By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
With a new tornado warning system in the works, city officials remind residents that the old siren, located in the downtown area of Forrest City, is still fully operational and would be used in case of an emergency.
According to Forrest City Chief of Police Clarence McNeary, the current system was most often used in the past to alert volunteer firefighters of area fires.
"The system was last used before the advent of cellular phones and pagers, to let firefighters and volunteer firefighters know that they needed to get to the fire station for a fire. The system is still going to be activated from the fire station but only in case of an emergency."
According to McNeary, the siren was tested following last week's city council meeting and that test was two-fold in its usage.
"We wanted city council members to see that the old alarm system is still operational so we decided to sound it. It was also used because of the storms that we had Tuesday night and the fact that a tornado had been sighted in the area. With the onset of tornado season, we have to be able to alert citizens of any dangers that might be approaching, and this system still works. The siren is the only one that we have in town but it is centrally located and can be heard by a wide range of homeowners.
McNeary also said that in case of a tornado, members of the FCPD will alert members of the community to the possible dangers.
"Our officers will also be notifying homeowners of any dangers by the use of the public address systems in their cars. They will be doing this in the outlying areas of town that might not be able to hear the warning siren. We are going to do everything in our power to try and protect all of the citizens of Forrest City as best we can in the case of an emergency," said McNeary. "The system will only, and I'd like to stress only, be used if a tornado has been sighted on the ground and in the area. So, if people hear it, they should know to seek cover immediately."
The annual auction of tax delinquent properties in St. Francis County will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 19, at the Holiday Inn in Forrest City.
According to the office of Charlie Daniels, commissioner of state lands, there are 93 parcels slated for the sale. Bidder registration will begin at 9:30 a.m. The sale will be through an oral auction procedure.
Parcels scheduled for the sale are delinquent for the 1996 tax year and include acreage, town logs and improvements. The property is sold to the highest bidder. Any mail-in bids already received on any parcel will be read at the beginning of the bidding for the parcel in question.
Successful bidders are required to pay the full purchase price on the day of the sale. That price includes the amount of the highest bid plus all taxes, penalties, interest and costs due, as shown in the State Land Office's catalog of tax delinquent lands.
According to state law, the first $100 of each parcel must be paid in the form of cash, cashier's check or money order. The remainder may be paid by personal check.
Following the date of the sale, the owner of record will have 30 days to redeem the property. If that occurs, the bidder will be fully refunded. If the owner of record does not redeem the property within the 30 day period, a limited warranty deed from the commissioner of state lands will be issued to the buyer.
Original owners, assigns or heirs can contest the validity of the sale in court for up to two years following the date the deed was issued.
Sales conducted by the Office of the Commissioner of State Lands began in 1987. Since then, more than $86.2 million has been generated statewide and returned to the counties in Arkansas.
Students in the Forrest City School District will be released early on Tuesday, April 10.
Classes will dismiss at 2 p.m. to allow time for teacher inservice.
Students will also be out of school on Friday this week for the Easter holiday. Classes will dismiss at the normal time on Thursday.
Students will return to school at the normal time on Monday, April 16.
A full slate of meetings are planned throughout St. Francis County this week.
The Forrest City Public Library Board will meet at 4 this afternoon at the library, and the Forrest City Civic Center Commission will meet at 5 p.m. at the civic center.
Three city councils will meet this evening. The Widener council will meet at 6 p.m., and the Madison and Hughes councils will meet at 7 p.m. The meetings will be held at each city's city hall.
On Tuesday, the Forrest City Advertising and Promotions Commission will meet at 2 p.m. at the Forrest City Area Chamber of Commerce office.
The St. Francis County Quorum Court's personnel committee will meet at 6 p.m. at the courthouse followed by a budget committee meeting at 6:30 p.m.
The Palestine and Caldwell city councils are scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. at each city's city hall. The Hughes School Board is also slated to meet at 7 p.m. in the district's administration building.
On Thursday, the Wheatley City Council will meet at 8 p.m. at city hall.