Clay County Times-Democrat: Local News: City hosts Senator's reps (05/14/09)

Mayor Gerald Morris (second from right) checks the progress of the Sugar Creek clean-up project with, from left-- Russell Hall of Senator Mark Pryor's office, city street superintendent Gary Chronister and Roger Fisher with Senator Blanche Lincoln's office.
(Times photo/Tim Blair)

[Click to enlarge]

At the invitation of Mayor Gerald Morris, representatives of Arkansas's two U.S. senators visited the city last week. Morris asked the officials to come to Piggott to see how federal funds are being utilized and to lobby for more help in the future on such projects as the Boydsville Lake effort.

"We're just here at the mayor's invitation to look things over," noted Russell Hall, a field representative for Senator Mark Pryor. Hall was joined in Piggott by Roger Fisher, who works for Senator Blanche Lincoln.

The two were given an update on the current project to clear Sugar Creek, which is a federally funded effort through the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The two also visited the worksite along South Court Street to see for themselves how work is progressing.

The job, which was bid to J&K Construction of Batesville, calls for a complete cleanout of the creek throughout the city and was a result of this year's ice storm. As of Thursday a crew of 12 was working on the project, and it is scheduled to be completed within a month.

The lawmakers' representatives also visited the Piggott Municipal Airport and were given a guided tour of the new hangar complex by mayor Morris. The construction of the hangars was another project that received substantial help from federal dollars, and Morris told the two that all of the current hangars are occupied and there is a waiting list for others.

Morris indicated he asked the officials to visit in an effort to show the lawmakers how well the city has used the money that has been allotted and to remind them there are other projects and efforts that also could use a financial boost from Washington.

"We've got a lot of people who have put in time on planning this Boydsville Lake project, and we just wanted our lawmakers to know it is a "shovel ready" project and that it would be great if we could get some of the stimulus money to get it underway," Morris noted.

Morris added the lake project, which has been in the planning stages for many years, would not only benefit Clay and Greene counties, but other counties and cities in the region as well.