By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
EDITOR'S NOTE: These comments were made by people who support the request for a 2.5 mill increase in property tax to build a new junior high school. The election is Tuesday.
People who are in favor of the millage generally talk about the condition of the present junior high school building and what they believe the impact on the entire community a new facility would make.
Tammy Freligh said the new junior high is needed for progress.
"I'm for it. The community has got to move forward, whether we want to or not," she said. "A new junior high is deeply needed and it is unfair to punish the children, to have them continue to go to school in a building like that.
And it's unfair to the teachers and everyone else involved. They are the ones who have to deal with that building. I'm sure it's very disheartening for the kids to go to school in a place that they're afraid might fall on their heads -- not to mention that somebody's going to get hurt and the district would probably be sued for it and where would we be then?
"We house our federal prisoners in better surroundings than we give those kids at the junior high."
Claude Berry said that even though he also had a substandard school as a child, he is in favor of a new school. He said he has already early voted.
"I was one of the early voters, and I voted for it," he said. " I guess it's about time for a new school, with the condition it's in. And if my vote will help, I did my duty. I think it would be a good asset."
He continued, "Don't get me wrong. I know what it's like. I came up in a one room shack and we sat on log seats and had wood heaters. But that's just a difference in time. There's no use trying to compare apples and oranges. We're living in modern times, so we need modern buildings and equipment to keep up with the times."
Shirley Carriger said Forrest City is losing families with young children, largely because of the junior high.
"I'm for the millage because I think Forrest City needs this school," she said. "I'm in the rental business. And from where I'm at, I see people leaving here every day to go somewhere else because of the school. They are going to Wynne and putting kids in private schools.
"A lot of times I see negative feedback in the paper and wonder if that is hurting or helping. But I think we need a new school."
Kathy Meredith said businesses would actually benefit from the construction of a new junior high.
"I own farm land, and I'm still for it," she said. "I think if we don't have a new school, we're going to continue to lose families from Forrest City. They are going to go north or east, or wherever they have to go to find facilities that are adequate.
"It doesn't just affect the kids. It affects the entire community. If people would look at it, it doesn't just affect the schools, but people will see more revenue generated in their own businesses. People's kids have to go to school somewhere. And it's not just going to cost us, it's going to help generate income for anyone who owns a business of any kind."
Dr. Dale Morris said the quality of education can sometimes be hidden by the condition of the facility.
"I'm definitely for the millage," he said. I think it's the main need of Forrest City today. New families who move into a town look to the schools. If the first thing they walk into is a dilapidated, rundown, unsafe building, they're not going to put their kids in it. And whether the school has good education or not will be beside the point.
"We need to grow, and schools are one of the first things people look at. For families, the school is important. And we've just got a terrible building and it needs to be replaced."
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
EDITOR'S NOTE: These comments were made by people who oppose the request for a 2.5 mill increase in property tax to build a new junior high school. The election is Tuesday.
As election day approaches, there are those who feel that, yes, a new junior high school is needed, but the need is outweighed by the increase in taxes that would come along with it.
According to Luther Pittman of Beck Spur, increasing property taxes in the Forrest City School District is unconstitutional and unfair.
"If a person lives in Palestine, and is not affected by the Forrest City School District but owns property in Forrest City, then they can have their taxes increased without a voice because they don't get to vote on the issue, and they don't have representation. In my opinion that is unfair and it's taxation without representation which is unconstitutional," said Pittman.
According to Pittman, an increase in the sales tax in St. Francis County would be the fairest solution to the issue of construction of a much-needed junior high school.
"The fairest way possible to fund the construction would be through an increase in the sales tax. It would equally effect everyone because everyone spends money. It would also bring in revenue from the people that travel along the interstate and stop here and spend their money in our hotels and at our restaurants which would effectively bring in money," Pittman added. "There are those with the school district who say that you can't use a sales tax to fund construction of schools, but that's just a bunch of baloney. There's a county in northcentral Arkansas that recently voted to increase the sales tax so that they could build schools, and part of the 1/2 cent sales tax also goes to the school districts," Pittman added.
