By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Two more jurors were selected this morning, bringing the number to five, in the trial of a Memphis man accused of abandoning his two young sons to die in St. Francis County.
Prosecutor Fletcher Long Jr. said he expects opening arguments to be delivered on Thursday, in the trial of Alex Ware. Ware, 35, is accused of capital murder in the deaths of Alexander Harrell, 1, and K-Von Harrell, 2.
It is alleged that in June of 1999, Ware brought the two children to St. Francis County. Alexander was allegedly abandoned on June 16, and K-Von was thrown into Old Blackfish Lake near Heth a few days later. Ware was arrested in September of 1999 in Memphis. He is accused of killing the children in retaliation for his ex-girlfriend's decision to break up with him. The children's mother, Chantilly Harrell, told police that Ware had kidnapped her children.
After extensive searches, police found what they believe are the remains of Alexander near Widener. No trace of K-Von has ever been found.
Yesterday during a hearing held before jury selection began, Ware's attorneys, Jerry Coleman of West Memphis and Raymond Abramson of Clarendon, tried to prove that the two arresting Memphis police officers, Billy Smallwood and Max Howard, had improperly manipulated Ware into making statements to them in their patrol car. He allegedly asked if he could be charged if bodies were never found, and later allegedly mentioned suicide.
However, Circuit Judge Harvey Yates ruled that Ware wasn't forced into making either of the statements he allegedly made to Smallwood and Howard.
Other testimony, by Sgt. Marcus Worthy, indicated that Ware at first denied the children were dead. However, Worthy then said Ware changed his story, saying that the mother, Harrell, had killed the children and he had witnessed the murders. He led Memphis officials to two places in rural St. Francis County where he said the killings occurred.
Harrell was arrested, but was released after an investigation, which found that Harrell had filed a missing person report on the children when Ware would not return them.
By TAMARA JOHNSON
Managing Editor
Steps will not be taken immediately to make up a six-day student attendance deficit in the Forrest City School District.
On a recommendation from Deputy Superintendent Alice Barnes, school board members agreed to wait until after January and February are completed before deciding how the missed days will be made up. January and February are typically the months in Arkansas when winter hits hardest.
Referring to a memo e-mailed to state educators Monday afternoon, Barnes said the district is allowed to use the Memorial Day holiday to make up a day, but that days for teacher inservice are not allowed for make-up days.
Students were out of school for three weeks at Christmas instead of the normal two weeks. The attendance deficit was at eight days until students came back to school two days early, on Jan. 4 instead of Jan. 8, from the Christmas break.
"Even well thought-out adjustments to calendars will be vulnerable to the next 60 days of winter weather," according to an e-mail from Dr. Charity Smith with the State Department of Education, who also noted the waivers submitted by school district for inclement weather will be addressed during the state board's meeting on March 12.
Options at this point for making up the missed time include using spring break days, Saturday school and extending the school year.
In other business, board members voted to accept a bid on school property insurance from the Arkansas School Boards Association at a cost of $117,852. The bid is up from about $112,000 last year, but covers the new facilities such as the high school cafeteria, gymnasium and athletic training facility. According to Vent, the insurance covers about $47 million in school assets.
Following a brief demonstration, board members voted to allow Hurd Construction to repair a roof at the high school at a cost of $19,818. Repairs should begin this spring on about 6,000 square feet of the high school roof.
The board agreed to pass a resolution recognizing Michael Boles as an Outstanding Mustang Fan. Boles will be recognized at halftime of a future basketball game at Mustang Arena.
After an executive session, the board voted to extend Vent's contract to the 2003-2004 school year. The extension does not include a salary increase, according to Vent.
On another personnel matter, the board hired Janice Buford as a bus driver and music aide, Felix Duckworth as a bus driver and Larry Gwyn as a security guard at the high school. Resignations were accepted from Carreather Coleman, a music aide; Ray Floyd, a security guard at the high school and Vicki Wilson, a special services aide.
Also during the meeting, board members heard two employee grievance hearings. One grievance was in regard to the way job vacancies are posted throughout the district, and the other was over the appointment of an interim principal at Forrest City High School.
On both grievances, the board voted to support the district administration's decision. However, Superintendent Lee Vent noted that actions are being taken to ensure the job vacancies are properly posted in each building.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
St. Francis County is one of 52 counties in Arkansas that has been designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as eligible for federal disaster funds to supplement state and local response efforts to the winter storms that hit the state during December.
Rita Kepner, a representative of FEMA who was in Forrest City Monday, said "We have three missions. One is to find and assist everyone who is still out there with serious unmet needs. Number two, is to take good care of taxpayer dollars -- so every case we work with is verified. And for the other side of the coin, every case we work with is individually handled, so we can best tailor the response. Mission number three is to encourage people to think about what happened and think about what people can do to minimize damage next time."
She said the answers are local. Things like trimming trees, purchasing generators or installing manual gas heaters are some of the things which can be done.
"Right now, Mother Nature has probably done a good job of pruning trees, but people might want to think about next year, to make sure they stay pruned. But that's just one example. People need to think on their own -- what are the issues they faced, and how do they solve that problem for themselves for some other time. For some people it may mean oxygen bottles for senior citizens who have plug-in oxygen. Everybody's got their brain in gear. And everybody's situation is a little different. Do you have kids or don't you, or do you have senior citizens or don't you?"
