COUNTY NEWS
Historic Washington County Courthouse reopens in September
Washington County Judge Marilyn Edwards and Circuit Judge Mary Ann Gunn hosted county and state officials from across Arkansas in celebrating the reopening of the Historic Washington County Courthouse and rededica- tion of the renovated third-floor courtroom. Te Sept. 18 celebration was marked with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and then judges, law- yers and friends of the court recounted stories about the historic court. Two other events in the week leading up
to the reopening showcased different floors in the courthouse. Te Marion Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution rededi- cated a mural on the second floor on Sept. 14. William Steen painted the mural in 1920 to commemorate the county residents who had served in World War I. Te D.A.R. chapter commissioned the original mural and contract- ed conservator Rick Parker to clean it for the reopening of the courthouse. And on the first floor, the Fayetteville Ex- change Club opened an exhibit about the U.S. Constitution as part of Constitution Day on Sept. 17. Te Historic Washington County Court- house was built in 1904 and 1905 from a de- sign by the noted Arkansas architect Charles L. Tompson. During the last several years, the courthouse has been renovated inside and out. Part of the renovations included returning
the courtroom to its original size. During the late 1940s, the courtroom was divided to create two smaller courtrooms and a gallery overlook- ing the courtroom was turned into a storage area. Te courtroom is now at its original size and the gallery will be reopened to visitors.
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(Did an aspect of county government “make news” recently in your county? Did any of your county officials or staff get an award, appoint- ment, or pat on the back? Please let us know about it for the next edition of County Lines magazine. You can write up a couple of para- graphs about it, OR if something ran in your local paper, call and ask them to forward the story to us. We encourage you or your news- paper to attach a good-quality photo, too: email
rkemp@arcounties.org)
COUNTY LINES, FALL 2010
Washington County Assessor’s Office leads ‘generous’ community food drive With a sagging economy struggling to recov-
er, the old adage “things are tough all over” has never been truer. Te number of people need- ing assistance has grown in nearly every com- munity. Fortunately, there are many organiza- tions throughout Arkansas capable of handling this growth. In Washington County, the Seven Hills
Homeless Center, located in Fayetteville and named after the seven hills the city is built upon, began nine years ago. Due to the current economic conditions, the center is busier than ever serving over 100 individuals and families daily. In addition to providing a roof for the homeless, the center provides hot meals and hands out boxed food. Te center also admin- isters a transitional housing program providing housing for three to six months to help the em- ployed homeless become self-sufficient. Being an information center for the clients regarding contact concerning medical care, job interviews
and other benefit providers is a less conspicuous service offered by Seven Hills. All of these services require resources. Facili- ties like Seven Hills depend primarily on com- munity support. Corporations and businesses in the area provide a lot of this support; how- ever, individual donations are essential too. An awareness of the growing food and shelter
needs in the area sparked an idea in the Wash- ington County Assessor’s office for a courthouse food drive. Assessor Lee Ann Kizzar encouraged the plan and over 350 pounds of food was col- lected and donated to the shelter. It turned out to be a wonderful project sup-
ported by all the offices in the courthouse. Many county employees were very generous and that generosity made the plan successful. It was so successful there are already plans being made for the next food drive! – By Sita Nanthavong and William Stephenson, Assessor’s Office staff
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