January 2024

The Corning Police Department now has a police station they can be proud to inhabit that is tailored to their law enforcement needs and requirements. The Corning City Council voted last May to move the police department from 308 W. Main Street into a cityowned structure at 2300 Main Street in Corning. With the exception of a few odds and ends, Corning Police Chief Blaine McClung states the local police department has moved into their new location. There are a few exterior projects that are being completed. Mc-Clung gave the Courier a tour on Wednesday, January 11 of the remodeled building that he designed to create a structure to fit the needs of the department and also an ambulance service. “I took the blueprints and I drew up what we wanted. So I designed all of it,” he said.

The Senate Committee on Education and the House Committee on Education met at 1:30 PM on Monday, January 8, marking their first meeting of 2024 and kicking off the biennial adequacy study process. Every interim for the last two decades, the education committees have been charged with taking a close look at our state’s education system, determining how the state can better ensure an “adequate education” to all Arkansas public school students, and reporting their findings and recommendations to the full legislature in advance of the next regular session— in this case, the 2025 Regular Session of the 95th Arkansas General Assembly, set to begin Monday, January 13, 2025.

Rich Martin, the “Voice of the Bobcats” announced his last regular season game on Friday, Oct. 13.

Blaine McClung became the newly appointed Chief of Police for the city of Corning. McClung has had extensive involvement as an officer of the law with a total of 10 years of experience in both Clay County and Corning law enforcement. McClung took over the leadership position of the Corning Police Department on July 1, 2023.

Chamber hosts public meeting to address picnic & community role Amanda Wiedeman, President of the Corning Area Chamber of Commerce fielded questions from citizens at a public meeting held on Thursday, July 27. The goal of the meeting was twofold; to inform residents about the Chamber and its role in the community, as well as to garner ideas about ways to improve the annual 4th of July picnic.

After the city was awarded a matching grant amount in the amount of $250,000 from the Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, Outdoor Recreation Grant, the city work began on the Corning swimming pool.

The Corning School District was offered 12.7 million by the state to build a new high school. The school district will ask voters to approve an increase of 5 mills on the March 5, 2024 ballot. The millage would help fund 38% of the project not funded by the state.

An official route was designated for the Future Interstate 57 corridor between Walnut Ridge and the Missouri State Line on Tuesday, Oct. 24.

Former Police Chief Jimmy Leach retired as Corning’s Police Commissioner on Friday, June 30, 2023. The city of Corning hosted a retirement reception in his honor at the M.B. Ainley, Jr. Community Center. Mayor Greg Ahrent presented Leach with a plaque with a police officer statuette that read, “Presented to Chief Jimmy Leach for 25 years of dedicated service to the city of Corning, Arkansas and the Corning Police Department 2023.”