By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
A move is under way by Civic Center Commissioner Shirley Harvell to get local civic clubs to vacate their wall and closet spaces at the Forrest City Civic Center or to begin paying for the space.
In a written motion to commissioners, Harvell suggested the Rotary Club, the Lions Club and the Kiwanis Club to remove all club paraphernalia from the Henley Room walls, and to remove items from each club's locked closet in the Henley Room. She later amended her motion to allow the clubs to keep their items in the room, but at a $25 monthly fee for use of the space.
Currently, the civic clubs pay a $15 hourly fee for the room space and for each meal served during the meeting.
"I understand that these organizations have been meeting at the civic center since the building was first opened, but they have been storing paraphernalia in the building that the city may or may not have liability for in case of fire or theft," Harvell said. "Not only that, but there is no contract between the city and these organizations that allow them to store their items here nor are they being charged for storing those items here.
"There is also the question of equality under the law because several other organizations in Forrest City that have the same type of paraphernalia were not privy to the fact that they could store items such as that in the building which is owned by all the citizens of Forrest City," said Harvell.
Commissioners voted to table the issue until the July meeting so that commission chairperson Delores Morelon could speak with the clubs in question as well as with other clubs in an effort to find a solution to the problem presented by Harvell.
"I don't think it would be fair to the clubs that have been meeting on a regular basis for us to just come in here and in one meeting either hit them with a charge for something they haven't been charged for or to tell them to remove items that have been stored in this building since the 1960's," said Morelon.
In other business, commission members were updated on new equipment purchased for the civic center. Raymond Stewart, civic center building manager, said the building recently received a wireless microphone and speaker system which will be used in the Ferguson Room. The building now also has a copy machine which will be used by commission members and will be available to the public at a cost per copy.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The Forrest City School Board heard a report Monday on the condition of the current junior high school, and agreed to study ways to keep from having to use the building next year.
However, they were told that it would be difficult to move 600-plus students to another facility.
A request for 2.5 mills to build a new junior high was recently passed by voters.
Architect Bob Beavers addressed the board, and said, "I'll be glad when we reach the point that we can call it the 'former junior high school.'"
Beavers said he would soon be touring the existing facility with the city inspector, and also with an engineer. He said the purpose would be to find out "What can we do to make the building acceptable for one more year?"
He continued, "There's not much we can do. We can try to protect it from vertical failure -- keep floors from collapsing."
However, he said although the floors can be braced to keep them from falling through, it is not economically feasible to protect the building from lateral movement, which might be caused by seismic activity or a strong wind.
"There have been some accusations that we used scare tactics to get the millage passed. That was not the case," Beavers said.
At one point, board member Ronald Williams told Beavers, "I can tell you're choosing your words carefully. Could you be a little more blunt?"
Beavers responded, "I wouldn't use the auditorium again. Not in its present shape. Not without spending a whole lot of money."
He said safety was the number one concern. "We have some things to do that are very serious. The question is, how far do we go, because it's all, essentially, throwing good money after bad."
Board member Mallory Nimocks asked if it would be possible to transfer the junior high students to another location. Superintendent Lee Vent said that has been considered.
"Everywhere we turn, we run into a dead end street," Vent said. "We just don't have the room. We're going to continue exploring possibilities. It's going to be a logistical nightmare."
It was generally agreed that it would be better if the junior high students could be relocated. Not only would it be safer, but it might move up the timetable. According to the present plan, students would attend school in the old building while classroom space was being constructed. The students would then move into the new building, the two-story building would be demolished and then construction would be completed. (The existing north and south wings and the gym would be remodeled.)
However, if the students could be relocated and the old building abandoned at the beginning, demolition could begin right away. It was estimated that the over all project could be completed a semester earlier this way. It would also save the expense of shoring up the old building.
"It's a tough problem, but I'm glad we have it," said Beavers. "This time last year, we had the same problem, but no relief."
The millage request had failed four times previously.
On another matter, the board gave permission for Vent to enter contract negotiations with Rivendell Counseling Consultants of Little Rock, to take over the school district's alternative learning center. The contract will still have to be approved by the board.
In other action, the board approved compensation for the architect of 7 percent of the project. It was pointed out that the industry standard would have been higher.
The board also approved a recommendation to appoint Abbie Robinson, who has been serving as interim principal of Forrest City High School, as principal.
On another subject, the board approved the low bid of Fitton Enterprises of Little Rock for heat pumps.
The board also authorized Vent to be the ex official financial secretary for the district, and approved the principals as co-custodians of their schools' activity accounts for the 2001-2002 school year.
