By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
When the office of County School Supervisor ceases to exist at the end of June, one thing Martha Couchman won't be able to say is that she's surprised.
It's almost all she's heard about since she took the job.
"They've been talking about doing away with the office for at least 20 years," said Couchman, as she looked through some old records.
"I've been here 20 years, and I was told the first day I came that I probably wouldn't be here more than a year."
Over the years, the duties performed by the county school supervisor have been taken over by others.
"We were the GED examiners up until about five years ago," said Couchman. "We kept records for the school district contracts and teacher certificates -- all kinds of reports, end of the year reports, things like that.
"We did a monthly report on the school taxes collected and a yearly report on the taxes collected and how much it cost to have the taxes collected."
She said her job also was to work with school districts when they consolidated, like Palestine and Wheatley.
"We worked with zoning. We helped with elections forever," she said.
The contracts and teacher certificates will go to the office of the County Clerk.
"And a lot of duties -- consolidations and things like that -- have been taken over by the state," she said.
Each district will do its own tax collection reports now, with the help of the County Clerk's and County Treasurer's office.
Some of the records are considered historic. For instance, minutes of school board meetings, dating back to 1941, are now located at the St. Francis County Museum.
"They've got a lot of school history in them," she said. "They did a lot of consolidations back in the 1940s, when a lot of little school districts were put together, and all that information is in those records."
Old teacher retirement records, up until 1984 when they went on computer, will go to each school district. "They can keep them or chunk them or whatever they want to do with them," she said.
Couchman admits to some mixed emotions.
"I'm retiring anyway, so I have mixed feelings," she said. "I'm excited about retiring, but it's been hard giving away all this stuff. I have enjoyed my 20 years."
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Changes in the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act which will grant easier access to public records could have some effect on local government agencies and how they charge individuals for those records.
According to Act 1653 of 2001, citizens may make a request to inspect, copy or receive copies of public records. Those requests may be made in person, by telephone, mail, fax, e-mail or by other means provided by the custodian of the records. The new law provides that upon receiving the request, the custodian of the records has 24 hours to determine whether the records are exempt from disclosure and make efforts to the fullest extent possible to notify the person making the request and the subject of the records of that decision.
According to Bob Fisher with the Arkansas Attorney General's office, the changes in the FOI Act will make access to public records somewhat easier.
"The old law didn't specify that the custodian of the records had to respond to phone, mail or fax requests for records. What happened often was, people would send in a request and the letter would end up in the trash. With the new law the offices have to respond to a variety of requests that they didn't have to in the past," said Fisher.
Fisher also said that the charges which offices could levy would also face changes due to the new legislation.
"In the past 25-cents per copy from a copy machine was reasonable, but now that is going to be questioned because of the availability of copy machines. That reduces the cost per copy and 25 cents may now be considered exorbitant," said Fisher.
Fisher also explained that officials cannot charge personnel costs that exceed the amount paid to the lowest paid employee who can accomplish the search for records.
"Basically what that means is that if a person goes to the county clerk's office and requests documents, and the county clerk, not one of her office staff, finds the records and provides copies, the clerk might charge for her salary. But, the new law says that the charge must be that of the lowest paid staff member capable of completing the task," said Fisher.
St. Francis County officials are considering a uniform charge that could be applied to faxes and copies made for those requesting them. Sheriff Dave Parkman, at a recent meeting of county officials, spoke briefly on the need for all county offices to charge the same amount for copies and faxes that will be sent to people requesting the information.
"We need to try to all have the same amount that we're going to charge people to get this information. If my office is charging a person one thing per copy then I don't think it would be right for another office to charge something different per copy. One uniform charge would help keep any potential problems from happening, and it would be the fairest thing to do," said Parkman.
By CRYSTAL HOLLIS
T-H Staff Writer
Keyholder information for local businesses is being updated at the Forrest City Police Department.
FCPD Sgt. Debra Ford said the basic current information from businesses, such as the name, phone number and address of the person holding the keys to the company's building, should be supplied to the police department.
Ford said most businesses have already supplied this information, but much of it has changed, and needs to be updated. She said the file has not been updated in at least two years.
"We have found doors or windows broken into at businesses, and when we try to call the keyholder on file for that business we sometimes run into problems. Sometimes, it turns out that the person whose name is on file no longer has anything to do with that business," said Ford. "So that's why we need the businesses to update their keyholder information. We know people hate to be awakened in the middle of the night if they no longer have anything to do with the business we are calling about."
Ford also said there are several new businesses in town which have not given any information as to who would be responsible for the building in the event of an emergency.
Ford said business owners or managers may call the police department at 633-3434 to update or start a new key holder file.
Equity Valuations, the company doing the last year of the current reappraisal, will be working in the Forrest City area until the first of the year, according to St. Francis County Assessor Craig Jones.
Jones said the people working with this company should have signs on their vehicles. They will be checking mostly for new additions, and may re-measure some houses.
Jones said the job of these people is outside, not inside.
"They do not have to come into your house," said Jones. "If someone's wanting to come in, that's not the right people. The real people won't even ask to come in. If someone asks to come in, you should ask for credentials."