County Lines Magazine


County Lines is the official publication of the Association of Arkansas Counties. It is published quarterly. For advertising inquiries, subscriptions or other information relating to the magazine, please contact Randy M. Kemp at 501.372.7550.


Executive Director / Executive Editor Chris Villines


Managing Editor Randy M. Kemp


From The Director’s Desk


The Legislative Gridiron


X’s and O’s of a session


Association of Arkansas Counties www.arcounties.org


AAC Executive Board: Mike Jacobs – President Vicki Rima – Vice-President


Johnny Rye – Secretary-Treasurer Debra Buckner Pat Dicker Larry Fratesi Jimmy Hart


Roger Haney Danny Hickman


Leonard Krout Faron Ledbetter Skippy Leek


Gene Raible


Danny Russell Doris Tate Jo West Taylor Rita Chandler


National Association of Counties Board Affiliations


H.O. Gray: Chair of the Aging Subcommittee of the Human Services and Education Steer- ing Committee. He serves on the Jefferson County Quorum Court.


David Hudson: Chair of NACo’s Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee. He serves as Sebastian County Judge.


Mike Jacobs: A member of the NACo Board of Directors and of the Agricultural and Rural Affairs Steering Committee. He is the Johnson County Judge.


Mary Louise Williams: Chair of NACo’s Arts and Culture Commission, a member of the NACo Board of Directors and of the Human Services and Education Steering Committee. She is a member of the Pulaski County Quo- rum Court.


Alvin Black: Public Lands Steering Committee. He is the Montgomery County Judge.


COUNTY LINES, FALL 2010


hose who know me know I have great passion for football. It is far and away my favorite sport. This passion stems from growing up an Arkansas Razorbacks fan, and taking many trips to Fayetteville for games. I cannot, however, claim that my football mania has anything to do with my skills on the field. In fact, my son is playing organized football for the first time this year, and he’s already better than I ever was.


T


There are many parts of football I learned to love: the pageantry of the game, the huge social events before and after games, the excitement of being competitive, and the unifying force when many follow the same team. If only Congress had such a unifying spirit! But what I have car- ried into adulthood as my most favorite part of football is the great chess match between coaches and teams.


Some teams are defensively oriented. Others focus on their offense.


Some like to blitz, while others play conservatively. The diversity of football teams and the differences between them make for interesting competition.


The roles on great teams are very well defined. Each player and coach


has very specific duties. The only way to be successful is to know your role and carry it out by taking what you learn through the week onto the field when the ball is kicked off on the weekend.


I cannot help but draw some strong comparisons from football to a


legislative session. But lest anyone think I am oblivious to one stark dif- ference, I well understand the serious nature of laws that are passed each and every year. Though the session is no game, there are many, many similarities in the maneuvers we see during a session to football plays be- ing called. A legislative session is the ultimate chess match, with billions of dollars and people’s lives at stake. The 100 Representatives, 35 Sena- tors and Governor work in concert to write laws every year. These laws profoundly affect what we do at a county level.


Despite political advertising to the contrary, our elected state legisla-


tors work hard to vet bills and weigh the pros and cons before the ball is ever snapped. But with more than 2,500 bills filed in the last regular session it is easy to see that a great number of potential laws could have a negative impact on our counties. Te Association of Arkansas Counties and member associations work hard to put


>>> 7


Chris Villines AAC Executive Director


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60