PUBLIC VIEWPOINT Road Response Gets Icy Reception

Saturday, December 14, 2013

After four days out of work because the roads are bad, I wondered if this was Benton County Judge Bob Clinard’s way of showing us what services we would have to do without if his budget is cut by $200,000. This would be a poor way of proving his point. Then youhave to ask about the city leaders. Why were Rogers’ roads so bad? Even the state roads received little, if any, attention. Is Arkansas really so substandard these road problems are last on the agenda?

As for the budget in Benton County, it would have been more prudent tostretch employee raises over several years incrementally than to use the excess money in the coft ers without knowing where the county financially stands. Don’t get me wrong, I am not against people earning a living wage. However, there needs to be some reasonable thought about the future. If thecountry does not continue slow growth, it’s likely that the economy will slide back into a recession. I think the leaders, including Sherift Cradduck, are counting their chickens before they are hatched. I’m just saying.

JUDY G. JOHNSON

Rogers

Opinion, Pages 5 on 12/14/2013