Lawrence County Judge able to sign contracts, but unable to return to work 

Lawrence County Judge Dale Freeman continues to recover from a near fatal wreck in a Little Rock hospital, and his administrative assistant has assumed the duties of his office until he returns or vacates his post.

Justices of the peace voted Monday night to turn Administrative Assistant Ann Pulliam’s part-time job into a full-time position through the rest of the year, County Clerk Tina Stowers told Talk Business & Politics. Freeman won a tough-fought Democratic primary race in the spring and has no opponent this fall, meaning he’ll be elected to his third term as judge by default if the 75-year-old is able to sufficiently recover from his injuries.

Freeman has made progress since his wreck Aug. 10 near Cabot, Talk Business & Politics has learned. He’s in a private room and able to communicate with his family. Freeman had been in a medically induced coma, and spent two weeks in the intensive care unit. He can now sign the contracts necessary to get the new Lawrence County Jail project started.

A ground breaking was held for the $8.5 million jail in Walnut Ridge on Friday. Arkansas Jail Standards told county officials in 2014 the county jail had to be replaced because of a lack of inmate space, safety problems, overcrowding, and other issues.

Voters approved a 3/8-cent sales tax hike in November 2015 to pay for the construction of the jail. It has a sunset clause set to expire in 22 years. Voters also approved a 1/8-cent sales tax increase to pay for maintenance of the 100-bed facility. It’s a permanent hike. The sales tax increases mean most of the county has a 10-cent on every dollar sales tax rate. It will take about 18-months to complete the jail.

Stowers said Freeman, not Pulliam, had to sign the contracts under law. Former county judge and current JP Alex Latham oversaw the meeting Monday night. JPs decided to have special meetings to work on the 2017 budget. Several discussed the possibility of forming a budget committee, but no action was taken.

Freeman made statewide headlines a few years ago when he disbanded the budget committee in his county. In Freeman’s absence, the county’s department heads have been running their departments, Stowers said. No major issues have been reported, she added. Department heads will have until October to submit budget requests for 2017.

What will happen if Freeman is unable to return to his office remains uncertain, JP Lloyd Clark previously told Talk Business & Politics. County officials have not contemplated a replacement for Freeman. Even though Freeman and the court often have an adversarial relationship, most members hope he recovers and fullfills his term, Clark said.

Freeman was southbound on U.S. 67 at about 5 a.m. when his truck left the roadway and crashed. The judge suffered a broken back, and other numerous injuries. He had two surgeries on his neck. When he will be able to leave the hospital has not been released.