By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Forrest City High School will be the site next week of a workshop on economic education, conducted by the Arkansas Council on Economic Education.
Jeannie Davis, who will coordinate the five-day event, said the non-profit council seeks to provide curriculum and training in economic education for teachers in both public and private schools.
She said Forrest City Superintendent Lee Vent, recently elected president of the ACEE, had requested a workshop.
"The focus of the week is how the local economy effects school districts, and conversely how the school district affects the local economy," Davis said.
There are currently 53 teachers signed up for the workshop from areas around the state. Dr. Larry Dale with Arkansas State University, who is director of the Center for Economic Development, will be giving lectures. Also, award-winning teachers will be taking teachers into smaller groups, showing them how to integrate economic education throughout the curriculum.
"We work with teachers from kindergarten through grade 12," Davis said. "And at this one, we will have a variety. I think every grade level will be represented at this workshop.
"We let teachers see how easy it is to integrate economic concepts and principles into what they're already teaching," she continued. "You don't have to have an economics course per se, to get economic concepts across to students."
Vent said the Forrest City School District hosted a similar seminar about three years ago.
"We're hoping to come out with an instrument that every school district in the state can use, to show the impact that every school district has on its community," said Vent. "The entire week will be spent on that. It's very well organized. The people from the Arkansas Council who set the curriculum have done an excellent job, and we're delighted to host it again."
Vent was asked to give an example of how a school district impacts the economy of a community.
"Each day we have school -- each day the bell rings -- it affects about 13,000 people in our district," he said. "You have 1,400 students. You have their parents. There are 618 school employees. You have the traffic it generates. All the things that occur on a given day of school have a dramatic impact on a community the size of Forrest City. We also have the largest payroll in the county. Those are the things we're going to look at."
The sessions will begin Monday, July 16, and will meet from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily, except for Wednesday, when the participants will be taking tours in the community. The event will wrap up with a luncheon at the Forrest City Civic Center on Friday, July 20.
Two more counterfeit $20 bills surfaced in Forrest City during the weekend.
The Forrest City Police Department reported one of the bills was found in a deposit from a fast food restaurant at a bank Saturday morning. The second bill was received at a local lawnmower repair shop, but not noticed until the owner attempted to deposit the money at a bank.
FCPD Criminal Investigation Division Sgt. Brian Davis said the counterfeit money found recently in the Forrest City area is not professionally made, and anyone questioning the legitimacy of the currency can easily tell the difference between the real money and the counterfeit.
"The real bills have water marks in them. The new $20 bills are the ones being counterfeited. If you hold it up to a light, on the real bills, you can see a picture of the president's face on one side and a strip across the width of the bill," Davis said. "The counterfeit bills don't do any of this unless it is sure enough a professional job, and that's not what we're seeing here."
The money circulating in this area is basically a computer copy of a $20 bill. "What we're dealing with has been scanned in and made on a computer.
Although the feel of the paper varies, Davis said that difference might not be noticed unless a person is handling several of the bills at one time. "If someone just hands you a single $20 bill, you might not notice it."
All counterfeit bills received by the police department are handed over to the Secret Service for further investigation.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Ordinary days can turn extraordinary in an instant. One family -- especially a grandmother and her quick-thinking 11-year old grandson -- found that out recently.
What could easily have ended as just another tragedy, instead wound up with the grandson being recognized as a hero by both his family and the Emergency Room staff at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Forrest City.
It began simply enough, much like any other day. Jeremy Golatt was to spend the night at the home of his grandmother, Ora L. Williams on County Road 210.
But when Jeremy arrived at the house, he noticed something was wrong. Mrs. Williams was on the couch, but wouldn't move or respond. It was later determined that she was having an adverse reaction to some glaucoma medication, according to Mrs. Williams.
"I don't remember nothing," said Mrs. Williams from her couch -- only now glad to be home and doing well -- about the incident. "They had to tell me all about it."
Jeremy could tell that his grandmother was in trouble, but didn't panic. Instead, he got on the phone and began calling family members, telling them, "Grandma isn't acting right," and "Grandma can't get up."
An ambulance was dispatched and Mrs. Williams was taken to the hospital. Family members began arriving soon after, and the ER staff heard Jeremy's story. It was determined that Mrs. Williams had only minutes left when she finally received the help she needed.
It was reported in the ER that after recovering consciousness and hearing the story, Mrs. Williams became the first to call Jeremy "My hero."
According to the professionals in the ER, the hero designation was no exaggeration, and they presented Jeremy with a certificate recognizing him for his actions.
"Without his (Jeremy's) quick intervention, her condition would have deteriorated rapidly," said one ER staffer. "We agree with (Mrs. Williams). Because of his quick action, she is doing well at home. Congratulations Jeremy, you're our hero, too."
Jeremy is the son of Ivory and Doris Golatt of Forrest City.
Several meetings are planned for this week throughout St. Francis County.
The Forrest City Civic Center Commission will meet at 5 p.m. at the Civic Center. The Widener, Hughes and Madison City Councils also meet tonight. The Widener council meeting begins at 6 p.m., Madison begins at 7 p.m., and Hughes begins at 7:30 p.m. Each council meeting will be held at that city's city hall.
On Tuesday, The St. Francis County Quorum Court Budget Committee will meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the county judge's office. The Palestine and Caldwell city councils will each meet at 7 p.m. at each city's city hall. The Hughes School Board is scheduled to meet in the board room at 7 p.m.
The East Arkansas Community College Board of Trustees is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 12, in the board room at the college. The Wheatley City Council will meet at 8 p.m. at city hall.
A man serving a five-year suspended sentence was sentenced to 20 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections Friday for first-degree battery.
Perry Garry Jr., 23, #34 Turner Circle, was sentenced last year to the suspended sentence on charges of third-degree carnal abuse and various drug offenses.