According to Rhonda Hallbrook, Izard County Clerk, the county referred to by Pittman, there has not been a sales tax increase passed, but there is an election scheduled for July which would increase the county sales tax for the purpose of building a new jail.
Robert Fisher with the Arkansas Attorney General's office said the only way a sales tax could benefit a school district would be through a joint effort by a municipality and a school district to build a facility which could be used by the entire community.
"Let's say that the City of Forrest City and the Forrest City School District wanted to go in together and build a community center which would be used by the community and the school district for events. I suppose a sales tax could be used to build that facility, but as far as new facilities for the school district, those have to be built through a millage increase," said Fisher.
Supporters of a "No" vote on Tuesday also argue that if the current building had been maintained better there might not be a need for a new facility.
"We have other buildings in this town that are as old or older than the junior high school, but they aren't falling apart. If the school board had taken care of the current building better then it wouldn't be in the shape that it is in. We know that there is a need for a new building, but what have they (school administration) done to show us that they would do anything better to maintain and keep the new building in good condition and not be back asking for more tax increases in the next five years," said S.A. Montgomery, of Forrest City.
One of the issues that several people against the millage have raised is with the administration in the Forrest City School District.
"The administration is just wasting money as they've always done and they're going to continue to do that," said Montgomery, adding, "They've got a dictator over there in Vent (Lee Vent, FCSD Superintendent) who tells the school board what to do, and they don't think when he talks, they just do."
David McVey, also of Forrest City, mentioned a distrust of the current administration in his comments about the upcoming election.
"I find it difficult to believe that the ceiling in the building wasn't falling in around the students until an election was right around the corner. This administration has a history of hiding things and this is another example of it." said McVey.
Maxine Montgomery, a former bus driver for the district, voiced concerns over discipline problems with students and the ability of the district to maintain maintenance on a new facility.
"I drove a bus for the district for a couple of months, and I couldn't take it. These kids have no respect for authority, they're unruly and undisciplined. If the millage passes, in five years the district will be asking for more money so that they can repair the damage that these children will have done to it, and that's a waste. They didn't maintain the old building so what makes us think that they will do any better with a new one," she said.
Millage voting begins Tuesday, June 5, at 7:30 a.m., and will end at 7:30 p.m. Early voting will continue through Monday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with voting also taking place on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the St. Francis County Clerk's office at the St. Francis County Courthouse.
The St. Francis County peach crop may not be what it used to be, but what's there seems to be doing well, according to Justin Hensley, County Extension agent-agriculture.
"It looks like the crop is going along fine," said Hensley. "We don't expect a record low or record high. We're not expecting any surprises. And we haven't heard about any problems, so we're assuming everything is going off without a hitch."
He said there is slightly less acreage in peaches this year than last year.
A juvenile offender escaped briefly from the Consolidated Youth Services Camp near Colt in the early morning hours today, but was recaptured.
According to a report from the St. Francis County Sheriff's Department, at about 1:19 a.m., a report was received that a 15-year- old juvenile had escaped by climbing a fence on the west side of the camp.
Officers located the suspect at about 1:33 a.m., walking on a nearby dirt road.
According to the report, the deputies transported the youth back to the camp, where camp coordinator, Darrell Hodges, identified him and took him into custody.
The youth, whose home is in Fayetteville, is being incarcerated on several charges, including aggravated robbery, commercial burglary, breaking or entering, two counts of criminal mischief and two counts of theft of property. Revocation of probation was also listed among his offenses.
St. Francis County had an unemployment rate of 7.7 percent in April, down from 8.2 percent in March. The figure was also down from the 8.4 percent registered in April of last year.
According to the figures from the Arkansas Employment Security Department, during April St. Francis County had a civilian labor force of 12,050, with 11,125 working and 925 not working.
St. Francis had the ninth highest unemployment in the state during April.
The highest unemployment in the state was 12.6 percent, recorded in Mississippi County. Two other counties had rates over 10 percent -- Drew with 10.6 percent and Desha with 10.4 percent.
Unemployment in surrounding counties during April was as follows: Cross, 6.3 percent, Crittenden, 4.5 percent; Lee, 7.5 percent; Phillips, 7.2 percent; Monroe, 5.7 percent; Woodruff, 6.7 percent.