Holiday decorations!

Heeere’s Johnny… about a fruitcake.

Dear Mr. Lieblong, Mr. Lamberth, Mr. Rice, Mr. East, Mr. Post, Mr. Hunter, and Mr. Landers,

I, along with many other residents of the River Valley, Pope County, and the state, hope that you will fulfill your constitutionally assigned responsibility to “award a casino license to a casino applicant for a casino to be located in Pope County” within the period specified in the Casino Gaming Rules of the State of Arkansas.

In Gulfside’s Response to Defendant’s Post Hearing Brief, filed on Tuesday, December 10th, the plaintiff’s conclusion states that “Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss should be denied, Gulfside’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction should be granted, Racing Commission Rule 2.13 be held unconstitutional, and Ark. Code Ann. § 23-117-101 be held unconstitutional.”

Judge Tim Fox has not yet acted on any of this, including the motion for a “preliminary injunction against the Racing Commission, prohibiting it from considering any applications for a casino license during the pendency of this litigation.”

As I see it, if the Commission decides to waive the rule stipulating that the Commission award and issue a casino license within 30 business days after the closing of the application period to further wait on litigation, then the Commission would be, in effect, implementing a self-inflicted “injunction” on issuing the license.

As it stands right now, the two cases filed by Citizens for a Better Pope County and James Knight are over.  They lost the Pope County case, though they have filed a Notice of Appeal. They have also filed a motion to voluntarily dismiss their lawsuit against the Commission.  A spokesperson for the group says they want their Pope County case heard in the Supreme Court and are considering refiling the Pulaski County case against the Commission with “other issues” added to the lawsuit.  However, Pope County Ordinance 2018-O-42, which their lawsuit was based on, was repealed and Judge Cross wrote letters of support that have no taint of illegitimacy that some may see in the Quorum Court’s resolution of support, written before the ordinance’s repeal.  A statement in a response in the Commission’s case by the Attorney General’s Office applies to both cases.  It states, “as of October 28, 2019, the issue in this case is moot, due to the repeal of the Pope County Ordinance 18-O-42.”

Currently, the judicial review of the Administrative Appeal by Gulfside Casino Partnership seems to be in limbo.  While the plaintiff requested a one-hour hearing or “(i)n the alternative…, does not oppose this Court’s ruling on the pending motions without a hearing, based upon the papers submitted by the parties,” nothing seems to have been heard on this case from Judge Fox since the short November 25th hearing. If, in fact, the case has gone to the bottom of Judge Fox’s docket — as he said it would —, it may be quite some time before he looks at it.

There has been no injunction issued to stop the Commission from fulfilling its responsibility assigned by Amendment 100.  To me — no legal scholar — the basis for the Commission’s denial of Gulfside’s May 17th  and denial of their appeal seems sound and there is no reason for an injunction to be issued.  With no injunction, I see little reason for the Commission to wait on issuing the license.

Chairman Lieblong stated it well in the August meeting when talking about the Pope County casino after the initial litigation when he quipped, “It won’t lie fallow.”

Much of the property where the casino will be located has lain overgrown and fallow for many years.  It is time for that land to be cleared and ground broken for Legends Resort and Casino Arkansas.

I respectfully, once again, urge you to issue the casino license to Cherokee Nation Businesses so that construction can begin on Pope County’s resort and casino.

Michael Goad
Rural Pope County, Arkansas

Mother-in-law humor………………

A whole lotta caustic wit.

Ralphie: I want an official Red Rider carbine action 200 shot range model air rifle.
Mom: No, you’ll shot your eye out.

Toys not included…

Late Night Humor.

Dear Mr. Lieblong, Mr. Lamberth, Mr. Rice, Mr. East, Mr. Post, Mr. Hunter, and Mr. Lander,

I, along with the 7000 plus members of the Facebook group, Pope County Majority, look forward to the December Racing Commission meeting in the hopes that it will result in the issuance of a license for Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB) for the construction and operation of a casino.

The obstacles to issuing a license are pretty much moot at this point.

The two lawsuits filed by James Knight and Citizens for a Better Pope County are based on an Ordinance that has been repealed and on the legal validity of a resolution from the Quorum Court that has since been backed up by unquestionably valid letters from Judge Cross.

On the Gulfside litigation, Casey Castleberry, in a November 26th letter, reminds Judge Fox that “Gulfside has filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction” to enjoin the Racing Commission from issuing a license. Yet, no such injunction has been issued.

With no injunction, Gulfside’s case is over if the Commission issues a casino license to CNB. As Mr. Castleberry writes in his letter, “Arkansas law provides for no other venue in which Gulfside can seek the relief necessary to preserve its claims.”

I believe that Gulfside sees this case ending in the near term and that it will not be in their favor, as evidenced by Mr. Castleberry’s request for a one-hour hearing and “in the alternative” not opposing the Court “ruling on the pending motions without a hearing.”

I believe that the 7,160 members of Pope County Majority are representative of a much larger number of local people who favor the construction of the casino and resort.  I have been pleasantly surprised with the response lately in discussions that I have had. I have talked to people who are not members of Pope County Majority Facebook group.  Some are not active on Facebook, some are reluctant to join our group because of possible repercussions at work, and other reasons, and some seldom or never use a computer.  Virtually all have been either supportive of the casino or not opposed to it.  While I do know some people who are adamantly against the casino, I have only talked to one. Also, while some of the members of our Pope County Majority group do not live in Pope County, most do live here and, of those who don’t, most have ties to Pope County or live in neighboring counties.

We eagerly await the expanded economic development that CNB’s Legends Resort and Casino Arkansas will bring to the Arkansas River Valley.

Legends is already having a positive impact. Long before they opened an office in downtown Russellville, they started sponsoring local events, such as a fishing tournament benefiting disabled veterans. With little fanfare, they are a presence in their local involvement, participating in food drives, the state fair, the county fair, Russellville Fall Festival, Russellville Art Walk, and numerous other events and programs.  CNB has demonstrated that they want to be here.

All Gulfside ever demonstrated was that they want a casino. I don’t think they had much faith in their case from the beginning.  My understanding is that days before Pope County Quorum Court passed the Resolution of Support, Gulfside offered to essentially match the funding dollars offered by CNB for a letter of support and, if they didn’t get the letter of support, would tie the license up in court for an extended period of time.  I don’t know if this is true or simply a rumor, but it fits with what I understand of the case.

Pope County wants Legends Resort and Casino Arkansas. It will be a catalyst for change in the River Valley and a boost for the economic health and viability of the entire area.

I respectfully urge you to issue the casino license to Cherokee Nation Businesses so that construction can begin on Legends Resort and Casino Arkansas.

Thank you,
Michael Goad
Dover, Arkansas