Pantry assists workers missing pay

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Jefferson County workers missing a paycheck due to the ongoing budget stalemate received a big assist from First Ward Living Grace Pantry on Thursday.

Hundreds received a hot meal and a crate of groceries in the latest food giveaway by Deborah Allen, the executive director of the pantry on Commerce Road in Pine Bluff. That was hours before members of the Jefferson County Quorum Court were to meet in hopes of enacting a budget to, as many officials say, make the workers whole.

“Me and my volunteers, once we had seen everything they’re going through … they’re hurting,” Allen said of the county workers. “So, I asked a lot of restaurants to get involved so we can get them hot meals and groceries.”

Allen also gave thanks to Arkansas Food Bank, who she said sent 18-wheelers shipping groceries and dry items to her pantry.

Jefferson County Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr. praised Allen in an open letter for her latest drive.

“As we navigate through the challenges posed by the current government shutdown in Jefferson County, it is heartening to witness the spirit of community and support that shines brightly in times of need,” Woods wrote.

“On behalf of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and all the beneficiaries of your generosity, thank you. We are profoundly grateful for your leadership and the compassion you’ve shown. Let us continue to support each other and work collectively towards overcoming the challenges ahead.”

Some county officials, elected and hired, volunteered in Allen’s latest outpouring of support, including District 1 Justice of the Peace Alfred Carroll, who has stood in constant opposition to County Judge Gerald Robinson’s vetoes of the budget proposed by a majority of the Quorum Court.

“This, I had to be a part of,” Carroll said. “I left my doctor’s appointment, went home and freshened and came right on here. We’ve got to show the county employees we’ve got to show the same camaraderie and togetherness (in the midst of the fires) that devastated California. We’ve got to show that in Pine Bluff. Yeah, there are some tough times. Yeah, there are some disagreements. But at the end of the day, we’re all Pine Bluffians. We’re all people. We’re all people God has made.”

Working into a crescendo of excitement, Carroll shouted: “We need to work together!”

Even with a long line of those waiting to receive their goods, Carroll continued to speak emphatically about what he wants in the county budget. He pointed out a grant for the county to combat the opioid crisis and another grant for education and food services in the jail system would be impacted if Robinson’s budget proposal passes.

Before Thursday’s meeting, the Quorum Court and Robinson failed to agree on a county budget in three previous meetings this year.

“Now is the time to make everybody whole and go forward,” Carroll said. “Everybody has been involved. Everybody has talked. Everybody has made a little joke. So, now it’s time, since he has realized there are pertinent things he needs to put back in the budget, now is the time to do that.”

Carroll also said he wants workers who either experienced a cut in their salary or wages or were furloughed to return to work.

“I want them back at work without loss of pay,” Carroll said, hopping in excitement. “Maybe we can’t pay for their late fees and all of that, but by God, Charlie Brown, they already had a job, and we can give them their job back. We can make them whole again.

“The county is anticipating over $43 million in revenue for 2025. Over $43 million! And you mean to tell me we can’t put these people back to work and make them whole? Yes, we can do it.”

Carroll once viewed Robinson, a second-term county judge who previously was sheriff, as the younger brother he never had.

“I’d like to be his older brother in this instance and set the right example and suggest to my younger brother, ‘Hey, get on board. Do the right thing. Make people whole,'” Carroll said. “We can do that.”

Meanwhile, hundreds of workers across all county departments have not been paid in weeks without an approved budget. Payroll for Jan. 15 was missed, the second time in less than a year that occurred in Jefferson County.

“I’ve been there 10 years, and it’s crazy that we’ve got to go through this,” said Bo Rogers, training coordinator at the county’s 911 dispatch center. “To me, it’s a right-now problem, but we’ve got several employees at MECA (Metropolitan Emergency Communication Association) that have applied for other places, and one has said as soon as they call, she’s gone.”

Tara Clayton, a 911 dispatcher in Jefferson County for three years, said she was “low on a lot of stuff” in her household.

“I help out a lot with my mom and stuff because she’s tight right now,” Clayton said. “I try to help everyone out. And my sister had a baby last year, so I’m helping everyone.”

Clayton said she would urge all justices of the peace and Robinson to get along and fix the budget crisis so she and other county employees can be paid.

“Don’t bicker. Don’t go back and forth,” she said. “We are affected by it, you know? Help us out. Help your employees out.”

The fact that county officials like Karen Blevins, director of the Office of Emergency Management, is a good look for the county, Clayton mentioned. Despite the hardship she and others face, Clayton planned to report to work that evening.

“I love what I do,” she said.

Since the missed payroll, at least two OEM employees who left as a result have come back to work, Blevins said. That leaves up to six of her 32 employees who have not returned.

Blevins said she did not convince anyone to return to work.

“They do it because they love their jobs,” she said. “They love to help the people in the community.”

Rogers, meanwhile, is urging younger employees to stay on the job and “keep their heads up.”

“This is eventually going to end,” he said. “Eventually, we will get paid. I understand it’s easier to go out and find another job, but this takes experience. This job is not, hey, flip a burger, take a couple of minutes. This job takes a lot of experience to do.”

Local vendors who contributed to the drive include Hands of Niche, Country Chic Chocolate Co., RJ’s Sports Grill & Bar, Rice’s First-Class Catering, Carpenter’s Produce & Fish, Granny’s Kitchen, Sweet Charliemay’s Café, New Orleans Food So Good and Lucille’s Community Mobile.

“Didn’t charge me … used their own foods … so that’s how we got all this food,” Allen said. “I just thank God my community came together. I thank my volunteers.”