By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
There is still more work to do on the portion of the St. Francis County Courthouse damaged in a fire earlier this year, and things should begin moving again soon.
"What we're doing now is, we're waiting on some final information from the insurance company which will give us exactly what we have to work with," said the project's architect, Bob Beavers.
"It's kind of hard to know what you can do until you know what you have to work with."
He said the insurance company will pay only to bring the courthouse up to the condition it was in before the fire. However, he added that once the amount is known, some minor changes can be made. He said one example would be in the jury stand.
"I don't know if they put in different chairs than in the original design," said Beavers. "But there are only 12 of them and they wanted 14 (to accommodate the alternates). I've looked at the old plans, and there were plans for 14 chairs. They may have bought bigger chairs or something and the spacing might not have ended up with enough room."
The cleanup is almost finished.
"The cleanup and all that sort of thing has been pretty well done," Beavers said. "We've still got some odors. But I think part of that has to do with some floor covering and ceiling material.
Some ceiling material will have to be changed out."
He said he is also waiting for information on heating and air conditioning.
"I think things are going to start moving pretty soon," he said.
Installation of a new high school computer lab was recently completed at the Forrest City High School. The computer lab is part of a program to better prepare high school students for a work environment following graduation. The program was made possible by grants from the Youth Council of the Workforce Investment Board.
A similar grant was awarded last year to the ninth grade which funded a computer lab designed to help students catch up on basic skills, develop employability skills and plan for a high school curriculum that would prepare them for job readiness upon graduation. Forrest City Junior High School instructor Stan Gardner staffed the lab which served approximately 150 ninth grade students during last school year.
The high school lab, valued at $63,000, will allow for follow-up in grades 10-12. Thirty computer stations, software, networking and training costs are included in the grant. An additional $14,000 is anticipated for software fees and student assessments for job readiness according to a press release from the school district.
According to Pat Flanagin, district director of finance and resources, the objective of the district was to make the instructional program more relevant for the students that do not attend college but need preparation for jobs upon graduation.
"These grants come from 'school to work' funding which, as the name implies, is for bridging employers' needs for a good labor force with young folks' needs for gainful, productive employment. We hope to use these labs to ultimately help our current and future employers, our local economy and certainly our students," said Flanagin.
The local TEA Coalition is still in fiscal trouble, but won't be closing down June 30, as had been feared.
TEA stands for Transitional Employment Assistance.
In May it was reported that the organization, with the stated purpose of helping people on welfare with the transition to gainful employment, might have to close by the end of this month because of budget cuts.
"We've got plans for the future," said André Stephens, TEA coordinator. "We're going to fight it out. I'm looking under every rock and stone I can find. TEA is badly needed, especially after the closing of Yale Hoists."
The St. Francis County Workforce Alliance and the TEA Coalition work closely. Stephens said while the TEA Coalition works with welfare recipients, the Workforce Alliance works to improve the skills of workers. Each organization has its own board.
It was recently announced that the Workforce Alliance and TEA Coalition would be moving to a new location on Rosser Street.
"The Alliance is going to continue to move forward," said Stephens. "We (the Workforce Alliance) have another year and a half of funding from the Foundation for the Mid South.
"And the TEA Coalition will continue. We have, probably, funding for another six months of operations," he continued. "However, some of the services will not be available. The board has decided to keep moving forward and to seek funds from other sources."
By CRYSTAL HOLLIS
T-H Staff Writer
The Wheatley City Council on Thursday declined to create a city court, with members stating it would be too expensive and saying they didn't feel the need to have one.
Many towns in Arkansas held city court at one time, until the state legislature passed a law disallowing the practice. Recently the legislature decided to allow towns to start city court again, but gave a deadline for the town councils to approve the courts.
Mayor Larry Nash stated that a city court would be expensive and a headache to city administration
"I don't think we need it," he said. "We would have to hire full-time personnel and have to keep up with the records and that's a big headache. It was a headache when we had to do it in the past."
According to Wheatley Police Chief Bill Talley, Forrest City court cost is $85.
The council also agreed unanimously to not add a 25-cent cost for the Pure Water Act to water bills.
Nash said the city has been absorbing the cost of the Act since its implementation and he didn't feel it was necessary to make the residents pay for it now.
"We have about 300 residents who would have to pay 25 cents more on their water bills, that would be about $75. And since we have already been paying it, I don't see any need to start billing the residents," he said.
However, the council members did ask the city water manager, William Hixson, about the recent change in the color of the water.
"Why is the water brown?" asked one council member.
Hixon replied that Brinkley purchased a new water well and that is how the water looks now but there is nothing wrong with the water.
"It has no odor, no iron, they don't know why it looks that way," he said. "We have the water tested every month and there is nothing wrong with it. It has all the minerals and fluoride its suppose to but it is still brown. It is very safe to drink and is better for you than bottled water."
Council members were also presented with the city personnel policy procedures and will discuss them at next month's meeting and will make changes if necessary.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The Widener City Council this week heard first reading of an ordinance to create a setback from the center of city streets.
The ordinance prohibits anyone to "place, build, grow or permit the building, placement or growing of any thing in such a manner as to obstruct the free and clear vision or view of traffic or other vehicles" or pedestrians.
The ordinance, if passed, will create a setback of 30 feet from the centerline of any street or alley.
The ordinance allows buildings, signs, posts, etc. which are already in place to remain unless they are considered a hazard by the city council. Limbs and shrubs within the setback area must be "reasonably trimmed."
The ordinance will have two more readings before being passed.
On another matter, Mayor Dot Halford said there will be a carnival in town June 20-23.
"It will be the first time we've had a carnival over here since the late 50s or early 60s," said Halford.
The carnival will be set up at the gin. Hours will be announced later.
In other action, the council passed a resolution agreeing to apply for a $20,000 park grant, for which the city has applied before.
"We're hoping we get it this time," said Halford.
The Forrest City School District is one of two in the state which will benefit from a grant to set up a distance learning project, according to U.S. Rep. Marion Berry (D-Ark.).
According to a press release sent out by Berry's office, a $500,000 grant has been awarded to the Delta Technology Consortium, to support the project in Forrest City and Helena-West Helena.
Contacted this morning, Forrest City School Superintendent Lee Vent said he had not yet received official confirmation that the grant had been awarded. However, he said the school district had applied for the grant.
"Basically, what we will do is set up a classroom in the district, where we can have live, two-way audio and video interaction with other school systems," said Vent.
He said teachers could be shared and inservice could be carried out. "And it could be tied in very easily with our Mustang Channel. So we could conceivably have inservice going on, and the teachers could see it in their homes. The sky's the limit as far as the application of this technology."
Berry was quoted in the release as saying he is an advocate of distance learning.
"This education grant will enhance learning, education and training opportunities for rural residents," he said. "Geography should not limit access to a good education."
The press release said the Great Rivers Education Cooperative will collaborate the project. It went on to say that six schools in the two districts will be able to network with each other, using a compressed video system operating over high speed telecommunication lines.
"This project will benefit 2,764 students and 536 staff per year," Berry was quoted as saying. "Moreover, 23,059 residents in the immediate communities will be directly impacted.
The funds are being awarded through the Rural Utilities Service, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture rural Development Agency.
Vent said if the school district receives official word soon enough, the project could be up and running by the beginning of the 2001-2002 school year.