Letters to the editor

Courts facility doesn't 'fit' downtown

There is ongoing debate on whether to renovate and expand the existing Benton County circuit court facilities or build a new complex by the county jail. One argument for renovation and expansion is it will continue to contribute to the profitability of retail and restaurant businesses on the square. Many believe the court facilities anchor these businesses.

Prior to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the 21C Museum Hotel opening, that might have been true, but that is not the case now. Relocating the courthouses would open up new development opportunities that fit in with the revitalization of downtown Bentonville.

If you envision the future in 10 to 15 years, it is hard to picture how the traffic routes will be adequate at the current location. The question that needs asking is how will renovation and expansion of already inadequate facilities and traffic ways meet our needs for decades to come. It makes more long-term financial and economic sense to construct a new judicial complex at a location where additional expansion of facilities will always be an option. Consolidation of the court facilities and jail in one central location enhances public safety, saves on manpower and transportation costs, and promotes more efficient operation of our judicial system.

Mark Bernthal

Bella Vista

Modernize local sonar equipment

Not too many years ago, a young man in his late teens or early 20s was boating on Beaver Lake when his companions pulled their boat onto the shore near Ventris. The young man proceeded to jump from the back of the boat into the lake. He never surfaced. Our local Beaver Lake Rescue Team went into immediate action, but was unable to find and retrieve his body. Either Kansas or Missouri came to our rescue with their modern sonar-equipped boat, and within hours the young man's body was retrieved.

History repeated itself at Beaver Lake when a young lady drown on March 24 in the Coppermine area. Again our very well-trained rescue dive team diligently searched for her body in the 200-plus feet of water. After a week the search for this woman ceased. The family contacted a business in Wisconsin to come down to Beaver Lake and continue the search for their kin. Within hours, the Wisconsin people were able to locate her body and our dive team then brought her body to surface.

Why do we have to use out-of-state agencies and businesses to find bodies in Beaver Lake? It is my opinion our equipment is obviously old. It needs to be replaced immediately. People will continue to die on Beaver Lake, but it is inexcusable the bodies of our victims are not retrieved in an acceptable time frame. The dive team/rescue team are all well trained and dedicated people. It is our antiquated equipment that needs to be replaced with up-to-date modern machinery.

I do not know, nor will I bother to guess, just who is responsible for buying the equipment used on Beaver, the feds, the state or the county? But whoever is responsible needs to get busy and stop this continuous charade of wasting time with the retrieval of bodies from the lake. Get on the stick now and bring our deep-pooled 24,000-acre lake into the 21st century with sonar equipment that can handle the needs of the rescue teams.

Sallyann J. Brown

Rogers

Commentary on 04/17/2015

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