By CRYSTAL HOLLIS
T-H Staff Writer
Forrest City residents and businesses are gearing up to welcome the 5-A state basketball tournament set to tip off on Tuesday, Feb. 27, and run through Saturday, March 2, at Mustang Arena.
Niki Jones, Director of Community Relations for the Forrest City Area Chamber of Commerce, said she feels the tournament will be a huge success.
"Besides the banner on Washington, local businesses can show their support for the 32-team tournament by having their windows painted by local high school art students," said Jones.
According to Jones, businesses can have students in Forrest City High School art teacher Don Williams' class paint tournament greetings and slogans on their business windows. A small fee, to pay for the cost of materials, will be charged.
"They will be using temporary, washable poster paint," Jones said. "This will be a great way for businesses to support local efforts and attract visitors to their establishment," She said business owners or managers may contact the chamber at 633-9500 to sign up for the window painting.
In addition to window painting, Jones said businesses can pick up small signs from the chamber office. "If businesses can't use the paintings or signs, we would like to ask them to please promote the tournament on their marquis," she said.
The tournament banner was placed across North Washington near Interstate 40 today. "The poles were erected by Entergy and the highway department Wednesday," Jones said. "This is the first time we've had a banner up at this location. Usually the banner is in front of the civic center, but at the last Advertising and Promotions meeting, the group felt the banner would be seen by more visitors at this location.
The A&P, in conjunction with the Business and Industry Training Center, will also conduct a survey at the tournament to measure the economic impact of having the tournament in Forrest City. "We are going to use a questionnaire, and we hope the visitors will fill out the survey," Jones said.
"We have had tremendous response from people in the community volunteering to help at the tournament, from ticket sales to concessions to surveys," said Jones. "This is a huge undertaking, and we appreciate all the help we are receiving from the community."
Those attending the tournament next week will be entertained by two local talents. Miss Arkansas Sara Harris will sing on Tuesday, at halftime, during the 5:30 and 7 p.m. games. Forrest City Lincoln sixth grader, Kenneth Norman, will sing the "Star Spangled Banner" on the opening day of the tournament.
Volunteers will be able to park at the vocational building located behind the arena. There will be a shuttle service for visitors to and from the game to the civic center and the First Baptist Church.
By CRYSTAL HOLLIS
T-H Staff Writer
Injuries were reported in an accident Thursday afternoon at a local intersection where a signal light once directed traffic.
The Buford and Division Streets intersection was home to a traffic signal until the ice storm on Dec. 13, pulled the light down. Since then, at least four accidents have been reported at that intersection. Until yesterday, the accidents had been relatively minor with no injuries reported.
As of now, city officials say there are no plans to replace that traffic light. Instead, stop signs have been erected on Buford Street.
Yesterday's accident was reported just after 3 p.m., when many residents are picking up children at different schools located in that area.
Those involved in the wreck included a 2000 Jeep, driven by Sandy Beshears, 32, 1053 SFC, Forrest City; a 2000 Pontiac, driven by Irene Mapson, 62, 320 Poplar St., Forrest City and a 1989 Oldsmobile, operated by Anita Deshea Williams, 30, of 140 Bray St., Forrest City.
According to a report at the Forrest City Police Department, Mapson was trapped inside her vehicle until the fire department's rescue unit freed her with the "Jaws of Life." A passenger in the Williams vehicle, Allane Barner, 24, 1906 Haywood St., Forrest City, was taken by ambulance to BMH-FC.
Several people standing around after the accident questioned when or if the traffic signal would be operational.
Mayor Larry Bryant said this morning the light may not be replaced.
"We probably won't be putting the traffic light back up. If you follow up on the report, you'll see that people ran the stop signs. It was nothing to do with whether or not a light was there or not, it's a matter of people not obeying the law."
Bryant said there is a survey being conducted. "We are working on the possibility of changing it from a two-way stop to a four-way stop," said the mayor.
According to Bryant, there was no insurance for the traffic light and Federal Emergency Management Agency did not have money available to cover the costs of replacing it.
By CRYSTAL HOLLIS
T-H Staff Writer
Saturday hours are being limited at the St. Francis County Museum
The museum board this week agreed to close the facility on Saturdays until June based in part on the low volume of weekend visitors.
Museum Director, Laura Mazzanti, who is currently working Saturdays, told board members, "Our expenses are reviewed by the SFC Cultural Foundation every year, and the hours I work may be too many," said Mazzanti. "They may put me down for comp time, which means I would have to take off work instead of being paid. I don't feel the museum can go that long without a director."
According to Mazzanti, the museum averages about six Saturday visitors each month.
"We can still open for groups who call and make an appointment to visit on Saturdays," said Mazzanti. "We will definitely stay open when there are special events taking place in Forrest City," she said.
The museum will begin closing on Saturdays this weekend, but will open next weekend during the state basketball tournament being hosted by the city.
Mazzanti also updated board members on the British Broadcasting Corporation's documentary on Sonny Liston. "It (the response) has been unbelievable," she said. "We have had tremendous response from people around here who knew him or had some kind of connection to him.
She said the BBC, based in London, England, may not be the only group filming a documentary about the one-time world heavyweight champion.
"ESPN called on Tuesday about doing the same thing," said Mazzanti. "They were very upset that the BBC was doing theirs first. The BBC crew will be here in a couple of weeks to tape the documentary. They plan to air it on A&E in September. ESPN wanted to broadcast theirs in August."
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
A House committee advanced legislation Wednesday that could give counties more money for housing state inmates, and according to St. Francis County Sheriff Dave Parkman, the additional funds are needed.
In a bill that is headed to legislators, county jails would continue to receive the current reimbursement rate of $25 per inmate per day for housing inmates that have been sentenced to the Arkansas Department of Corrections, but under the new bill, counties could qualify for additional funds from the state. According to Parkman, the St. Francis County Jail is currently holding several inmates for the state of Arkansas, some who have been there for close to a year.
"We're currently holding 25 inmates for the state, and we could use all of the help that we can get. I imagine they're overcrowded on the state level, and that's why we've got so many of these people. But, it gets expensive. We've been holding some of them for months, and the way things are looking, that's not going to let up any time soon," said Parkman.
The House City, County and Local Affairs Committee approved the bill by a 13 to 3 vote, and sent it to the House. As part of the new bill, counties could apply for an enhanced rate, but could only receive the enhanced rate once every four years. No rate has yet been set.
According to Parkman the additional funds would be a considerable help for the county with housing inmates.
"I would like to see the rate increased for housing inmates because it's costing the county, Parkman said, adding, "Twenty-five dollars per day is just not enough when you have as many prisoners as we do and you have them for as long as we do. It becomes a drain on the county resources, and I think that you could find 74 other sheriffs in the state who would in some way agree with that opinion."
Two students at the Forrest City Junior High School are accused of stealing a foodservice employee's car Thursday morning.
According to a report at the Forrest City Police Department, the students were walking past the vehicle when they saw the keys in the ignition.
One student drove the car away from the school, and was supposed to meet the other student at a local convenience store.
The vehicle, a 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass belonging to Shirley Thurmond, 187 SFC 315, was found a short time later on a parking lot at Southside Swimming Pool.
During questioning of one of the suspects, police found a key to the vehicle's door inside one of his pockets. He later implicated the other student in the theft, according to the report.
The teens, ages 14 and 15, are charged with theft of property over $2,500, auto.