Monticello Live

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 After having accepted a plea bargain on December 12, which sentenced him to life in prison, Gary Riley had petitioned the Drew County Circuit Court to withdraw his guilty plea based on “deficient performance” by his attorney. (more…)

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H & H Construction from North Little Rock, Arkansas, has finished construction of a new boat dock located at Lake Monticello. The total cost of the boat dock was $42,750.00.

Due to wind damage from Hurricane Gustav in the fall of 2008, the previous boat dock was damaged and unsafe.

Drew County was declared a  dock and the safe and well-constructed design that we now have. 

Press release from the city of Monticello.

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At approximately 10 o’clock Saturday morning, this John Deere tractor collided with the Ford Expedition, shown below, on HWY 35 East, near the fairgrounds.

MASI transpored the victims from  the wreck to Drew Memorial Hospital.  The Drew County Sheriff’s Dept. worked the scene, assisted by the Monticello Police Dept.  Triple A Towing set the tractor back on it’s wheels, and towed the Ford.

Just before 10 o’clock, Friday night, Jim Metzger, of Washougal, WA, was attempting to land his Flight Commander aircraft at the Monticello Airport, when the plane struck a deer in the run way. (more…)

March 19, the City Council approved the amendment to Ordinance No. 493 to raise the city’s water rates, which have not increased since 2003. (more…)

Wednesday, Jerry Fisk, master bladesmith from Nashville, AR, was on hand at Paint & Lighting Plus here in Monticello to demonstrate the art of knifemaking.

This video shows some of the knife making process, and also shows Jerry as he cuts a 2×4 in half with a knife that he made.

Jerry is one of two people in the U.S. who is named as a “Living National Treasure”. He is in the “Bladesmith Hall of Fame”. A wing of the Arkansas Restoration Museum in Little Rock is dedicated to his work. He has been making knives for 30 years, and is rated as the 5th best bladesmith in the U.S.

Jerry is the younger brother of the Rev. Jim Fisk, pastor of the Rose Hill Cumberland
Presbyterian Church here in Monticello.

The Drew County Quorum Court heard a presentation on the Arkansas Crime Information Center of Little Rock’s county-wide alert system during its regular session March 16. The court approved the initiation of the AlertXpress system; though other steps to implement the system will be taken in the future.

Stacy Nolan, coordinator of Victim Information and Notification Everyday and JusticeXchange of the ACIC, provided the presentation on AlertXpress along with Officer of Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Horn. The AlertXpress system is a high-speed notification system powered by the Appriss Communication Platform based in Louisville, Ky.

As the state pays for the operation of the alert system, the county will receive the service for free. This free alert system can provide instant alerts via telephone, fax and e-mail on a number of issues from basic business to emergency situations, including: jury duty reminders, delinquent fines and restitution notifications, prison or jail escape alerts, sex offender notifications, weather advisories, and other safety alerts. (more…)

6th grader Sam Pelkki is shown here shaving Monticello Middle School Assitant Principal Jerry Martens’ head.

Martens’ promised the student body to shave his blond locks if 80% of the MMS student body met their Accelerated Reader (AR) goal this 9-weeks grading period. In the end, 81% of the 6th-8th grade students met their goal by the March 6th deadline.

The top 4 student “point-earners”, including Pelkki, also had the opportunity to take turns shaving some of Martens’ hair. The AR program is a reading program in which students earn points by reading both fiction and non-fiction literature and taking and passing tests based on books read.

At approximately 7:23 Monday evening, Derrick Johnson, age 34 of Wilmar, was traveling east on HWY 278, 1/2 mile west of the Monticello city limits, when he came up behind a 1995 Dodge pick up, being driven by a Monticello man, and struck right rear of the truck at a high rate of speed. (more…)

Repair crews are seen working Saturday on the damaged underground phone, cable TV, and natural gas supply lines

Saturday morning, around 11 o’clock, normal activities of cooking lunch, while watching TV, and talking on the telephone to friends came to a quick stop for many Monticello residents.

That is approximately the time that a Robin Hood Drive resident had a backhoe operator reportedly working on replacing a sewer line, in the residence’s back yard. (more…)

21 local business, education, and political leaders traveled to Washington D.C. last Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and met with Arkansas’ Congressional Delegation. (more…)

MonticelloLive.com would like to thank the members of the “20 for the Future” group that went to Washington D.C. for the photos that they have provided for public posting. 

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