City of Paragould
Rich in History and Tradition
Paragould is located 150 miles northeast of Little Rock and 80 miles northwest of West Memphis. Paragould is situated atop Crowley’s Ridge and located along the Crowley’s Ridge Parkway National Scenic Byway. We are near to some of the most plentiful lakes, streams, and rivers in all of Arkansas.
Paragould is a growing city that is rich in history and tradition. The Greene County Fair is more than 100 years old and is the single largest county fair in the state.
Our historic downtown is home to Art and Stroll and the State's largest Zombie Walk. The downtown area is located on Pruett Street and includes the restored Collins Theatre and the Greene County 1888 Historic Courthouse, home of the Paragould Regional Chamber of Commerce.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Enhancing the community's quality of life by preventing and minimizing injury and loss of life or property.
Police Department
Protecting and serving "The Friendly City" of Paragould, AR with pride.
Parks & Recreation
Dedicated to the maintenance and appearance of all of our city parks.
| PARAGOULD NEWS |
THE PARAGOULD POLICE DEPARTMENT WANTS YOU!
***POLICE
TESTING DATE SCHEDULED***
***FRIDAY
JULY 16THth***
The City of Paragould is currently accepting applications for
the next police officer testing date. Testing will be Friday, July 16th, 2021 at 8:00am at the Paragould Community Center located at 3404 Linwood Drive. To be eligible for testing you must have a current
application on file. Applicants must also meet the following requirements
established by the Arkansas Commission of Law Enforcement Standards:
- Applicant must be at least twenty-one (21) years of age.
- Applicant must have a high school diploma or GED certification.
- Applicant must possess a valid driver’s license at the time of hire, with no record of suspension or revocation in any state.
- Applicant must have no felony convictions.
- Applicant must be of good moral character. A comprehensive background investigation will be conducted.
- Applicant will be required to pass a physical agility test and a written police officer selection test. Applicant will also be interviewed by an interview board.
- Applicant must be a citizen of the United States as of the date of the written test.
- Applicant must live within 35 minutes of the police station when hired.
- The City of Paragould will require a psychological and medical examination (including drug screen) after an offer of employment has been made to a job applicant and prior to the commencement of the employment duties of said applicant. Condition of employment is dependent on results of said exams.
Benefits include:
- 12 hour shifts
- Paid Vacation
- Paid Sick Time
- Paid Medical and Dental for Employee
- LOPFI Retirement
- Take Home Unit after completion of probationary period
- Facial hair and visible tattoos are permissible with guidelines
Applications may be submitted online or printed from the Employment tab on the City of Paragould's web page www.cityofparagould.com or picked up from City Hall located at 301 W Court Street. Paper applications may be returned to the Human Resources office Monday - Friday from 8:30am to 4:00pm. The City will accept applications until Monday, July 12th.
All applicants must run an agility course as part of the testing process. The medical form below must be signed by a medical doctor before you will be allowed to test. The personal history statement and waiver listed below must also be completed before testing. Bring all forms with you on July 16th.
Contact Human Resources Director Tisha Baldwin @ (870) 239-7511 with questions.
THE CITY OF PARAGOULD IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.
POLICE PERSONAL HISTORY / WAIVER
Sam Cooke once sang “A little flower that blooms in May, A lovely sunset at the end of a day, Someone helping a stranger along the way, That’s Heaven to me.”
Now that winter is in the rearview mirror and spring has finally sprung, it’s a season of new beginnings and renewed hope. So many in our community have chosen to get the covid-19 vaccine, whether in one of our covid clinics, through their family physicians or our pharmacies. All of these efforts have allowed our numbers to continue to fall and life is returning to a sense of normalcy because of that. I wanted to take a few minutes and bring you up to speed on some of the things we have been working on at city hall over the past two months.
Some very big news happened in the first of March with a ribbon cutting at PLWC for its new solar plant. This addition to PLWC will help diversify the way they are able to supply power to our residents and hopefully help keep our power cost among the lowest in the state. Did you know that Paragould has the 4th lowest power cost in the state and now that the Fiber To The Home project is in its final stages we will join just a handful of cities in Arkansas that are recognized as a Gig City. These additions to our local utility will not only provide better services to our residents but will also help make our community more attractive to new residents and new industries.
Speaking of serving our citizens and attracting new residents, in the last update we spoke about the 8-Mile Creek Trail and that a bid opening was coming. I’m happy to report that on March 30th we opened bids and that TATE General Contracting, a locally owned company, was awarded the bid. Construction on the trail will begin on June 1st 2021 and will be complete before June 1st 2022. We will be having a groundbreaking event on May 14th at Harmon Park to celebrate this project and all of the people who have had a hand in making this addition to our parks system become a reality.
In staying with “Quality of Place” initiatives, because of the hard work of the City Beautiful Commission, Paragould recently joined over 3400 cities nationwide in being recognized as a Tree City through Tree City USA. This recognition is something City Beautiful has been working towards for a long time and to see them receive this recognition is encouraging for our city, our citizens and our future. My favorite quote in the Tree Proclamation is “Whereas trees- wherever they are planted- are a source of joy and spiritual renewal”
We are also happy to announce that our IT Department has built and hung the first Mobile Patrol Unit. The first 4 units will be placed in our parks system to keep our park visitors safe and to bring about a renewed peace of mind knowing that there is a police presence in our parks at all times. We feel that these units will not only keep our residents safe but will also deter any nefarious activities that cause damage to our parks. Having free Wifi in our parks, the new 8-Mile Creek Trail and the addition of our mobile patrol units, shows our citizens a renewed sense of dedication to our parks. I would encourage each of you, if you haven’t recently, to go visit one of our parks, whether it’s the splash pad at Labor, the dog park at Harmon, catching a fish or kayaking at Reynolds or visiting our Community Center, I think you’ll be surprised at just what all our parks have to offer.
In closing I’d like to address our region as a whole. Recently Mayor Copenhaver of Jonesboro, myself and around 30 other mayors of cities across Northeast Arkansas formed a Mayor’s Caucus. We all came together and realized that we see the need for all of NEA to be pulling in the same direction. We also realize that when one of our cities has a success story that that success is felt across the region. If Paragould has an industry expansion, an addition to our parks or any other improvement in our community then all of NEA reaps the rewards. We have seen this model work across the country and we want to replicate that and make our entire region a better place to work, live and play. The old adage “ a rising tide floats all ships” comes to mind and seems to fit perfectly.
I want everyone to know what a privilege it is to go to work for you, each and every day. I consider it an honor to be representing you and if you ever need my assistance my door is open.
-Josh