By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The man accused of killing a Forrest City Police Officer last summer has pled guilty.
Jeffery Briant Gibson, 26, of New Orleans, who was originally charged with capital murder in the death of Policeman Lewis Jones last summer, pleaded guilty Tuesday afternoon to a lesser charge of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison by Circuit Court Judge L.T. Simes II during a hearing at the St. Francis County Courthouse.
Gibson's charge was reduced from capital murder to first-degree murder as part of a plea arrangement between the prosecution and the defense. The capital murder charge carried the possibility of a death sentence or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Gibson's trial was scheduled to begin Monday.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chris Morledge said Gibson's defense attorneys approached the prosecution with the offer which was then taken to Jones' family for approval.
"We took Gibson's offer to the family, and with their blessing, we took that agreement. We're pleased that this could be over for the family's sake," said Morledge.
First Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Fletcher Long said the prosecution accepted the sentence of life imprisonment due to the nature of the crime.
"There isn't much difference between being sentenced to life without the possibility of parole and life imprisonment. To even broach the process, he would have to go through all of the same channels to receive parole, and the governor would have to commute his sentence. Since he's pled guilty to the murder of a police officer, I don't think that any governor would commute his sentence," said Long.
Just prior to sentencing, Gibson gave a brief statement apologizing to the family of Jones and was also allowed to briefly meet with Jones' mother before he was escorted back to the St. Francis County Jail.
Many of Jones' family members, as well as members of area law enforcement, were on hand for Tuesday's proceedings. FCPD Lieutenant Eddie Adamson said the plea brings some closure to Jones' death, but that the death of Jones still leaves a void.
"This allows the family to get a little bit of closure even though Lewis isn't here. The individual admitted his guilt, and hopefully this will allow the friends and family of Lewis Jones to put this incident behind them and move on," said Adamson.
Jones was killed outside at a St. Francis County nightclub where he was working as a security officer. According to police reports, the incident began after Jones, FCPD Sgt. James Tucker and Madison Police Chief Jerry Donaldson escorted Gibson from the nightclub following a fight. Gibson later allegedly returned and opened fire with a semiautomatic handgun striking Jones in the chest.
Gibson also faces two charges of attempted capital murder and a charge on an escape attempt in November. According to Long, the two charges of attempted capital murder were not dismissed Tuesday, but they may be dismissed at a later date.
"I don't know about the escape and battery, but in all likelihood, the charges of attempted capital murder were not dismissed. I didn't feel like today was the right time to broach that, and if they are dismissed, it will be on my time and at my terms," said Long.
Defense attorney Lew Marczuck, who represented Gibson, said he had spoken with Long regarding the other charges, but no agreements had been reached.
Gibson is expected to be transported to the Arkansas Department of Corrections later this week.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The Forrest City City Council on Tuesday heard first reading of an ordinance which, if passed, will toughen Forrest City's existing law covering abandoned automobiles on residential property.
The ordinance would amend a city statute passed in 1965, making it illegal to store any abandoned vehicle or surplus parts or to create any unsightly or unsafe condition caused by the presence of those items. The property covered includes "any premises used for residential purposes," and also includes any premises not licensed as a salvage yard, automobile repair shop or automobile dealer.
The wording in that part of the existing law is unchanged. What changes is the time period a property owner has to remove the vehicle, and the fines which can be imposed. The existing statute gives 60 days to remove an abandoned vehicle from residential property. The amended law would reduce that to seven days. The existing law establishes a fine of $10 to $25. The amended statute calls for fines of $25 to $100.
The third reading of an ordinance to define city purchasing procedures was tabled until the next meeting.
On other matters, the council gave Mayor Larry Bryant permission to put out advertisements for an engineer to assess the heating and air conditioning needs at the Civic Center. The council also gave Bryant permission to seek bids on a generator for the Civic Center, which is used as a shelter during emergencies.
It was also decided that the Police Committee would meet with the police chief to discuss the condition of the police cars, and the possibility of purchasing some new cars. Bryant said there was a chance that no new cars would be purchased this year.
