Keys to the city presented at the final meeting of the 2023-24 Garland County Quorum Court on Monday came from District 2 Director Phyllis Beard's allotment.
She said her eye surgery earlier in the day required District 5 Director Karen Garcia to present keys to Justices of the Peace Jason Braziel, R-District 8, and Larry Raney, R-District 13, on her behalf. Keys Beard presented to JPs Esther Dixon, D-District 3, and Ray Owen, D-District 6, were also attributed to her.
City code allows members of the Hot Springs Board of Directors to award up to six keys a year. Beard said she wrote the comments Garcia read about Braziel and Raney, who voted to block a pro-life resolution from reaching the quorum court floor.
"I watched the quorum court and saw everything they put at risk," Beard said Thursday. "It essentially cost them their seats. I wanted to acknowledge them for the risk they took."