In the meantime, Kepner said people need to call FEMA. The number is 1-800-462-9029.
"Anyone who has had damages should give us a call," she said. "When in doubt, call us. If you're not eligible for assistance, we'll tell you. But we'd rather hear from you than not."
Kepner said there are some misconceptions around. She said that everything that is damaged isn't necessarily replaced by FEMA.
She said there are several possible scenarios. A person who is fully insured will not need FEMA's help at all. A person who is uninsured or underinsured may contact FEMA and try to qualify for a Small Business Administration disaster loan.
"You have to pay it back, but it's a good loan, very low interest, they really work with people to make those payments livable. The disaster people with SBA are a special team and they are very caring people."
People without insurance who for some reason do not qualify for a loan may still get a loan for part of the damage -- say, enough to make a house livable again.
"We're talking about essential, serious unmet needs in scenario three," she said. "We're not talking about a new television set. We're not talking about a new rug. We're not talking about a new dining room set. We're not talking about a bed in a room where nobody sleeps. You do not begin to get your lifestyle back. That is not a good place to be. But it is a caring position," because the essentials are provided.
People who have immediate expenses should save receipts, she said.
"If you had impact, give us a call. Let us talk it over with you," she said.
There is a procedure involved in getting FEMA into an area. According to Kepner, "First of all, we assume that people are taking care of themselves."
Then agencies like the Red Cross and local governments step in to help with problems individuals can't handle. Eventually the governor is asked to step in with state aid. Finally, the governor can ask the president for help. If the president sees the need, that's were FEMA comes in.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The Widener City Council on Monday night passed a budget for 2001.
The largest part of the city's budget is for the water and sewer department. It calls for expenditures of $103,504. Some of the expenditures will be $24,000 for water purchase; $37,000 for salaries, benefits and taxes; $15,804 for bond and interest payment.
In other parts of the budget, general fund expenditures of $50,500 are expected. The sanitation fund is budgeted for $34,100. The street fund budget is $19,100.
On another matter, Mayor Dot Halford said the state tax on water has increased slightly, and will be reflected in water bills. She said in many cases it will not be more than a few cents.
The mayor also presented a list of properties in town which need to be cleaned up in some way. They are either littered, grown over or have dilapidated buildings on them. She said the wanted to give the property owners time to take care of the problems.
Widener has a law under which the city can condemn property which is considered unsafe or unsightly. The city can go in and clean up the property. However, City Attorney Bill Snowden advised the council that there is another ordinance which severely limits the amount which the city can seek for reimbursement for the expense of cleaning property.
He suggested that the ordinance be amended or repealed.
In other business, the council decided to hold a special meeting on Monday, Jan. 22, at 6 p.m. to discuss the licensing of vehicles.
St. Francis County had an unemployment rate of 6.6 percent in November, up from 6.2 percent in October and also up from 6.4 in November a year earlier.
Although the figure is not considered high, because of statewide low unemployment, November's figure put St. Francis in a three-way tie with Lee and Jackson counties for the fifth highest unemployment among the state's 75 counties.
According to the figures from the Arkansas Employment Security Department, during November St. Francis County had a civilian labor force totaling 12,075, with 11,275 working and 800 not working.
The highest unemployment rate in November was 8.6 percent, recorded in Desha County. The lowest was 1.5 percent in Benton County. There were 20 counties with unemployment at or below 3 percent, and 35 counties at 4 percent or lower.
The rates in surrounding counties were as follows: Cross, 5 percent; Crittenden, 3.6 percent; Lee, 6.6 percent; Phillips, 6.3 percent; Monroe, 5.6 percent; and Woodruff, 5.8 percent.
St. Francis County Quorum Court members met briefly Monday night to set the day and time for their monthly meetings.
Judge Ben Story swore in justices just prior to the opening of the meeting. Justice B. McCollum was elected to serve as the temporary presiding officer in County Judge Carl Cisco's absence.
The ordinance adopted at last night's meeting keeps the monthly Quorum Court meetings at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month.
Two city councils are scheduled to meet tonight in St. Francis County.
The Palestine and Caldwell City Council meetings each begin at 7 p.m. at the city halls in those cities.
The Hughes School Board will meet in the administration office at 7:30 p.m.
On Thursday, the East Arkansas Community College Board of Trustees will meet at 7 p.m. in the college board room. Some of the agenda items at EACC include an enrollment update and election of officers. There are also two resignations and several recommendations for employment.
Also that night, the Wheatley City Council will meet at 7 p.m. at city hall.
All meetings are open to the public.
A Forrest City man has been arrested on charges of allegedly producing and passing counterfeit money.
Joseph Lee Stephens, 42, 214 S. Gorman, Forrest City, was arrested Monday by the Forrest City Police Department on six counts of first-degree forgery and a parole violation.
According to FCPD Criminal Investigation Division Lt. Dwight Duch, "Stephens is believed to have used a personal home computer to produce counterfeit bills and pass them on to fellow parolees at Sober Living." The homemade bills included reproductions of $5 and $20 bills, Duch said.
Stephens allegedly swapped the counterfeit bills with other people who got caught with the fake money, Duch said.
Although the charge is forgery, Duch said forgery covers counterfeiting at the state level.
Stephens was on parole for burglary and weapons violations, according to Duch.
The investigation is continuing.