The apparent heat-related death of a Forrest City man has focused attention on the need to take precautions against becoming overheated.
Police were called to a house on West Ash Street on Wednesday afternoon, where a man was reported lying on the ground. Lonnie McKnight, 55, of 312 W. Ash had apparently been lying in direct sunlight for several hours. He was pronounced dead at Baptist Memorial Hospital at about 6:02 p.m.
A police department spokesperson said the heat was probably at least a contributing factor in McKnight's death.
The St. Francis County Health Unit this morning offered some heat survival tips. It is estimated that there are 400 heat related deaths a year in the United States. The elderly, the very young and people with health problems are the most vulnerable to heat-related problems. However, anyone can be affected by the heat.
"Our bodies are cooled primarily by losing heat through skin and perspiration," said Dr. Richard Nugent, a regional medical leader. "Problems occur wen we are unable to shed excess heat. When our heat gain exceeds the amount we can get rid of, our temperature begins to rise and heat-related illness may develop."
According to Melissa Ward, nurse with the St. Francis County Health Unit, people who have to be outdoors during hot weather should take the following precautions.
*Drink plenty of water. Fluid replacement is crucial to avoid heat risks. "Drink more water than usual before exercising or working in the heat. If you are elderly or taking medication, ask you doctor about fluid intake recommendations."
*Schedule strenuous activity during the coolest time of the day.
*Monitor how you feel. If you have difficulty maintaining your regular pace, slow down.
According to Ward, elderly people should avoid staying shut-up indoors during heat waves without using air conditioning. "More than half of the 700 heat-related deaths in the 1995 Chicago heat wave could have been prevented with an air conditioner in the home," she said.
Experts have said that fans are apparently not effective against heat illness during intense heat waves. It is recommended that people who cannot afford their own air conditioners should spend more time in other air conditioned environments. "Access to air conditioning for even a few hours a day is protective," a press release said.
Ward also said it is a good idea to check frequently on people who might be vulnerable to the heat.
According to the Health Department, there are three degrees of heat-related illness:
*Heat cramps. These are caused by severe salt depletion due to heavy sweating and causes prolonged muscular pain. Treatment includes salt replacement, cooling down and gentle massage.
*Heat exhaustion. This is the most common illness caused by heat. It often occurs while a person is working outside or attending an outside event in extremely hot, humid conditions. The victim may complain of weakness and feel faint. Other symptoms include dizziness, nausea, headache and confusion. The victim should be moved to a cooler place and wet cloths should be applied for cooling down. Fluid and salt should be replaced. Hospitalization may be necessary. Heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke.
*Heat stroke. This is life threatening condition. The victim's temperature control system stops working. Sweating stops completely and body temperature can rise so high that vital organs can receive permanent damage. Death can occur if the body is not cooled quickly. Ice, a cold bath and wet sheets are recommended. Symptoms include high fever, dry skin, delirium, convulsions and seizures. Call 911 and try to cool the person down.
By CRYSTAL HOLLIS
T-H Staff Writer
Palestine juveniles are going to have to find more activities to keep them off the streets earlier at night.
The Palestine City Council this week adopted a change in the city's curfew from 11 p.m. on weekdays and midnight on weekends to 10 o'clock every night.
The move was approved after councilmen discussed the curfew with Palestine resident Ronnie Lewis. "It's not for the kids working out of town or anything like that. It's for the kids walking the streets in gangs and things like that, Lewis told councilmen. "And, at 10 o'clock, what is there to do? Fight the mosquitoes or watch the moon?"
Mayor Willetta Carroll agreed with the need for a new curfew. "We are not talking about 16- or 17-year-olds. That's what the old curfew was for. We did not expect that people were going to let 11- and 12-year-olds out late at night to walk the streets," she said.
Councilmen also discussed how old a person, who is accompanying a juvenile after curfew, should be. However, that was not included in the motion. "You have some of these 19- or 20-year-olds out there walking the streets with a young kid like they're dogs," Lewis said.
In other business, councilmen tabled discussion regarding a request for more money from B&B Disposal. Councilmen and some residents said the service provided by B&B has not been satisfactory.
"They bust up a lot of carts," said city treasurer Charlie Maness. Other residents had similar comments about the service.
Carroll said she would check with St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco and other mayors to see if B and B is requesting more money from them.
John Prascher, a representative of DTN sales discussed a satellite delivery weather service with councilmen. "This system can track a storm and deliver warnings about five minutes before the National Weather Service has issued a warning." Prascher said.
