March Minutes
The Democratic Party of Baxter County
Meeting Minutes
Donald W. Reynolds Baxter County Library
3/2/24
Chair Derek Huber called the meeting to order at 10:20
Pledge of Allegiance: Donnie led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance
Minutes: Called for any changes to February minutes. Called for approval of minutes. Mike Breton made the motion. Ashley Huber 2nd and all were in favor. February minutes were accepted.
Treasury Report: Mike and Karen Breton.
Karen reported that we have a balance of $7265.00 as of the end of February 2024. A social media ad was published this month for $150.
Update: $415 was collected at this meeting.
Chair Update: Derek Huber
Derek provided some introduction and education regarding VAN- Voter Access Network. VAN is a software that manages contact with voters that the committee bought into several months ago. It will allow people to better canvas the community for upcoming elections in a variety of ways (in-person canvass, phone banking, texting, letter writing). We are in the beginning stages of learning the different ways VAN can help us going forward. Derek showed the group how the admin can generate a list of voters in certain district areas and how to make groups (turfs) for canvassing. More information will follow in the upcoming months.
New Business: Motion to approve $675 for purchase of VOTE DECENCY 2024 signs, printed by That Print Shop in Mtn. Home was made by Glenda Huffine and 2nd by Jan Poretto, all were in favor and the motion passed. Signs will be made and purchased, with plans to sell to the community.
A motion was made by Donnie Huffine to form a volunteer committee to assess the need for a newsletter to reach members who do not access email or Facebook to find out about our meetings. This committee would determine the cost of sending out a newsletter, the number of people who would need a mailer, and what information would be on the paper newsletter. The motion to approve this was made by Glenda Huffine and 2nd by Johnny Rickman and passed.
History and Education: Mike Breton
Mike shared his newest article about Clyde T. Ellis “Mr.Rural Electrification” with the group. Clyde Ellis was born in 1908 in Garfield Arkansas, attended school in Fayetteville and was a teacher and educator in Arkansas. In 1939 he ran for US House of Representatives on the platform of bringing electricity to rural areas. He later served as GM of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association where he took on power companies. Power companies weren’t interested in expanding electricity into rural areas; the work was hard and not profitable, but Ellis and the Rural Electrification Administration established and expanded electric cooperatives. Ellis even advocated for Hydroelectric power, right here in Baxter County at the Norfork Dam. Go to the website to read the full article about the advances that Rural Electricity brought to North Central Arkansas over the years.
Legislative Watch: Glenda Huffine
Glenda presented information about the current bi-partisan citizen initiated petitions that have been approved by the Arkansas Attorney General. One constitutional amendment regarding allowing lottery proceeds to fund scholarships and grants for students enrolled in technical schools is already slated to be on the ballot. Presently there are eight potential ballot issues that have been approved for collecting signatures; Act to exempt feminine hygiene products and diapers from sales and use tax, the Abortion Amendment of 2024, Absentee voting amendment of 2024, Government Disclosure Act of 2024, Historic/Special interest vehicle act of 2024, Medical marijuana amendment of 2024, Educational amendment of 2024. Acts require 72,563 Arkansas registered voters signatures and amendments require 90,704 signatures. Baxter County needs 3000 signatures for each petition. Volunteers- Johnny Rickman, Mary O’Shields, Karen Breton, Gina Reyes, Paulette Riley, and Glenda Huffine have already held several signing events. They have asked interested persons to reach out to them to get trained to volunteer and for everyone to watch out and share future signing events.
Local Beat: Derek Huber
Derek updated the group regarding a recent meeting of the economic development committee of the quorum court. The committee did acknowledge the importance of economic development for the county, town, and entire Twin Lakes area. The NCA board and the appointment of an economic development director were discussed. More information will be provided as it becomes available. See the article in MH Observer for the full story.
Announcements:
Reminder-Primary vote is Tuesday, March 5.
Reminder- No meeting in April secondary to the Eclipse. The next meeting will be Saturday, May 4th at the library. Derek requested that committee groups meet between now and May to discuss topic areas (history and education, legislative watch, and local beat).
Chair Derek Huber adjourned the meeting at 11:30 a.m.
Next DPBC Meetings: (1st Saturdays)
April 6th: CANCELED (due to Eclipse weekend)
May 4th: Baxter County Library 10:15 a.m.
June 1st: 10:00 The Back Forty
July 6th: 10:00 Pending Location
August 3rd: 10:00 Pending Location
September 7th: Baxter County Library 10:15 a.m.
October 5th: Baxter County Library 10:15 a.m.
November 2nd: Baxter County Library 10:15 a.m.
December 7th: Baxter County Library 10:15 a.m.
January 4th: Pending Location
February 1st: Pending Location
City Council Meetings: (1st and 3rd Thursdays)
April 4th: City Hall 5 p.m.
April 18th: City Hall 5 p.m.
County Quorum Court Meetings: (1st Tuesday)
April 2nd: County Courthouse 6 p.m.
May 7th: County Courthouse 6 p.m.
Mountain Home School Board Meetings (3rd Thursday)
April 18th: Central Office 6 p.m.
May 16th: Central Office 6 p.m.