Monticello Live

Beverly Burks has announced her candidacy for re-election to the office of Drew County Circuit Clerk.Burks, 58, is currently serving her fourth term in office.
“I have loved serving as circuit clerk,” Burks said in making her announcement. “I take my responsibilities to the public very seriously, and have worked hard to try and improve the operations of the office and ensure that everything is handled in a professional, transparent fashion.” The circuit clerk’s office is responsible for accepting all filings in felony criminal, civil, domestic relations and juvenile cases, issuing summonses, and recording deeds, mortgages, liens and other property-related instruments and orders. The circuit clerk also calls jury panels, communicates scheduling for jurors, and pays them for their service. Some child support payments are made through the office, and the clerk is responsible for compiling records of pleadings in appeals.
Just this month, Burks was notified that her grant application for a new land records system had been successful. The grant is funded by the Association of Arkansas Counties’ Automated Records System Fund and will be used to update the system by which deeds, mortgages and other instruments are recorded. Once it is in place, all new filings will be accessible online. Burks is also planning to implement a new notification system to help keep jurors better informed of their service dates.
Burks and her staff process dozens of documents in a variety of cases each day and have built solid working relationships with all the judges in the Tenth Judicial District and their assistants, the prosecuting attorney and public defender’s offices, lawyers, banks, title companies and the public to ensure that the important work of the circuit clerk’s office is accomplished.
“It has been a privilege to be entrusted with this job, and I again ask the residents of Drew County for their vote,” Burks said. “I appreciate the trust they have shown in me in the past and pledge to continue to work hard in return.”
Burks, who lives in Wilmar, is a graduate of Monticello High School and Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn. She helps manage her family cattle operation and is a member of Monticello First United Methodist Church, where she plays in the handbell choir. She also serves as secretary of the Wilmar Cemetery Association, and is a life member of the Junior Auxiliary of Monticello, as well as a former member of the Seark Concert Association board. She is a member of the Monticello Book Group and Monticello Women’s Investment Club, and the daughter of the late James and Shirley Burks.

Hello Citizens of Drew County,

After many thoughts, prayers, and conversations with family and friends, I have decided to run again for the office of Drew County Judge. I served as judge for ten years, from Jan. 1, 2013 – Dec. 31, 2022. Although my time away from office has included some of my favorite pastime activities such as driving a big rig across the country, cattle farming, and spending time with family, I’ve always felt something was missing. Serving the people of Drew County was truly the most rewarding job I’ve ever had. I enjoyed being out amongst the people and working alongside the wonderful Drew County employees. Your support will be greatly appreciated.

You can contact me with any questions at 870-723-0011.

Robert Lane, a native of Monticello, has always been fascinated with the many WWII veterans of his Drew County childhood. These men and women were people he saw every day–church members, community leaders, local businessmen, doctors, lawyers, teachers, farmers, grocers and restaurant owners, who, after the war, simply came back to Drew County and returned to their lives without any fanfare. To Lane, their service to our country during this pivotal era, as well as the broad field of where they had served, is local history that deserves to be documented and remembered.

On trips back home to visit his parents, the late Corine and Herbert Lane, and his sister, Judy Bynum of Collins, he often requested that local vets recount their WWII stories that are sadly being forgotten with the passage of time. Recently, as he began researching the countless communities of Drew County where these soldiers lived and the theaters of war where they were sent, respectively, he was amazed at the width and breadth of the contribution to the war effort from our tiny county.