Editor’s note: Lisa Mills, contributor to The Grand Prairie Herald, is the author of this report.

The Prairie County Quorum Court reversed a previous decision to close the district court in DeValls Bluff after Mayor Darlene Connor presented data that showed the court was not a money drain on the county.

At the April 14 meeting, Mayor Connor told quorum court members that she and the council were very upset they were not notified before a resolution to close the courts was passed. She also explained no city officials were asked to provide court financial records. 

She said that when they learned their court was being dissolved because of costs to the county and a decrease in the number of courts being held, they pulled the court records for the past three years. She provided each justice and Judge Lawrence Holloway with copies. 

The records show that several court hearings were held and that all money was reimbursed to the county. She was asked if the county or city pays the judge and the clerk for district court, to which she replied the city does which brought up the concern that if the court is dissolved, the clerk will lose her salary.

DeValls Bluff Police Chief Jeremy Murphy said one reason there had not been as many recent court hearings is that the county had not been sending their tickets to DeValls Bluff, but to the Hazen district court. He said he believes that issue has been fixed. 

Prairie County Sheriff Rick Parson said any tickets issued in the south end of the county are sent to the Hazen district court and only tickets issued inside the city limits are sent to the DeValls Bluff district court. Parson also said that one way the court costs the county money is that if a deputy writes a ticket and is then summoned to testify on their day off, the county has to pay them overtime. Sometimes, more than one deputy has to testify.  

After hearing Mayor Connor speak, the justices discussed the matter. Some said when the resolution was presented, they thought it was referring to court held at the DeValls Bluff courthouse, not at city hall. Several justices of the peace said if they had known, they would not have approved the resolution to close the district court. Others said if they had seen the records that Connor presented, they would not have approved it. 

“That is why we feel like we should have been made aware of the resolution before it was presented so we could have provided information showing why it should not be approved,” said Mayor Connor. 

Justice of the Peace Levi Childress, who represents DeValls Bluff, apologized for not recommending tabling the vote until DeValls Bluff could be notified and said he would do a better job in the future. 

A motion was passed to rescind the previous resolution. Attorney Abram Skarda said that a letter would need to be sent to the legislature stating that the resolution was rescinded.

In other court business:

– The court approved an ordinance for a contract with Stribling Equipment to lease a 2026 John Deere excavator at a cost of $211,139.81. Financing will be through Welch State Bank with monthly payments of $2,847.99 for 36 months. This lease will save $1,250 per month over the current lease for the current excavator, which expires the end of April.

– A resolution was discussed to separate the offices of the Sheriff and tax collector. Justice Rick Stallings said the tax collector’s job has become so time consuming that the sheriff just doesn’t have time to commit to both offices. He also said that a lot of counties have started separating the offices.  

– An ordinance was approved to amend the 2025 budget, as required.