Rabid Skunks Found in Haskell

August 27, 2013

LITTLE ROCK – Two skunks found in Haskell within the last week have both been confirmed rabid by the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH). Both skunks were out during the daytime and acting sick. They were not walking properly and their behavior was clearly not normal for a skunk. These two were less than a mile from one another, and the second one was very near the Harmony Grove School. The school also had another skunk on its property during the daytime that was not submitted for testing, but more than likely also was rabid. Children should be reminded not to touch wild animals and to stay away from stray pets.

Rabies is a virus that attacks the brain and spinal cord and is a fatal disease. It is most often seen in Arkansas in skunks and bats. Cats, dogs, ferrets and livestock can also develop rabies, especially if they are not vaccinated. The rabies virus lives in the saliva (spit) and nervous tissues of infected animals and is spread when they bite or scratch. The virus also may be spread if saliva from an infected animal touches broken skin, open wounds or the lining of the mouth, eyes or nose.

The first sign of rabies in an animal is usually a change in behavior. Rabid animals may attack people or other animals for no reason, or they may lose their fear of people and seem unnaturally friendly. Staggering, convulsions, choking, frothing at the mouth and paralysis are often present. Skunks may be seen out in daylight, which is an unusual behavior for them, or they may get into a dog pen or under a house. Many animals have a marked change in voice pitch, such as a muted or off-key tone. An animal usually dies within one week of demonstrating signs of rabies. Not all rabid animals act in these ways, however, so you should avoid all wild animals – especially skunks, bats and stray cats and dogs.

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Haskell’s Great American Clean Up 2013

Saturday April 27th marked the City of Haskell’s second annual Great American Clean Up! This year’s 2013 event was a great success bringing in far more participants and volunteers, that resulted in 130 cubic yards of trash, 60 cubic yards of recyclable metals, 30 cubic yards of recyclable electronics, and 20 cubic yards of recyclable tires! All of that is equal to TWO SEMI TRAILERS FULL! Not to mention the household hazardous waste, used oil, used antifreeze, old batteries that were picked up and received by RINECO volunteers and will be disposed of properly by that facility. The City of Haskell is very grateful to all of our Volunteers that helped with this year’s event! Great Job Volunteers! We also want to give a HUGE THANK YOU to our partners for this event Celebration Baptist Church, Saline County Regional Solid Waste Management District, RINECO, and Keep Arkansas Beautiful! Thank you everyone!

WALKING TRAIL NOW OPEN AT HASKELL BALL PARK

Haskell recently completed construction of a walking trail at the Haskell Ball Park located on Elm St. The Trail was the 3rd item on Haskell’s Park Improvement List. The Parks Committee began work on a needs assessment for the City of Haskell regarding recreational needs in 2010. Input from the public was gathered during public meetings and surveys were conducted at Harmony Grove Schools. That information was used to create a 10 year plan for recreational improvements for the City of Haskell. The loop asphalt trail is 10 feet in width and is about on third of a mile in length. The trail was partly funded with a 50% matching grant from the Arkansas Parks & Tourism. In addition to the trail the grant also help build a concrete pad and wood fence around the parks garbage dumpster that greatly improves the overall look of the park. Mayor, Jeff Arey had this to say about the new improvements, “We have constantly have had requests from citizens that they wanted a place to walk or jog that was safe from traffic. It was one of the items that always drew a lot of interest at the public meetings that were held about park improvements. I am very happy that we were able to get it done and encourage everyone to come check it out”.

CITY OF HASKELL NEWS RELEASE

The 2012 City of Haskell Clean Up Day was a huge success! On Saturday May 12 the City of Haskell joined other communities across the State in hosting a Great American Cleanup Event. The Cleanup Event was sponsored by Keep Arkansas Beautiful and The Saline County Regional Solid Waste District. Approxmently 15 volunteers from Celebration Baptist Church and Employees of the City of Haskell help off load and separate nearly 15 tons of unwanted junk and debris, over 4 tons of recyclable metal and 642 tires. Mayor Jeff Arey said that this is no doubt that this first year event was very successful in helping clean up different areas around town and encouraging people to take pride in their community. He also commended those volunteers that came and worked so hard to make this day so special. This is a link to pictures of the event; http://vt.realbiz360.com/MLS-1042449.html

NEW FLOOD MAPS SHOW CURRENT RISKS IN SALINE COUNTY, ARKANSAS

DENTON, Texas – Saline County, Arkansas homeowners, business and residential renters, and business owners who do not have flood insurance are encouraged to buy coverage now to get the best possible premiums before new flood insurance rate maps go into effect.

