SULPHUR SPRINGS -- One woman's decade-long desire was fulfilled last month when the lights shone again on eight 100-year-old, pier-type lampposts on the highway bridge over Butler Creek in Sulphur Springs.
The Arkansas Highway Department took down the bridge lights when it rebuilt the bridge in 2004, and the lights didn't go back up. But Martha Kreder, a Sulphur Springs resident, had a desire to see the lampposts reinstalled. And she kept her dream alive until it was finally fulfilled.
"I worked to get it done as my legacy," Kreder said of restoring the old bridge lights over Butler Creek at the edge of the city's park.
And with her efforts, along with those she called upon to assist her, the lights finally went back up, and just in time for a scheduled ceremony on Oct. 17. Last-minute glitches had threatened to delay the installation of the lights until after the ceremony. City employees went back and forth with the state over highway bridge rules; and Sherman Buckley, Sulphur Spring street director, didn't yet have permission to put up the lights the week of the scheduled dedication ceremony.
When the city had not received the permit from the state to install the bridge lights by Oct. 13, Kreder solicited the help of Arkansas Representative Kim Hendren. By Thursday evening, Buckley had received the permission letter.
They could not have "started the install until Sherman had the permit in hand," said Greg Barber, Sulphur Springs' mayor.
The permission slip was received just in time to allow Buckley and a two-man crew enough time to install the lights before the Saturday celebration. Buckley had help from Sherman Hoffacker and Olson Samson, according to Barber.
During her introduction of speakers at the bridge lighting dedication on Oct. 17, Kreder praised the people helping her make her legacy come true. Kreder especially recognized Sherman Buckley and State Rep. Kim Hendren for their help in keeping the project on track and preventing further delays.
"Many people are responsible for this night," Kreder said at the ceremony.
She also recognized the work of the Benton County work program inmates, as well as Maurine Stiles, Shirley Barber, Mike Humphrey and her daughter, Rhonda Barnett, for their help.
Mayor Barber read from a plaque presented to him by Kreder, "Bridge Lights: Dedicated to the city of Sulphur Springs by Martha Kreder, Sherman Buckley, and the men of the Benton County Inmate Work Program, Oct. 17, 2015."
Kreder said the city would have to do the paperwork to get another permission slip from the road department to attach the plaque to the bridge.
To celebrate the occasion, Kreder and the others she solicited had organized a celebration and a dedication ceremony for 7 p.m. in the city's park on Oct. 17. She had invited several guest speakers for the dedication. Along with Mayor Greg Barber and Benton County work crew director, Lt. Robin Holt of the Benton County Sheriff's Department, Kreder asked Arkansas Rep. Kim Hendren to address those in attendance.
"I remember Billy Graham on his knees over there [in the city park] in 1958," Rep. Hendren said. "There's a lot of history here in Sulphur Springs."
Not only did Rep. Hendren mention his time spent in Sulphur's city park, he also reminisced about when present Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson's parents lived in Sulphur Springs. He said that Gov. Hutchinson had worked third shift at Hendren Plastic plant in Sulphur when he also attended classes in the law school at the University of Arkansas. That was when the governor's parents had owned the old post office building on Hibler Avenue and lived in a nice apartment above it, Rep. Hendren said.
"The three biggest lies in the world," Hendren said, "are: 'The checks in the mail,' 'I gave at the office,' and 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help you.' Sometimes government actually works," he added, referencing finally getting permission to put the lights back up.
Talking about projects he wants to promote in the Arkansas Legislature on behalf of Sulphur Springs before his last term ends, Rep. Hendren said he wants to start a fund to pave the road from Patterson Street in Sulphur, along the current path of Butler Creek Road, to connect with the future I49 interchange north of Hiwassee.
He also said that he and Sen. Jim Hendren are working to bring investors interested in the purchase of the Shiloh Farms property. He said this property had once been the site of the five-story Kilberg Hotel, and the home of John Brown University, Wycliffe Bible Translators. Now, he said, the Shiloh Farm's 29-acre property on the hill overlooking the city and its beautiful park is for sale.
After his short speech, Rep. Hendren read a letter carried by him and sent to Sulphur's residents from Gov. Asa Hutchinson:
"On behalf of the state of Arkansas, it is my privilege to recognize all those gathering to celebrate the lights being back on the Hwy. 59 Bridge. As governor, I extend my recognition to those gathered for this dedication and to their commitment to both the development and preservation of the Sulphur Springs community. Sulphur Springs will always be a special community to me since my father, John Malcolm Hutchinson, served as its mayor in the early '80s. In fact, I was the city's attorney for part of that time. How wonderful it is to live in this great state!
"The Hwy. 59 Bridge is a unique part of the area. Each of you can be proud of being part of a community that's dedicated to preserving the past and furnishing creative ways to the future.
"On behalf of the State of Arkansas, best wishes for a memorable event and continued success. I look forward to the continued development and preservation of the Sulphur Springs area."
Community on 11/11/2015