Pulse THE POLK COUNTY
FREE WEEKLY 1168 Hwy 71 S Mena, AR 71953 479.243.9600
April 26, 2023
Your DAILY News Sources: KENA 104.1 FM & MyPulseNews.com
Alcohol sold and Polk County still stands
INSIDE: By Ethan Nahté
Total Solar Eclipse Meeting
Page 2
Jr. Olympics Boxing In Mena
Page 23
Helping The Earth
Page 9
Friday morning was another historical day for Polk County, Arkansas, as the first packaged retail alcohol was sold in the county in several decades. Kess’s Korner was possibly one of the first beer sales, a six-pack of Love Honey from Lost Forty Brewing out of Little Rock, Arkansas. Big Fork Mall in Big Fork believes it might have been a tie for the first sale. TJ’s Country Store also had a fuller-than-usual parking lot first thing Friday morning. If some numbers thrown out by retailers are not an exaggeration, there are places that had a delivery bill in excess of $25,000. It will be interesting to see Polk County’s April and May sales tax number comparison for 2022 and 2023. Before readers on either side of the issue decides to comment before reading the entire article, or believes this article to be one-sided, the following information is but a few examples of what has been
witnessed based on comments by the general public and information gathered from law-enforcement and government sources. The response to a photo of the sale at Kess’s Korner, taken by general manager Ashley Moore of the Polk County Pulse, resulted in a deluge of comments on Facebook. Moore did not plan the photo. She simply happened to be there as the purchase occurred and obtained permission to take and use the photo. In addition, a few people asked why the photo and post was even newsworthy. Let’s begin with the definition of “newsworthy”: an adjective defined as “Interesting enough to the general public to warrant reporting.” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) If the people questioning why it is newsworthy did not find it worth mentioning, it begs the questions of why did they read the post or comment on the matter? Still, they had the right to question it. Perhaps to some, the selling of alcohol is
Local stores, such as Kess’s Korner, are carrying a variety of imports, domestics and some even sell Arkansas craft brews and wine or wine coolers. (Ariel Varner/Pulse)
See ALCOHOL continued on page 8
ASP investigates officer-involved shooting in Mena
(MENA, Ark.) — The Polk County Sheriff ’s Office asked the Criminal Investigation Division of the Arkansas State Police to investigate an officer-involved shooting that occurred on Saturday, April 22, 2023, on 1317 Highway 71 South, Mena. Officers with Polk County Sheriff ’s Office and the Mena Police Department were attempting to locate Joseph Gonzalez, 27, of Cove, who
was wanted for outstanding warrants out of Texas. A deputy encountered Gonzalez in the parking lot of a Mena restaurant and attempted to take Gonzalez into custody. Gonzalez attempted to flee and struck a deputy with his vehicle. A Mena Police officer fired two rounds into the vehicle as Gonzalez continued to flee. Less than a mile away, Gonzalez lost control of the ve-
hicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The deputy struck during the encounter was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and released. An investigative case file will be presented to the Polk County prosecuting attorney, who will determine whether the use of deadly force by officers was consistent with Arkansas law.