The system would cost the city about $150 a month, according to Prascher.
The St. Francis County Museum will be the permanent exhibit place of one of the county's oldest historic documents, the William Strong Deed.
According to a press release from the museum, the William Strong Deed was recently conserved and framed by the Memphis Pink Palace. The deed, dated 1838, is for 5,910 acres of land in St. Francis and Poinsett counties sold by William Russell, a St. Louis land speculator, to William Strong of St. Francis County. The acreage was an old Spanish land-grant and sold for $11,119.98.
"The deed is of particular significance to our history because William Strong was the first sheriff and second judge of this county," said Laura Mazzanti, museum director, who added that Strong was an influential man in the early days of the county as well as something of a mystery figure.
In 1827, Strong built a home near Big Eddy Hill, which became an area landmark, according to Mazzanti. The home was four stories high with a verandah extending completely around it. The house contained 20 rooms and served as an inn and tavern as well as Strong's home. The home was destroyed by fire in 1892 and the only known part of the house remaining is a brick, also on display at the museum.
When the Territorial Legislature created St. Francis County in 1827, the county seat was located at the home of William Strong. It was a major stopping point for travelers along the Old Military Road according to Mazzanti.
The museum is asking local artists to illustrate their concepts of what the home might have looked like in it's heyday. The museum would like to exhibit these illustrations to enhance the Strong artifacts. Persons interested may contact the museum at 261-1744.
The St. Francis County Museum is located in the historic Rush-Gates home at 630 Front Street. The museum is open to visitors from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and also by special appointment.
For the first time publicly since Wayne Dumond's arrest in a Missouri murder, Gov. Mike Huckabee acknowledged Wednesday that he supported the convicted rapist's release from an Arkansas prison.
Dumond spent 14 years in state prison for the 1984 abduction and rape of a 17-year-old Forrest City high school cheerleader. He was charged June 29 with first-degree murder in the death of a Missouri woman, less than two years after his parole from an Arkansas prison in October 1999 with Huckabee's support.
''Obviously, we all wish we could look into the future and know everything and be perfect. Unfortunately, sometimes we're not perfect,'' the governor told a statewide radio audience Wednesday.
Huckabee announced in September 1996 his intentions to commute Dumond's sentence to time served, citing serious doubts about the convicted rapist's guilt and saying he had suffered enough. Dumond was castrated by unknown assailants while awaiting trial.
The governor's announcement set in motion a series of events in which the state parole board reversed years of denials by voting in January 1997 to grant Dumond parole. The same day, the governor denied Dumond's clemency request.
''I denied his clemency, but I supported the idea that his parole was valid even though it wasn't my decision to make. I'm not trying to escape responsibility,'' Huckabee said during his monthly call-in show on the Arkansas Radio Network. ''I've been on record many times saying that I felt that.''
The board's vote to grant parole came about three months after Huckabee met with the board behind closed doors in October 1996. Two former parole board members have said that Huckabee privately encouraged the board to set Dumond free.
''That's absolutely false,'' the governor insisted Wednesday.
Dumond remained in prison for more than 2 1/2 years after the board voted to grant parole if another state would take him because arrangements with Texas and Florida fell through.
In October 1999, Dumond was freed on parole to live with his stepmother in Dewitt. He was allowed to move to Missouri when officials in that state agreed to monitor him.
He was arrested June 23 on a parole violation and was charged six days later in the Sept. 20 death of Carol Shields, 39, of Parkville, Mo. Shields was found suffocated in a friend's apartment about 10 miles from Dumond's home.
Missouri authorities are also investigating whether Dumond is involved in the homicide last month of Sara Andrasek, 23, in Platte County, Mo. He has not been charged in that case.
''If it's proven that he turns out to be guilty, all of us are going to feel a deep sense of despair and frustration and just be deeply, deeply sorry that something like this happened, The word distraught comes to mind,'' Huckabee said Wednesday.
The Board of Trustees of East Arkansas Community College will meet tonight at 7 on the EACC campus.
Included on the agenda is a status report on the renovation of the old Learning Resource Center and a special report on an ROTC program.
There are also recommendations for employment and a recommendation for retirement.
The St. Francis County Workforce Alliance recently completed its move from 419 Front St. to 500 S. Rosser in Forrest City.
According to Tammy Manning with Workforce, the new location of Workforce is in the old location of Catfish Corner, near the s-curve on S. Rosser.
The Workforce Alliance still has the same telephone number, 630-9131, and the business hours remain the same, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.