COUNTY OFFICIAL
PROFILE
The view from Sunset Point atop Mount Nebo.
Yell County Courthouse in Danville.
it. On Jan. 1, 2011, he was sworn in as county judge, replacing lifelong friend Brad Wear. Yell County’s population isn’t huge — the 2010 Census counted 22,185 — but the county itself incorporates almost 1,000 square miles, including Mount Nebo State Park and Lake Dardanelle. Parts of the county are in two national forests. Tourism and rec- reation activities are a major part of the economy, as are row-crop farming and poultry and livestock production. It’s one of ten Arkansas coun- ties with two county seats, and Tone says he spends a lot of time burning up the 20 miles of road between Dardanelle and Danville. He tries to keep regular hours in each town, but it rarely works out that way. “It never fails — as soon as I sit
down in my office in Danville, I realize someone needs me in Dar- danelle,” he said. Two county seats means, two assessor’s offices, two revenue of- fices and two courthouses. It’s a major issue for the county clerk, Tone said. “Te law mandates that if you’re arrested in the Dardanelle district, you appear in the Dardanelle court, and if you’re arrested in the Danville district, you appear in the Danville court,” he said. “She has to be there, or a deputy. A lot of times they have court in both places on the same day.”
and the state that I probably wouldn’t have ever met.
“I Yell County Judge Mark Tone ”
Te county also has historically had two jails, but Tone’s major undertaking as county judge has been campaigning for passage of a 1-cent county sales tax to build and operate a new, single, larger jail that will be located next to the Danville court- house. It will also consolidate and modernize the county’s 911 operations. Te election was Jan. 14, 2014, and Yell County voters approved the measure. Te existing jails were built in 1975, each with 15 beds. State
COUNTY LINES, WINTER 2014
standards for jails came out the following year, and neither jail met them: the cells are too small, and inmates can’t be separated by classification, such as felony, misdemeanor and civil offense. Te state jail standards board put the Danville jail on six months’ probation in mid-2013, and cited the Dardanelle jail for a number of deficiencies. Both could have been closed, and without a new jail, the county would have to send its prisoners to other counties’ jails and pay for their upkeep.
Tone and Yell County Sher-
’ve gotten to meet some people around the county
iff Bill Gilkey have spent the last few months traveling the county talking to any gathering they could about the need for the new jail, which will likely be complet- ed in 2016.
“Tey all know we needed
it,” Tone said. “We can’t have strong law enforcement without a detention center. If [criminals] know you can’t do anything to them, they’ll just do whatever they want to. I’m extremely pleased Yell County voters ap- proved the jail project.” Te proposal included a ¾-cent
tax increase to fund a 20-year bond of $6.8 million to $7 million to build the new jail, and a ¼-cent tax to operate it. Te ¾-cent portion will sunset once the bonds are paid off. “Tis will be the largest construction project ever in the county,” Tone said — bigger than a remodel and expansion several years ago of the Dardanelle courthouse, which at the time wasn’t Ameri- cans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant. While the new jail has been the dominant issue for Tone, it’s
far from the only one. His other major challenges, he said, are the county’s yearly budget — “it’s just an every-year thing” — and
See “Thone” on Page 40 >>> 39
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