Beebe names new appointment to important Public Service Commission

Olan “Butch” Reeves is slated to be one of the three members of the Arkansas Public Service Commission beginning Jan. 15, according to a statement from the office of Gov. Mike Beebe. Reeves will replace Daryl Bassett on the PSC.

Paul Suskie and Colette Honorable are the other two members of the three-member panel that regulates utilities operating in Arkansas.

Reeves, of Bryant, currently serves as chairman of the Workers’ Compensation Commission, an appointment that expires Friday (Dec. 5). Beebe said Reeves will remain on as WCC chairman until his PSC appointment takes effect. Beebe will then appoint Watson Bell of Searcy to the WCC post.

Reeves, 57, grew up in Hope and holds degrees from Ouachita Baptist University, Henderson State University and the University of Arkansas School of Law.  Reeves has worked for Attorneys General Steve Clark and Winston Bryant and Gov. Mike Huckabee before being appointed to the WCC.

Bell, 59, serves as the Searcy District Court Judge. A native of Searcy, Bell holds degrees from Arkansas State University and the William H. Bowen School of Law in Little Rock. A veteran of the U.S. Army, Bell has practiced law more than 30 years and served as a City Court Judge and a Juvenile Court Judge in addition to his current post.  He has represented clients on both sides of cases before the WCC.