Quorum court votes in two library board members

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) - The Craighead County Quorum Court voted to add two members to the Jonesboro Public Library board during Monday night’s meeting.

This comes after months of controversy over LGBTQIA+ material in the library.

One of the nominees, Kailey Holt Luster, was met with some pushback from the public, with 11 Justices of the Peace voting “yes,” while two abstained from voting.

During the meeting, the court allowed three people from the opposing side to speak against Luster’s nomination before the full court voted.

Chenoa Summers, one of the people that spoke, said it was not surprising the court still voted in Luster.

“It’s a good ole boy system, quite frankly,” Summers said.

Summers said she wants to come to a compromise in a meeting and wished the quorum court would select someone who would help both sides reach an agreement, adding Luster is not that person.

“We don’t care if they lean to the right or lean to the left,” she said, “it doesn’t matter. We just want this to stop.”

Other people who spoke believe the comments Luster made on Facebook could lead to further controversies, like one comment that was quoted in the meeting:

“Alcoholics, drug addicts, gays, those living with their girlfriends or boyfriends unmarried are people that are unable to inherit the Kingdom of God.”

Summers fears Luster will not stop censoring the LGBTQIA+ content off the shelves, adding that the library may “come after black, brown, and indigenous voices.”

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