 people showed up to take the exam, according to Assistant Fire Chief Mark Mills and city Human Resources Manager Kathy Kirk.
“We normally average between 30 and 40 people to take the exams,” Mills said. “Last year we had a record of 46 people. For 67 people to show up last night, that is quite a bit more than normal.”
The police department held its test at the Benton High School cafeteria. Public Information Officer Sgt. Kevin Russell said that out of 142 applicants, 98 people took the exam.
He said the tests were held in different locations because fire and police have different versions of the tests.
“That is a record turnout,” Russell said. “We normally average 60 to 70 applicants a year. ... We doubled and almost tripled the number of applicants and that includes five that tested for cadets.”
Mills, Kirk and Russell all said that numerous people who took the exam showed driver’s licenses from various Arkansas towns and cities, including Cabot, Pearcy and Vilonia. They also reported a number of people from various states.
“I even saw a person with a California driver’s license,” Kirk said. “I am sure that person has relocated to Arkansas, but we also seen people from Mississippi, Louisiana and at least three from Texas.”
Kirk also said that a number of the applicants took a test in Hot Springs early Monday and then drove to Benton to take a second one.
“Times are hard and people are desperately looking for jobs,” Mills said. “I think with the economy, people are trying to find any job they can get and trying to get some stability.”
Russell agreed that the economy played a role in the record number of applicants and said those that took the test should have their results by the end of the week.
“The current economic recession, I am sure, plays an underlying responsibility for people applying in record numbers,” Russell said. “Once we got the tests, we mailed them off to an outside company to grade them and we’ll possibly know the results by the end of the week.”
If a person has a passing grade, Russell said the department will contact him or her to take a physical agility test. He said there is no “exact number” of how many officers the police department is looking to hire.
“We are still working on that right now,” Russell said. “We probably won’t know that for a couple of weeks.”
Mills said the fire department keeps a standing list of applicants that passed for a year, but said the number of firefighters hired “depends” on various factors.
“We have some plans for two stations in Benton, but right now those are just plans,” Mills said. “It also depends on how many of the older guys are likely to retire within the year. There is no certain number right now that I can say that we are going to hire.”
Kirk said the city also keeps an eligibility list of applicants that scored at least a 70 percent passing grade. She said if any openings come up during the year, the city will look at the eligibility list to find prospective employees.
But passing the written exam is only half of the overall exam for both the fire and police departments. If a person passes the written exam, that person has to next pass a physical exam. Kirk said people who took the fire department civil service exam may call 776-5900 today and possibly find out their score.
The fire department will hold two physical agility tests on Saturday. The first test will be given at 8 a.m. and the second will be given at 2 p.m., both at the Woodall Central Fire Station, 220 S. Main St. in Benton.
The police department will hold one physical agility test at 9 a.m. Saturday at 1314 Venturi Drive, next to the Benton Water Depart-ment treatment facility and purchasing department.
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