AAC Price
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locations within 10 miles of downtown Little Rock — Kroger, Walmart, Edwards Food Giant, some gas stations, and other sites, according to Wolter. “Tis was a great option, and we continue to use this meth- od for Pulaski County taxpayers,” Wolter wrote. Centennial Bank will work with the county again this fall, offering a fourth branch, she wrote. When vaccines became available, county governments again adjusted and offered creative solutions. Judge Tone said Yell County and the cities of Dardanelle
and Danville collaborated with two pharmacies to offer drive- through vaccination clinics. During one of those clinics, the Yell County Office of Emergency Management director counted how many vaccinations were administered in one hour — 86. “Te most successful part of our COVID response was the
drive-through vaccination clinics,” Judge Tone said. “Te people were very appreciative of that, particularly the elderly.” And, fortunately, the economic disaster that some experts
predicted has not come to fruition. Counties were eligible to apply for a portion of $75 million in CARES Act funding
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last year. Some counties used that to help food banks, volun- teer fire departments, and other such entities that struggled to meet the extra demand on their services during the height of the pandemic. Counties also are receiving money under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) of 2021, the spending guide- lines of which are being laid out. Plus, Judge Day in Craighead County said sales tax revenues just did not drop as expected. Craighead County experienced not only the strain of the pandemic, but also a devastating tornado and theft of money by a county official. However, Judge Day said those things “re- ally strengthened our team because we had to adjust, and we were all pulling together to make things better. Tere are just really a lot of blessings to be told on that front. We came out strong financially” because of the initial cost-saving measures the county took. Still, he said, the county has concerns about employers who
are having trouble finding people to work. “We are cautiously optimistic going forward and going
forward we are watching our sales tax numbers very closely,” Judge Day said.
COUNTY LINES, SPRING 2021
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