By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Classes were held again at Forrest City Junior High School this morning, following the replacement of a boiler.
"We're in business," said Principal Billy Ferguson. "We're doing fine, we've got a lot of good heat."
He laughingly admitted that the heat was not particularly crucial today, with unusually warm temperatures, but he said it would come in handy.
"We've got a nice, new boiler downstairs for when it does get cold," he said.
The junior high was evacuated last Thursday when a noxious odor filled the building. There were concerns at first that it might be a gas leak. Parents were allowed to take their children home if they wanted.
By Friday it had been learned that there was no gas leak, but the boiler was broken.
"It was a relief to learn it was not a gas leak," said Ferguson. "We were really concerned about the possibility of an explosion with the gas. It makes us feel better that all the lines have been checked by Reliant and they found no leaks. We're comfortable now."
Ferguson said the odor was caused when the old boiler started pulling its exhaust back into the building.
"Of course, that can be dangerous also," he said. "It was definitely unpleasant."
He said the new boiler was "just fixing one of the problems" with the old building.
Superintendent Lee Vent said this morning that the cost of the boiler itself was about $8,500.
"By the time we adapted all the fittings and paid for a specialist to come in from Memphis at $108 an hour, the final tab will be somewhere in the $10,000 range."
He said the boiler was a new addition to an old building, "another example of what we have to deal with in that building. It's a siphon on our resources, and it's very difficult to project those things."
He said the cost of the new boiler was coupled with a $45,000 January gas bill.
One good thing is that the district will not have to figure out a way to make up a day for the junior high students. He said it has to do with the current state funding formula.
"Under the current formula, it is based on average daily membership, rather than average daily attendance," said Vent. "Under the old formula, which was based on average daily attendance, if more than 20 percent of your students were out, you were losing money. That's no longer true. We won't have to make that day up, although it's unfortunate to lose a day of instruction for our junior high kids."
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
An aggravated robbery and two attempted robberies marred the weekend for some Forrest Citians.
The robbery took place at the Krystal restaurant on Holiday Drive at around 9:55 Saturday, Jan. 27. Mylisha M. Davis, the manager, three black males forced her to open the safe in the office and then demanded that she open the cash registers.
According to the report, Davis couldn't get the registers open and one of the suspects was trying to pull her to the back of the store when a customer walked in. The customer ran outside and the three men also fled.
Two employees, Deron Seawood and Landena Miller, had been placed in the cooler. Another employee, Michael Mellon, was outside at the time and saw three men leave the back of the restaurant.
While fleeing, the suspects dropped several rolls of coins.
One attempted robbery also took place on Holiday Drive on Saturday, at the Hampton Inn, at about 215 a.m.
Amy Culver, an employee, reported that two black males wearing ski masks came in and tried to break in through the secondary doors, which were locked, preventing entry into the lobby. After repeated attempts to gain entry, the men fled.
The second attempted robbery took place at 3 a.m. Saturday, at the Texaco on North Washington.
An employee, Latonya Wilborn, reported that two black males entered and rushed her. They made her lie on the floor while they unsuccessfully attempted to open the safe. They then told Wilborn to open it, but she said she did not have a key. The subjects also attempted to open the cash register, and were again unsuccessful.
Wilborn reported that one of the subjects put a gun to her head and ordered her to open the register. She said she would have to get up off the floor to do that, and they wouldn't let her get up. According to her report, the suspects got mad and hit the computerized register, cutting it off.
A customer pulled up to the pumps and the subjects became nervous and ran out of the store.
Descriptions of the suspects match in the two attempted robberies.
Visitors to Village Creek State Park will soon be allowed to explore the stars indoors through a program made available by the Mid-America Museum in Hot Springs.
The programs will take place Saturday, Feb. 3, and Saturday, Feb. 17, at 10, 10:30, and 11 a.m., in the visitor center auditorium. The programs are free.
Village Creek will present the programs about the stars in a portable, domed tent with a rotating projector that displays the stars as they look and move across the November sky.
Stories about the stars from civilizations around the world will be shared to give the audience insight into the value the night sky played in various cultures.
For more information, call Village Creek State Park at 870-238-9406. The park is located about 15 miles north of Forrest City.