Gravel Ridge has been locked between Jacksonville and Sherwood as both cities look to annex the unincorporated community of 3,232. Jacksonville moved first and drew up the plans and maps of what would be annexed, and voters approved the annexation on Feb. 5.

Sherwood followed suit and are now seeking voter approval.

If the measure is passed, a third election will be held Tuesday, April 1, and Gravel Ridge voters will then have to decide between the two cities.

But what happens Tuesday could be the deciding factor.

“People need to vote,” said Kim Davis, a Gravel Ridge resident who works at Pig’n-Chik in Sherwood. “That’s what the mayor (Sherwood’s Virginia Hillman) was telling everyone who was here when she came in today. If people think that if they don’t vote, that they won’t be annexed, that isn’t right. Not voting is a vote for Jacksonville.”

Hillman’s handiwork was displayed inside the restaurant, with flyers near the cash register and yard signs taped to the walls.

“Not voting is the same as voting for Jacksonville,” said Kerry Gore, who owns and operates Pig’n-Chik. “I don’t think that people understand that. I mean if you live in Gravel Ridge and you voted in the first election, that means you can vote again. It doesn’t seem right that you can vote twice, but it is, and some people may think that since they already voted, they can’t vote again, but they can.”

Gore won’t be voting on Tuesday; he isn’t a resident of Sherwood or Gravel Ridge and therefore isn’t eligible. Davis won’t be voting either. She said she missed the deadline to register to vote.

Stephen Plyler works at theWalgreens in Sherwood but lives in Gravel Ridge.

“I’m not sure,” he said. “I’d rather be annexed into Sherwood. I already have a Sherwood address, and I work here as well.”

But Plyler won’t be voting either.

“I moved here from west Little Rock and I don’t think I’mregistered to vote here,” he said. “If I was going to vote, it would be for Sherwood, but I can’t.”

Kemmian Johnson also works at Walgreens, but he won’t be voting either.

“I’m not old enough, I’m just 16,” he said. “I would vote for Sherwood if I could.” - jpeppas@ arkansasonline.com

This article was published Sunday, March 9, 2008.

Three Rivers, Pages 112 on 03/09/2008

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