Noise Torture Coming From A Bitcoin Mining Facility In Faulkner County….All Day….Everyday.

Take seven seconds to listen to the noise in this recording from Gladys Andersons front yard.

Now imagine living with that noise 7 days a week 24 hours a day ?

That’s the reality for Gladys, a single mom who lives with her children, (one of which is severely autistic), in the community of Bono in Faulkner County.

In the 2023 State Legislative Session our lawmakers, instead of listening to the people, listened instead to lobbyists and passed a Bill, which Governor Sanders signed into law that April, paving the way for crypto mining facilities to set up shop in Counties without regulation.

Newrays One LLC moved in next door to Gladys and began operating its Bitcoin mining facility in May of 2023. The company is owned by Chunhua Zhoa and managed by Chanhong Chanhong Wu.

The Faulkner County Quorum Court worked quickly to get a noise Ordinance in place in hopes of protecting the citizens of Bono from the nuisance of the noise you heard in the recording.

On July 19th the Faulkner County Quorum Court put in place Ordinance 23-20 which was designed to do just that.

Article 4 Noise Limitations dictates that the decibel levels coming from a Data Center have to stay below 60 decibels between 8am and 8pm. From 8pm to 8am the levels have to stay below 55 decibels.

Under Article 6 Penalties, the operator of the facility shall be fined up to $1,000 for violating the Ordinance.  Each day of noncompliance with the ordinance constitutes a separate violation.

In mid-April 2024 I was asked if I would look into helping Gladys with the issue. After meeting Gladys and hearing her story, I started digging in.

Through the AR Freedom of Information Act I received records from the Sheriff’s Office that showed there had been three complaints made by phone. Two by Gladys on July 19th, 2023 and August 25th, 2023 and one from Shane Markuson on July 27th, 2023. No Deputies were dispatched to meet with Gladys or Shane and no readings were taken by the Sheriff’s Office….Basically nothing was done.

However, on Sept. 10th 2023, in what was termed ( Normal Monitoring Per Ordinance ), Chief Deputy Chad Wooley took three decibel readings from Newrays facility. All three violated the Ordinance but the decision was made not to pursue the violation at that time.

After reviewing the records, I met by phone with Sheriff Tim Ryals and Chief Wooley on April 23rd. Ryals said he wasn’t aware of any complaints. Due to the volume of complaints received daily by the Sheriffs Office, it’s understandable that he nor Wooley would be aware of the three that had been registered. We then discussed the Ordinance and how Complaints pertaining to it should be handled.

I informed him that Gladys would be filing an Incident Report on Newrays LLC violating the Ordinance and Ryals assured me the proper steps would be taken. It was a very cordial and positive meeting.

On May 13th I accompanied Gladys to the Faulkner County Sheriffs Office and assisted her in making an Incident Report for Newrays LLC violating the Ordinance. Deputy Huff met us in the lobby to take the report and was extremely professional and friendly. Gladys presented Deputy Huff with a statement and record of readings she had been taking with her decibel meter.

On May 19th Chief Wooley went to Gladys’ residence and took three decibel readings which were all in violation of the Ordinance. Wooley then went to Newrays facility to issue a citation, but no one was present.

Chief Wooley met with and turned over his file to Prosecuting Attorney Carol Crews Office.

On June 21^st 2024 an Affidavit for Criminal Citation was filed and Crews charged Newrays LLC with violating the Ordinance.

The case was assigned to the 9^th State District Court in Conway, Judge Chris Carnahan presiding. Plea and arraignment were set for August 26^th, 2024.

There is an old saying “The wheels of justice turn slowly.”….Well old sayings are old sayings for a reason and this case is proof of that.

After the Court proceeding on August 26^th a new Court date was set for October 7^th, 2024. Motions were made and we end up with a continuance and a new court date of February 25^th, 2025.

On February 25^th another continuance was granted with a new court date of April 22^nd, 2025, this last Tuesday in which the trial finally took place.

Newrays LLC is represented by Alex Jones and Fred Davis of Kutak Rock Law Firm in Little Rock.

During the trial, Jones and Davis made one motion for continuance, one motion to suppress evidence and two motions to dismiss….all denied by Judge Carnahan.

When all was said and done, Judge Carnahan found Newrays LLC guilty of violating the noise ordinance and fined them the maximum of $1,000.00 stating they were not being good neighbors.

At 3:22pm that afternoon Jones filed an appeal to Faulkner County Circuit Court on behalf of his client….I’ll bet you a new $20 Bill that appeal was pretty much drafted before the trial even took place.

I asked Jones for a statement on the verdict, and he replied promptly with “NewRays is disappointed with the decision, which NewRays is appealing.”

When will the first Court date in Faulkner County Circuit Court for this case be set ?….Who knows but you can sure as hell bet it won’t be anytime soon.

In the meantime, Gladys and her children are still suffering from this nonstop tortuous noise coming from Newrays LLC’s operation.

So now the wheels of justice continue to turn very slowly but that has not and will not weaken Gladys’ resolve. Nor does it appear to have weakened Ryals, Wooley, Crews or her Deputy Prosecutors’ resolves either….All appear to be prepared for the long hall on this case.

While the conviction did not win the war for Gladys, it very much won a battle in that war that allows her to move to the next one.

Here’s the reality….I feel certain if the Circuit Court upholds the conviction, (which I believe they will), then Newrays LLC will take this all the way to the Arkansas Supreme Court.

Now why would they do that ?

Well #1 there are other aspects to the Ordinance pertaining to continued violation of it. #2 the conviction could have a serious impact in the Civil case Gladys and her neighbors have against Newrays LLC. #3 Newrays LLC has the money to keep both the Civil and Criminal cases tied up in Court.

Now I can’t go any further without stating how much I thank Ryals, Wooley and Crews for doing their jobs and doing them well thusfar….As Ryals stated to me in simple terms “It’s just not right.”

For their efforts, these three have faced the wrath of Newrays LLC as well.

You see Newrays LLC was not happy at all about being charged and on September 26th 2024 filed a lawsuit along with a motion for Injunction in the Federal Eastern District Court which was assigned to Judge Lee Rudofsky.

The lawsuit named Ryals and Crews along with County Judge Allen Dodson and County Attorney Phil Murphy as Defendants.

The lawsuit and injunction’s purpose was to stop the County from enforcing the Ordinance and included some pretty bizarre claims….Thankfully that effort failed.

So where are we at now ?….Well Gladys is waiting patiently for the next battle to come in this war….Something she has grown accustomed to.

Of course I will bring updates to this case as they occur.

In the meantime, there is another avenue in Ordinance 23-20 that can put a permanent stop to Gladys’ and her children’s suffering from the horrific non-stop noise….That avenue leads to the lap of Dodson.

Will he step up as Ryals, Wooley and Crews have done to fight for Gladys and the people of Bono ?….We are about to find out.

I’ll bring you that avenue and what Dodson can do next week.

#FactsNotFiction

Jimmie Cavin

Professional Bully Fighter I investigate and report on issues around the State of Arkansas with an emphasis on Government. I am strong conservative however I bring Truth and Facts regardless of Party affiliation….My hashtag is #FactsNotFiction