FARMINGTON — Looking back on the year 2020, the effects of the covid-19 pandemic affected Farmington, Lincoln and Prairie Grove communities in almost every way. The coronavirus brought fear, doubt, changes, death, grief, and for many, quarantine and isolation from loved ones.
Many people continued to work every day throughout the year during the pandemic. Some lost jobs. Others were furloughed from their jobs. Many businesses implemented changes so that they could stay open and still continue to serve their customers.
Schools closed in the spring for in-person instruction and opened in August with both virtual and on-site classes available to students.
At the same time, organizations and volunteers from our local communities stepped up to help those in need through food pantries, food drives and multiple other ways.
Sales tax revenue increased for all three communities this year; construction boomed; city governments continued to operate, though with limited access for the public at times.
The following provides highlights for each month taken from the pages of the “Enterprise-Leader” in January-June 2020. The remaining six months will be published in the Jan. 27 issue of the “Enterprise-Leader.”
JANUARY
• Lincoln began a process to find out the actual owner of Lincoln Square. Lincoln City Council asked City Attorney Steve Zega to make a recommendation on how to proceed.
• Farmington School Superintendent Bryan Law accepted a position in January to become the new executive director of Northwest Arkansas Education Service Cooperative, effective July 1, 2020.
• Lincoln Middle School received a $16,850 grant from Simmons Bank to build the first phase of an outdoor adventure park for its students.
• Prairie Grove School Board voted to purchase 15 acres on Bush Street for $300,000. This land is adjacent to 61 acres purchased by the school in fall 2016 for $1 million.
• Work continued on a new paved walking trail at Muddy Fork Park in Prairie Grove. The trail opened to the public in April.
FEBRUARY
• Farmington received two top awards during the Arkansas Municipal League’s winter conference. The awards recognized Farmington for being a “Trendsetter City” for its efforts to improve public safety in the community and improve the health and wellness of its citizens.
• Lincoln Area Chamber of Commerce presented Lincoln Fire Administrator Jay Norton with the 2020 Bud Cox Award. Senior Keagan Thorpe received the John M. Harvey Outstanding Youth Award.
• Lincoln filed a lawsuit in Washington County Circuit Court seeking clear and legal ownership of Lincoln Square. A petition was filed to quiet title against the unknown heirs Paul H. Easby and J.W. Rodgers, both deceased, and any and all claimants to the title of the property.
• Prairie Grove Elementary School received a $10,000 grant from Arkansas Blue Cross and the Blue Shield’s Blue & You Foundation to install fitness stations along a new trail behind the school.
• Farmington City Council voted to offer for sale about 3.4 acres of land, now used as Ecology Park located off Double Springs Road in the Farmington Creek Subdivision.
• Lincoln was awarded a $300,000 state grant and planned to pair that with $130,000 in city funds to improve 11 streets during the year.
• Prairie Grove School Board approved in-district personnel changes for the 2020-21 year: Jed Davis as high school principal, Joey Sorters as junior high principal and baseball coach Mitch Cameron as high school assistant principal, in addition to his baseball responsibilities.
MARCH
• Farmington School Board voted to hire Jon Paul Laffoon, superintendent of Star City schools, as the new Farmington superintendent, effective July 1, 2020.
• Lincoln High School broke ground on a new animal science lab.
• Prairie Grove Chamber of Commerce presented the following awards at its 2020 banquet: Larry Oelrich, Lifetime Achievement Award; Taryn Golden, service award; Deidre and Richard Mays and Magnolia Coffee House for Business of the Year; Carolyn Carney, Citizen of the Year.
• Washington County Circuit Judge Doug Martin ruled that Lincoln Square legally belonged to the city of Lincoln and signed a decree quieting the title.
• March 16 — Gov. Asa Hutchinson ordered schools statewide to close for on-site instruction in light of the spread of the new corona-virus. Closures were to stay in place through the end of spring break.
• March 19 — Hutchinson extended online learning through April 17 as part of a concentrated effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus infection.
• Farmington, Prairie Grove and Lincoln schools continued to serve meals to all their students during this time through a number of ways, including pickups and deliveries by buses and other vehicles.
• Farmington City Council approved the city’s first Planned United Development for 128 single-family homes located east of Folsom Elementary and north of Twin Falls subdivision. The new development, called The Grove at Engle’s Mill, will have smaller, mid-sized and larger homes in it.
APRIL
• Farmington and Prairie Grove closed their recreational facilities to the public, except for walking trails and Farmington’s disc golf course.
• Shortly after, Lincoln also closed its recreational facilities, and all cities closed their offices to the public, except for limited access. Public meetings were either virtual or in-person using safety measures.
• Dr. Benjamin Hall of Lincoln retired after serving the community as a family doctor for 40 years.
• Farmington Fire Chief Mark Cunningham announced his retirement, effective June 1, after serving the department for more than 37 years.
• School districts prepared to settle in for the long haul after Hutchinson announced schools would remain closed for on-site instruction through the remainder of the year.
• Farmington City Council approved its second planned unit development off Broyles Street, across from Williams Elementary and the city Public Works Building. It will have 222 dwelling units, with a combination of single family homes, townhomes and duplexes.
• Lincoln High Principal Courtney Jones announced she was resigning to move out of state and the School Board named middle school Assistant Principal Stan Karber to take over the reins at the high school, effective July 1.
MAY
• Lincoln’s new 2-million-gallon water storage tank began to take shape on Jackson Highway.
• Lincoln School Board named master teacher Traci Birkes as the new elementary principal, effective July 1, to replace Jill Jackson who submitted her resignation to go Springdale School District.
• Farmington hired William “Bill” Hellard of Prairie Grove as the new fire chief with a May 26 start date. Hellard came from Rogers Fire Department.
• Farmington School District tore down the old high school gym.
• Hutchinson and the Arkansas Department of Health allowed some businesses, such as salons and gyms, to open with restrictions in place.
• Many in our communities volunteered to give out food during a food drive sponsored by Tyson Foods in the Lincoln High parking lot. That day, 115,000 pounds of food were given out to families using a drive-through process with safety protocols in place.
• Prairie Grove Mayor Sonny Hudson gave the OK for the city to open its aquatic center during the summer, with safety measures in place.
• Dona Gregory, Lincoln High School’s distance learning instructor, was named the first “Virtual Arkansas Facilitator of the Year.”
• Graduation ceremonies for Farmington, Prairie Grove and Lincoln were canceled due to covid-19, with each hoping to be able to hold in-person commencements later in the year.
JUNE
• Prairie Grove Planning Commission approved the large scale permit for a new junior high building on Bush Street.
• After more than a year of discussions, input and changes, Lincoln City Council approved a new Unified Development Code that will take the place of the Lincoln Land Use Ordinance.
• Marie Ingersoll, who started as children’s librarian for Farmington Public Library in February, learned to adjust to a new position during a pandemic and also while the library was closed due to construction for an expansion and remodeling project.
• A group of teenagers organized two peaceful protests in Prairie Grove in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
• Farmington School Board named head basketball coach Beau Thompson as the new Athletic Director. Long-time AD Brad Blew retired Jan. 31.
• Cancellations because of covid-19 continued to be announced throughout the year. The latest ones announced through June included square dancing at the Clothesline Fair, Celebrate Prairie Grove event held for the July 4 holiday, Arkansas Apple Festival, Farmington Fall Festival and Cane Hill Harvest Festival.