The new Saline County flood maps become effective on Tuesday, June 19 giving those who haven’t purchased flood insurance yet, time to get the best possible premiums to protect their property from potential flooding.

“While many people are required by mortgage and lending companies to have flood insurance, FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) strongly recommend that everyone have flood insurance,” said Acting Region 6 Administrator Tony Robinson. “The reason is simple: You don’t have to be in a mapped floodplain to flood.”

Current policy holders and those planning to purchase NFIP protection are strongly encouraged to contact their insurance agent or company to ensure that they have adequate coverage for building and contents that accounts for new flood risk data.

Those who purchase flood insurance prior to June 19 may be able to grandfather the current flood zone, saving money on flood insurance. For more information on estimated rates for flood insurance, whether you are eligible for grandfathering, and the Preferred Risk Policy extension, or to locate an agent in your area, visit www.floodsmart.gov.

Anyone who hasn’t had a chance to participate in local flood insurance meetings or to review the new flood maps is encouraged to contact their floodplain administrator to determine what their risk is. The floodplain administrator is most likely located at City Hall or the local courthouse.

To see changes since the last map visit http://maps.riskmap6.com/AR/Saline/
To use the live chat service, visit http://go.usa.gov/r6C. Click on the “Live Chat” icon.
To contact a FEMA Map Specialist, call 1.877.FEMA MAP (877.336.2627) or send an email to FEMAMapSpecialist@riskmapcds.com.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/femaregion6, the R6 Preparedness website at www.fema.gov/about/regions/regionvi/updates.shtm and the FEMA Blog at http://blog.fema.gov.

GREAT AMERICAN CLEANUP

The City of Haskell is hosting a Great American Cleanup Event on Saturday, May 12th! Haskell has joined outher communities across the State in accepting the challenge by Keep Arkansas Beautiful to host a Cleanup Event! Haskell is encouraging its residents to GET INVOLVED by either cleaning up their won property or joining with a neighbor to hold a cleanup event on their own street or neighborhood! Haskell has partnered with Saline County Solid Waste District, which will provide roll off containers that will be located in front of Harmony Grove School, on Saturday, May 12th where people will be able to discard unwanted junk and debris for FREE! Volunteers from Celebration Baptist Church will be on site to help people unload their junk! Clean up efforts will be going on at the Haskell Ball Park that day too! The Haskell Mayors Youth Council and the Harmony Grove Cheerleaders are volunteering their Saturday to pick up and clean up around the Park and Community Center! THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS! Take advantage of the FREE dumping on Saturday May 12th! Clean up around your property, go help a neightbor, or organize a street cleanup in your neighborhood! If you need more info you can call Mayor Jeff Arey at 501.840.2270 or send an email to mayor@cityofhaskell.org

HASKELL TO DEVELOP A MASTER SIDEWALK PLAN

Haskell Officials are following through with the City’s Comprehensive Development Plan that was adopted in 2009 with the development of a Master Sidewalk Plan. One of the stated goals of the Comprehensive Development Plan was to link residential areas to neighborhood centers and to link the neighborhood centers to the town center with a system of sidewalks and bikeways. This plan will help accomplish that goal. In April the Haskell Planning Commission as well as the Haskell City Council gathered public comment during two meetings on the plan. A thirty day review period is now on going until May 21st when the plan will go back before the City Council for possible adoption. The public’s comments are welcome and can be sent the Mayor Jeff Arey. You may contact Mayor Arey at 501.776.2666 or email at mayor@cityofhaskell.org. A link is provided below to review the plan.

http://www.garnatengineering.com/Downloads___Links.html

HASKELL AWARDED PARK GRANT FUNDS

On January 15th, 2012 Haskell was notified that it would be a recipient of a matching grant in the amount of $30,927. The Arkansas Outdoor Recreation Grants Advisory Committee recommended Haskell’s grant application to the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism for funding, the funds will be used to construct sidewalks that will connect all three ball fields and the concession building to the handicapped accessible parking, as well as a asphalt paved trail that will go around the perimeter of the entire park area. Mayor Arey reported that Bid openings should happen in May and that construction could start as early as June. The following is a site plan of the planned improvements.

MUSEUM OPERATION HOURS

January 27, 2011

The Haskell Museum will be open to the public during the following hours:

Thursday evenings from 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Saturday mornings from 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM

The address for the Museum is: 529 East Elm Street in Haskell, beside the Community Center.