The council also approved several resignations and recommendations for employment.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Members of the Madison City Council are once again tackling the issue of dilapidated and run-down property inside the Madison City limits.
Following a presentation by councilman Leroy Anderson at Monday night's council meeting, the group discussed ways of forcing citizens to comply with ordinances adopted in an effort to rid the city of decaying structures.
"We have to force people to comply with the laws that we pass or we're an ineffective city council. We've been dealing with these same properties since I came on this council, and nothing is being done about these properties. I think we should have the police ticket them if they aren't going to comply with the laws. The city council over in Widener passed an ordinance saying they would ticket people for have inoperable cars in their yards, and the people over there complied with the ordinance because they could have been ticketed for not complying," said Councilman Oscar Brown.
"You have to come up with some type of way to warn people," Anderson responded. "You can't just start giving out tickets. You have to give people a certain amount of time, and then if they don't comply, ticket them."
Mayor James Brooks also commented on the housing issue, "The city can't just go around tearing down houses. You have to go through the state and find out if the house has asbestos in it because if it does have asbestos in it then the city's in trouble. We tried this once before a couple of years ago about the houses that were burned because it was put out that we were over here in Madison burning houses and the state came down on us. So you can't just go in and do what you want," said Brooks.
The council agreed to hold a community meeting to get the process going to rid the city of the run-down buildings, but no date or time was set for the meeting.
St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco also attended Monday night's meeting to tell the council about progress on the Crow Creek bridge project and other issues that might affect the citizens of Madison.
"We're making progress on the Crow Creek project which is being funded primarily by the federal government. We don't know a final completion date on the project, but we are having a representative from the highway department over next week, and I can have him give me a projected completion date," said Cisco.
Cisco also discussed what paving would be done near Madison due to the bridge construction.
"We will be paving up to the bridge and on the other side up to the railroad tracks. Eventually we hope to pave that entire portion of the road so that people won't have anymore dust to deal with. We're also hoping to eventually pave the portion of road that will pave the road completely that links Madison to Forrest City the back way (Old Madison Road). That will give Madison residents an alternate route in and out in case we have another emergency like an ice storm. It's a little bit difficult to navigate the ridge when there's ice all over it and the back way is relatively flat in comparison," Cisco said.
A Forrest City man was charged with robbery Monday after allegedly assaulting an employee of the Tobacco Superstore who was questioning him about a possible shoplifting.
According to the report at the Forrest City Police Department, Jason Foster, 22, 405 Sunrise Drive, allegedly picked up two packs of cigarettes and placed them in his pants before paying for one cigar at the register. When Foster attempted to leave the store, the manager confronted him and an argument ensued.
Foster allegedly shoved the manager and forced his way out of the store. Foster's vehicle was stopped a short time later by an off-duty police officer who followed him after witnessing the commotion. Two packs of cigarettes and a small bag of marijuana were found in the car.
Because of the allegation of physical force being used by the suspect during the shoplifting, Foster was charged with robbery, according to police. He is also charged with possession of a controlled substance by a habitual offender, which is also a felony. Foster was taken to the St. Francis County Jail and is scheduled to appear in Forrest City Municipal Court Wednesday.
A fishing rodeo for kids will be held Saturday, June 16, from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. at the Baptist Memorial Hospital lake.
The event is being sponsored by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission in conjunction with the Forrest City Police Department.
The rodeo will be divided into three age groups. One group will be under 5, another will be 6-10 and the oldest group will be 11-15.
Parents or guardians are asked to accompany the children for safety.
There will be prizes given for the largest fish caught in each age group, as well as other prizes.
"We are hoping to make this event as much fun as possible for all the kids," said Lt. Eddie Adamson of the police department. "The only things they will need to bring is a fishing pole and bait. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is stocking the lake with catfish and there should be plenty for everyone to catch."
The new Grace Plaza on Deaderick Road is nearing completion, and the list of occupants at the new shopping center is being determined.
Gar Lile, of Lile Real Estate in Little Rock which owns Grace Plaza, said only one space remains open on the project.
"We've leased out all the other spaces, but we still have one 2,350-square-foot space that we're in negotiations on with a couple of possible clients. Otherwise we're full," said Lile.
Lile also said that tenants of the building should have their keys turned over to them by the end of the month so they can begin getting their stores ready to open.
According to the list of tenants provided by Lile, the building will house four businesses which will be new to Forrest City and two current businesses will be moving into the complex.
The new businesses which have signed leases with Lile are Hibbett Sporting Goods, Dollar Tree, Rent Wise and Alltel.
Cato, currently located in the Cloverleaf Shopping Center, has leased space in the complex as has Advance America, which is currently located near Sears.