Re: Powhatan Historic Records Update
Date: June 18, 2005 10:27PM


Thursday night's public meeting was a great success. About 35 local & national citizens,
 5 State Parks Staff, the ASU archivist, and a reporter met and held open frank and revealing
 discussions about the fate of the priceless historic records recently evicted from the
Powhatan Courthouse after many years. Citizens voiced their concerns and the regional
state parks official, Marcel Hanzlec from Wynne, gave the parks side. He says the Parks
Department leaders are now willing to build a "state of the art vault and research facility"
on the Powhatan Park grounds. They still do not want the records back in the vaults which
have protected them these past 130 or so years though. They want to use the former research
room in the Courthouse for a gift shop, visitor center, and offices for the local Park
Superintendent and her crew.
The catch is it will take months, or years, to get funding and a plan lined up and still
longer to actually build the research facility so the records will probably have to remain
in the ASU library for the next 2 or 3 years or more.
LCHS still needs public support. We need folks to send letters to the Governor asking why
the state spent 1.2 million dollars on the renovation and can't find time, or space, or
money to protect the records and honor their long standing Memorandum of Agreement held
with the LCHS.
We will have to hold their feet to the fire. That is best done with a top down approach.
Letters and phone calls to the Governor, CC"d to the Parks Director, State Historian and
the local Super get sent to regional legislators and they go to the Parks Director for answers.
The GOvernor's office then sends "Letters of Concern" to his Department Directors asking them
to make the problem go away.
Letters to Mr Mike Beebe and Lt. Gov Win Rockefeller will help. Now that they are running for
Governor they will want to win votes in NE Ark by helping out on a topic like preserving our
culture and records of our past.
Petetions work well. We'll need to get one started and get as many of the regions folks to
sign it as possible.
Keep the pressure on folks.

Some of these State Officals are wanting to be re-elected to office and one is even wanting to
become Governer.  Let them know The Genealogy Communtity doesn't liked to be walked on like this.
To email Attoney General Mike Beebe.
The city of Powhatan is in Lawrence County which is in the First Congressional
District of Arkansas. You should contact Representative Marion Berry's office in
Jonesboro, AR at 800-866-2701 or 870-972-4605.