By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
On a cold, drizzly afternoon, James Hayes of the BBC, in town to do some preliminary work on a documentary about Charles "Sonny" Liston, sat down in the St. Francis County Museum and first joked about the "bad" weather.
"Weather is relative to what you're used to," Hayes said. "Right now it's colder in London than it is here. But it's gray in London all the time."
Hayes wasn't here to talk about the weather, however. He is working on a segment of a series being co-produced by the BBC and the A&E network, called "Reputations." It has covered such figures as Richard Burton, Jimi Hendrix, Billie Holiday and others. This documentary centers on prizefighter Sonny Liston, who spent part of his childhood in St. Francis County.
Why Sonny Liston? Hayes answers that it's partly because not many people have looked past Liston's somewhat unsavory reputation to try and find the real man.
"He's one of the most ferocious, powerful heavyweights ever," said Hayes. "And he's a guy who, when he became champion, didn't get the popularity that normally goes with it. He seems to be a guy who had a certain sort of public persona. And when you start to read about that, there's very little about Sonny Liston the man."
According to Hayes, Liston came along at a crucial time.
"He was the heavyweight champion who took it away from one very famous champion, Floyd Patterson, and lost it to the most famous, Cassius Clay (who later changed his name to Muhammad Ali). It sort of puts him at a pivotal time in boxing."
Hayes described Liston as a mysterious sort of person, who was famous in his time, but about whom little is known.
"Plus, it's one of those all-American stories -- poor boy makes good. He comes from very poor circumstances to become heavyweight champion of the world. This one didn't end up happy, it didn't. But that makes it more interesting to a documentary film maker. What you want to do is find the story of the man behind the boxer.
"It appears he had a very tough childhood. He didn't go to school for very long. He ended up in trouble as a youth. And it's one of those stories, where you think for a while that it's going to change. These priests got ahold of him in jail, got him to boxing to channel the energy. His life didn't begin happily and it didn't end happily. But along the way, he went on one heck of a journey."
He said there was more going on in boxing than the emergence of the dominating force of Clay/Ali. It was a time when there were allegations of organized crime being involved.
"He had a talent inside the ring, but he may have been one of it's biggest victims."
Ben Anderson, who is working with Hayes, said Liston was also left behind by fans, particularly young blacks, who would follow Ali.
"The younger generation was not happy to just be grateful for the opportunity to compete. They wanted more than that," said Anderson. "I think that is why he was outshone so brightly by Muhammad Ali. Liston was very much in the Joe Louis mold, which worked very well for the 30s and 40s, but it didn't satisfy people nearly as much in the 60s, with the civil rights movement and the Vietnam protests about to start."
Hays said he is still looking for anyone who might be able to give some information about Liston. "We want to see anybody who might have known him or any member of this family, who was a neighbor of his or grew up around the same time," he said.
Anyone with information can contact Laura Mazzanti at the museum. Mazzanti said that the museum, when it opens up more space upstairs, will have a "Famous St. Francis Countians" exhibit.
"He (Liston) will be one of the people represented there," said Mazzanti. "Not that he led an exemplary life, but history is not always about happiness. He led an interesting life and he reached worldwide notoriety. We're not necessarily saying he's a role model, we're not saying he isn't. His life tells a very interesting story."
Hayes said there are reports that Liston was gentle and loving with children, "and that doesn't ring true with the public persona. He is flawed, as all humans are. But that makes him human. That makes him a good subject for a documentary. Here is a guy who was the best heavyweight boxer in the world at a specific time in history. He didn't lead an exemplary life, but there is more to him than that. There is a bigger story to be told here. I do think he was caught up in a lot of things."
The documentary will be filmed in Chicago, St. Louis, Las Vegas and St. Francis County. It is set to air on British television in late May, and in the United States on A&E some time later.
Anyone with firsthand knowledge of Liston may contact Mazzanti at 870-261-1744.