Also briefly mentioned were some items which may be coming before the council soon. One is a licensing procedure for animals. Another is possible action on some of the mayor's capital improvement programs. The council will also discuss proposals for improving or replacing the St. Francis County Humane Society's shelter.
By CRYSTAL HOLLIS
T-H Staff Writer
First Congressional District Rep. Marion Berry on Tuesday explained to local residents a Delta Regional Authority $20 million appropriation bill approved in December.
"That's not a lot of money when you look at the area that this covers," Berry told several Forrest Citians attending a meeting at the St. Francis County Courthouse.
"The DRA consists of 290 counties in seven states, including 45 counties in the eastern part of Arkansas. So you can see, $20 million is like a drop in the bucket," explained Berry. "But the important thing is that it is a beginning."
Berry said he does not believe Arkansas will get much money this year or next because of Republican Senators Trent Lott and Thad Cochran, both of Mississippi. "Lott is the majority leader in the Senate and he has a lot of influence, so they have taken a lot of money that should have gone into the Delta Regional Authority and put it in Mississippi. If I had had the opportunity, I would have done the same thing, but it would have gone to Arkansas," Berry said. "That is the reason we have had such a hard time getting this bill passed, and why we had a difficult time getting appropriations for it. When the time comes and Senator Lott is no longer he majority leader, then things will change," he said.
Berry also explained the Appalachian Regional Authority, which the DRA is patterned after. ARA receives several hundred million dollars each year. "The money is spent on various enterprises like we're talking about doing here," he said.
Berry said Jessie White, head of the ARA, will be in Little Rock on March 9 to discuss how the Appalachian Authority has prospered, and how DRA could do the same.
According to Berry, funds for the appropriation are to be spent on grants for job training for employment-related education, economic development and basic infrastructure services, like water, telecommunications and sewer systems. The bill also consists of components for the development of the transportation infrastructure of the region and grants for constructing industrial parks and related facilities.
The DRA is not limited to the $20 million allotted by Congress. "There is also money in the DRA for technical assistance to help people write grants to get other federal funds they might have a need for and that might be available," said Berry. Berry says he considers the technical assistance part of the bill to be the most important component. "We can show communities how they can take money from the DRA and get part of it from Rural Development or somewhere else.
"The best use for the funds in St. Francis County would be up to the citizens in this county to decide," Berry said. However, the congressman said he feels the funds would be best used for basic infrastructure components. "How can a community grow if they have poor water, sewage, roads and schools?" asked Berry.
Berry also said the DRA funds could be used in part to help finance the construction of a new junior high school in Forrest City.
President Bush is to appoint one federal chairman to the DRA and each governor of the seven states in the DRA will be co-chairs. The governors will also appoint someone to represent them at the meetings. "It will function somewhat like the old Delta Study Commission back in the 80's," said Berry.
Berry said he is hopeful the office for the authority will be located in the Mid-South, somewhere close to the Memphis area and so it will be easily accessible to people in Arkansas."
Berry said the governor of each state is required to develop a plan in order to be eligible for funding, "That way, we will have some idea where the money will go," said Berry. "I would hope that they (the governors) would want public input.
"The way these plans will be written will be critical," said Berry. "If Arkansas' plan does not include industrial park improvements, then industrial park applications could not be written."
According to the Congressman, each county judge in the DRA will be responsible for applying and obtaining funds needed for projects.
Rod Barnett has been appointed to oversee the DRA for Berry in St. Francis County.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Congressman Marion Berry, D-Ark., told the Forrest City Rotary Club Tuesday that there doesn't seem to be a lot of interest in regulating the prescription drug industry.
He also expressed reservations about large tax cuts and said there isn't much hope for a new farm bill this year.
"Basically we're in a situation right now where we're still trying to put together a government," Berry said. "The Bush administration, as you well know, got started a little late, through no fault of their own. And they're a little bit behind. That's not a criticism, it's just a statement of the situation right now."
He said that although there was a lot of rhetoric about it last year, "We're not seeing any interest whatsoever on Capitol Hill in doing something about the prescription drug problem that we have, particularly for our senior citizens. We will continue to push that effort, and will continue to work on it until we get the problem corrected."
