In his youth, Gene lived in the small town of Van Buren, Arkansas. He left Van Buren to attend Arkansas Tech University. He graduated with a degree in Economics and enlisted in the Army.

The Van Buren space will be cleaned out next Thursday on Feb. 13, allowing the town to do a building survey and continue moving forward with the project, according to Van Buren Town Manager Luke Dyer.

A Van Buren County woman was arraigned in the 7th District Court in Paw Paw on Wednesday on charges of embezzling roughly $50,000 from a family member.

Van Buren Mayor Joe Hurst said the city’s goal for 2025 is relatively simple: continue to improve what is already working.