By CRYSTAL HOLLIS
T-H Staff Writer
Lt. Mike Medford may be new to the Hughes Police Department, but he has already made a big impact on the town. On Jan. 23, Medford was dispatched to the residence of Corinne Hamilton where he found an 18-month-old baby, Amber Hamilton, had stopped breathing.
According to Hughes Police Chief Joe Stone, Medford found the child in full cardiac arrest. "He wasted no time and began CPR on Amber," Stone said.
Medford called city hall to request they send an ambulance.
"I could tell by the sound of his voice that it must have been serious," said Mayor Donnie Mooney who heard Medford's call. "I summoned the ambulance and they came right away."
Stone said ambulance personnel commended Medford on his work with the child.
The Hughes City Council awarded Medford a certificate and a medal of merit at the group's regular monthly meeting Monday night.
Amber Hamilton, who is recovering thanks to Medford, also attended the meeting.
In response to Medford's efforts, Stone announced during the meeting that the city has planned a free CPR class for police officers. The first class is scheduled for Friday night at the city's police department.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Madison City Council members recast their votes Monday night and appointed Lindsey Cowins to the council.
Council members voted 3-to-2 to appoint Cowins to the position that was vacated following the November general election. Council members had also voted 3-to-2 in January to appoint Cowins to the vacant position on the council; however, that vote was ruled illegal by the Arkansas Attorney General's office because the vote was held during an executive session and should have been done during the public meeting.
"According to the Times-Herald and the Attorney General's office the vote that we had last month was illegal. We didn't know that we were doing something wrong, but we did, and now we need to fix that," said Madison Mayor James Brooks before the council voted again on Cowins' appointment.
In other business, council members rejected a bid for roof repairs on city hall from Johnson Contractors Inc. of Madison for $25,400. According to Brooks, the city received an estimate of $14,600 from Nathaniel Banks of Madison, but had not received a formal bid.
"When we advertised the bid, the last line of the ad said, 'We reserve the right to accept or reject any bid,' so we shouldn't have a problem with rejecting the bid. Mr. Banks has said that he can put his estimate in bid form and I believe that is how we should proceed," said Brooks.
The council voted unanimously to have the mayor contact Banks regarding his estimate.
Brooks also reported to aldermen that the Arkansas Land and Farm Development Corporation is attempting to bring low to moderate income housing to Madison and Crow Creek. "I've been talking with Derwin Sims with the ALFDC and they are in the process of buying property here in town and in Crow Creek that they will be developing for low to moderate income housing. Their minimum for housing is 24 locations. Right now they are looking at 14 and trying to find the rest. It looks good that this project will be a go," said Brooks.
The council also set a date for a public hearing on grants for Monday, Feb. 26, at 6 p.m.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Officials with Airtherm LLC and the United Steelworkers Local Union No. 6606 have reached an agreement on a new contract for employees rehired following the temporary closing of Airtherm Products Inc., in August.
Airtherm was purchased in August by Meztek Inc., of Westfield, Mass. Following the buyout, all 112 hourly employees of Airtherm were terminated and the existing contract between Airtherm and the union was terminated. Sixty-four of the employees were rehired in September, but 19 of those were transitional employees that were terminated within 60 to 120 days of the rehire.
According to Charles Wilson, former union president with Local 6606, under the terms of the new contract, a preferred list of employees will be used for right of first refusal in case of new job openings.
"With the new contract, there will be a preferred list that must be referred to during the hiring process. Any former employee will be contacted prior to anyone being hired from outside of Airtherm. This will give the former employee an opportunity to come back if a position is open," said Wilson.
Wilson also said that a global settlement was reached between the union and Airtherm LLC which will pay a cash settlement to most of the 70 former employees that were not rehired. "According to the agreement, those former employees that had 10 years or more with the company will receive a portion of the settlement," said Wilson.
According to Stanley Wheeler, plant manager with Airtherm, the contract is good for both the employees of Airtherm and for the company. "Since the changeover, things have been going real good and the negotiations on the contract also went smoothly. We had a good transition and we're hoping that everything will continue to look up for us," said Wheeler.
Wheeler also added that while hiring is currently at a standstill, there is a possibility that positions will open in the future.