The Mena weekly star., 1910-06-23
POSEY FOLLOWS WANTS
A Polk County Settlement Is After Postoffice and Voting Precinct
 Needs Better Roads.

~ = NSSi0S0 ACShhS dlAiOAk the people in that section of Polk county known far nd wide a Posey Hollow that they are not get ting their just dues.
 Posey Hollow is the name of val ley, none too wide, that lies between the hills that guides Irons Fork of the Ouachita river in it's course to- wards the sea. The name was given 1t by one of the earliest settlers by the name of Posey, and several of the family still live in the valley.
 The valley contains much land that is not only tillable but rich. Most of it is covered by good timber and is well watered, and the farms that exist are productive, some parts being especially fitted for fruit grow ing.
 The residents seem to have few causes for complaint. The worst, probably, is the National Forest and it's administration. This they scon- sider a distinct oppression. They say that it prevents the settling up of productive. farm lands, makes life hard for bona fide settlers and holds back every line of progress. They point to the worse than failure to keep out fires, saying that as re- suit of keeping them out one year the next the accumulation of under growth was so great that when fire came it could not be controlled and much large timber was destroyed. They also say that the vsrmints are more troublesome when the hills are not burned over each year.
 B. s. Burkett, who has endeavored to get homestead, is one of the sufferers from the restrictions. He states that he went on homestead l5 months back, is now raising his second crop. The land he wanted had been homesteaded years ago, and after passing through several hands was relinquished to the government when Burkett applied for it. He aserts he was promised 80 acres, but the forestry officers have cut him down to litle patch of ' l-2 acres.
 The people of this settlement are from five to ten miles from a post office. the nearest being Quito. eight miles from Mena. They say that when they go that far they are head ed for Mena, and as a result many come all the way to Mena for their mail. They want postofiice badly, and are hoping for one and that c. L. Posey will accept the po- sition as postmaster. They also want voting precinct. as many do not vote because they must go so far.
 But, aside from these things, the visitor will decide that a prime ne- cessity to bring prosperity to Posey Hollow is good road to town and market. With that a trip to Mena and back, that now takes all day, could be made in an afternoon. aai from bad, rough trip would be ex- changed to a pleasant drive. The people are inclined to blame existing laws, the road commissioner and the road overseer for this bad condition. But it takes money land labor to make roads, and both are not always easy to get even in more thickly settled regions than Posey Hollow.
 There is one thing, however, for which the people are to blame. but are not likely to be again. They voted down the school tax. and there's plenty of childi en in need of education, too. They have a good school house, but little money to pay teachers.
 All these problems facing the peo- pie of this settlement can and will be solved, and when they are it will be one of the finest, healthiest loca- tons in Polk county-and that means