BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — Benton County has picked up about 450,000 cubic yards of debris from county-maintained roads and streets outside of city limits. According to Melody Kwok with Benton County, their first pickup pass focused on tree stumps and vegetative debris, now they aim to finish the first phase by Aug. 18 before moving on to phase two.
“The second pass will give people a chance to push anything else that they've been able to clear to the edge of the road. And then we'll pick that up, and we will determine if we need to do another pass after that,” says Kwok.
Rogers was also heavily damaged by the storms, and the city has picked up 870,000 cubic yards as of Friday. The last sweep of Rogers will be on Aug. 12, while the city of Bentonville's last sweep is scheduled for Aug. 5.
“We are coming to a close on our right of way collection,” says Bentonville Mayor Stephanie Orman. “We have vegetative debris that is being reduced on site.”
Kwok says once all the debris is picked up by Benton County contractors, it’s dropped off to private landowners to improve their land.
“We've got several sites that we’ve contracted with private people who mulch and burn it,” Kwok adds.
With the debris piling up, Mayor Orman is offering residents a chance to get something out of the deal. “We are encouraging the public to come to our compost facility and pick up as many wood chips as they want."
Debris isn’t the only issue the county is looking to solve. In the storm, the Benton County courthouse was severely damaged after the roof was blown off.
On Monday, Circuit Judge Robin Green was able to move back into the courtroom and hear cases.
For the last two months, Judge Green was taking cases in the quorum courtroom in the Bentonville administration office.
Kwok explains, “The carpet's been replaced and everything's been cleaned up. Thankfully, no mold or other issues there. There's a new permanent roof that should hold up for hopefully many years to come.”
Judge Green commented for 5NEWS saying “I am so very pleased with the transformation of this courtroom from its dilapidated and rain-soaked condition after the tornado to how the courtroom looks today.”
Leaders encourage residents not to wait till the last minute to get their vegetative debris out on the street for pick up. They encourage residents to contact the Arkansas Department of Transportation if they see any debris on state highways for pickup.
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