The Independence County Quorum Court met Monday at the county’s library to discuss August’s regular business and the county’s flag and seal contest.
The court approved for Sheriff Shawn Stephens to proceed with using funds from the reappropriated budget to purchase three new vehicles for the department.
Treasurer Bob Treadway shared during his report that the county one-cent sales tax collection was up 19 percent over July of 2019.
“On the county-wide one-cent sales tax, we received $314,537.58. I projected $280,300. This is a 19.33 percent increase over July 2019,” said Treadway.
The court also approved three ordinances and a resolution amending the budget for various reasons. The ordinances include establishing a new position in the county general tax budget and appropriating funds for extra help with said funds to be derived from unappropriated funds; amending ordinance 2019-38 for appropriating funds for pandemic security with said funds to be derived from unappropriated funds; and also to establish a county general budget entitled “Land & Building Purchases” with funds to be derived from unappropriated funds.
The resolution was approved to authorize the judge to enter into a contract for bridge construction.
Wrapping up the evening’s meeting, the court addressed unfinished business and approved a Critical Worker Stipend for dispatchers due to the essential nature of the emergency dispatchers that could not furlough and receive the benefit other county employees received. This also included some employees from Tax Assessor Diane Tucker’s office that also could not furlough as long as other county employees.
The court also reviewed top seal and flag designs from a recently announced contest and voted to approve one of each from the entries.
Flag design 11 (featured above), created by Dalton James, and seal design 3 (below), created by Truls Rypern, were selected as the county’s new flag and seal.
Here are Griffin’s thoughts on the flag: “The specific symbolism for the flag is as follows: The white diamond on a blue field represents the county’s tie to Arkansas as one of the ‘mother counties.’ The two blue stripes represent the White and Black rivers. The five white stripes represent the incorporated cities: Batesville, Southside, Cave City, Cushman, and Newark. The five red stripes represent the incorporated towns: Magness, Moorefield, Oil Trough, Pleasant Plains, and Sulphur Rock. The collective 10 red and white stripes represent the row crops that are a huge resource for Independence County. The five-pronged star represents the American Revolution patriots who were buried in Independence County: Lawrence Angel, John Carothers, Benjamin Hardin, David Vance, and John Weldon. And the collective of nine stars in total represents the fact that Independence County was the ninth county to form in Arkansas”
Regarding seal 3, Griffin wrote: “The seal has the abbreviated county name, along with the text ‘Gate & Key to the Ozarks.’ This text refers to Independence County’s role in the settlement of the Ozark Mountains region. The perimeter of the seal also contains two pairs of pickaxes, representing the quarries of the area. The decorative pattern on the inner border of the perimeter was inspired by the Garrott House, one of the county’s many beautiful historic buildings.
“Within the seal is a scroll inscribed with the year ‘1820,’ the year the county was established. Red was added at my [Griffin’s] request. The seal is divided into four quarters. The first quarter has a chicken with three eggs, representing poultry and agriculture in general. The second quarter has a winged wheel, a traditional symbol of transport. The winged wheel specifically represents the Batesville Regional Airport and the stock car racer Mark Martin. The third quarter has a trout to represent Independence County’s great trout fishing and other great outdoor activities by extent. The fourth quarter has two lightning bolts, representing Independence County’s connections to two sources of energy: biofuel and hydropower.”
The court did discuss the possibility of placing the seal in the place of the diamond on the flag selected.
To view all the entries, scroll below.
Flag 1 — Anna Clark
Flag 2 — Jamie Branscum
Flag 3 — Matthew DuBose
Flag 4 — Matthew DuBose
Flag 5 — Timothy Mason DuBose
Flag 6 — Sgt. Cord Davidson
Flag 7 — Sgt. Cord Davidson
Flag 8 — Kenton Adler
Flag 9 — Truls Rypern
Flag 10 — Truls Rypern
Flag 11 — Dalton James
Seal 1 — Timothy Mason DuBois
Seal 2 — Truls Rypern
Seal 3 — Truls Rypern (Winning)
Seal 4 — Dalton James
Get up-to-date local and regional news along with the latest sports and weather every weekday morning by listening to Gary B. on Ozark Newsline, broadcast from the First Community Bank Newsroom on Arkansas 103.3. White River Now updates are also aired weekday mornings on 93 KZLE, Outlaw 106.5, and yourfm 99.5. Have a news tip or event to promote? Email White River Now at news@whiterivernow.com. Be sure to like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Add don’t forget to download the White River Now mobile app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