He said taxes will be a big news item for the next few months.
"One of the things President Bush promised us -- and by us I mean the Democratic Caucus -- he wouldn't ask us to vote on a tax package until he had shown them a budget that would provide for that.
"Many of us on both sides of the aisle have a lot of concerns that we might do something here and create another situation like we had in the 80s, where we went into huge deficits. I don't think any of us want to see that happen."
He said right now all the work was being done with projections.
"This isn't real money, it doesn't exist," he said. "We're working with projections that are 10 years out. And I don't know any responsible economist anywhere who will tell you that they can project what the economy of this country or anyplace else is going to be 10 years from now. And yet, we're about to make some massive decisions based on those projections."
He said the chances for a new farm bill are slim to none.
"We thought we were going to write a new farm bill this year," he said. "The House Agriculture Committee had already begun to write a farm bill. The Senate Agriculture Committee came back after the election and said they didn't want to write on, they weren't going to participate in it. Therefore it's pretty much a dead issue."
During a question-and-answer period, Berry was asked about the prospects of him becoming a candidate for the U.S. Senate.
"My name has been mentioned," he said, laughing. "I've been looking at it. I hope to have that decision made and behind me by the first of April. But I'll also tell you that I love what I'm doing right now."
By TAMARA JOHNSON
Managing Editor
Summer break will begin later than originally planned for students in the Forrest City School District.
The district's board of directors on Monday night approved a revised school calendar requiring the students and teachers to attend class until June 8. Classes were originally scheduled to be dismissed a week earlier.
The calendar had to be extended in order for the district to make up six days missed in December because of an ice storm around the Christmas holiday break. Instead of two weeks, students had a three-week Christmas break.
Superintendent Lee Vent said the FCSD, along with many other school districts in Arkansas, could possibly get some relief from having to make up the days when the State Board of Education meets in March.
On a similar matter, the board approved the calendar for the 2001-2002 school year. Based on this calendar, students will begin classes on Aug. 20, 2001, and end on May 24, 2002.
Also during the meeting, board members voted to expel three students for various offenses.
Only one of the three students was represented at the meeting. This student's parent met with board members in a closed hearing before the board voted to expel the child for the remainder of the school year.
The other two students were not represented at the meeting.
Following an executive session, the board voted to rehire numerous administrative positions including that of Alice Barnes as deputy superintendent and all school principals.
The Northeast Arkansas Recycling Co. has added another service -- a shredder for confidential papers.
"The reason is to give another service to the business community," said St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco. "Basically what we'll be doing is shredding any large amount of paper that needs it."
The machine, which Cisco said cost around $12,000, can shred up to 1,000 pounds of paper an hour. Although Cisco said the service is primarily for businesses, he also said individuals can make use of the service if they need it.
"We don't know at this time if there will be a charge," he said. "We hope not to have to charge for it."
He said anyone wanting more information should call J.D. Sharp, manager of NEARCO.
"I think it will be a helpful service," said Cisco. "We've had some people who've had to get companies to come in from other places to shred their documents. This will help them."
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
St. Francis County Quorum Court members Tuesday night made amendments to a pair of ordinances adopted last year dealing with the levying of real property and personal taxes in St. Francis County.
Justices voted unanimously last night to amend both ordinances which levy taxes due to a rollback on the millage for the county.
In other business, justices passed an ordinance establishing the holiday schedule for county employees and dates the county courthouse will be closed. The schedule will follow the state mandated holidays with the exception of Good Friday. According to County Judge Carl Cisco, the courthouse has traditionally been closed for that holiday.
Justices also appropriated funds to the county road department, county general account, the trust fund and the building and maintenance fund for revenues received from the one percent sales tax. According to the ordinance, the first 10 percent of the sales tax is to be allocated to the economic development fund, the next $10,000 will go to the trust fund account. The ordinance allocates $3,000 to the building and maintenance account and the balance of the revenue will be split 50/50 between the county road department and county general.
B.J. Pillow was approved as the new constable for Telico Township.
"I'd like to thank you all for giving me this responsibility. I will do my best to do this job to the best of my ability and make the county proud," said Pillow.