By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Figures from the 2000 Census are in, and not unexpectedly, local officials disagree with the count.
For instance, according to the numbers provided by the Associated Press, Forrest City went from a population of 13,848 in 1990 to 14,774 in 2000.
Mayor Larry Bryant said the Bureau of Census did a good job, but could have done better.
"They didn't work with the mayors as much as they should have," said Bryant. "I still feel it fell short. I think we have more people."
He said that if the inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution are counted, it would mean that Forrest City itself actually lost population.
According to Bryant, the city offered to open city hall on a Saturday, and city employees could have taken Census employees around to places where people might not have been counted. He said the offer was not taken.
"I think they were working from 8 to 5 Monday through Friday, rather than working when you can find people home," Bryant said. "Everybody isn't home (during the week) and everybody doesn't have a phone, and if they miss you at home they miss you altogether."
In another St. Francis County town, Widener, the report showed a decrease in population from 1990 to 2000, falling to 335 from 361.
Mayor Dot Halford was not happy with the count.
"I'm sorry to hear about it," she said. "It's going to hurt Widener, but I don't really believe it's an accurate count. I may go around, myself, and do a personal survey, just so I can say, 'Look, you all were wrong.' I was kind of expecting this. When they came in here and were looking for people, it was a total mess, the way they were doing things."
Halford said she didn't know if her efforts will do any good, but she'll try anyway.
"I can stir things up, because there are people all over the United States who are dissatisfied with the count they got," she said. "I'm kind of like that squeaky wheel. I'll keep pestering until I get some results."
Other area cities fared as followed in the Census:
Caldwell went from 393 to 465, up 18.3 percent; Colt went from 330 to 368, up 11.5 percent; Hughes went from 1,812 to 1,867, up 3 percent; Palestine went from 713 to 741, up 3.9 percent; Wheatley went from 448 to 372, down 17 percent; Wynne went from 8,238 to 8,615, up 4.6 percent; Marianna went from 6,129 to 5,181, down 15.5 percent.
The figures indicate that St. Francis County's population went from 28,497 to 29,329, up 2.9 percent; Cross County went from 19,225 to 19,526, up 1.6 percent; and Lee County went from 13,053 to 12,580, down 3.6 percent.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
St. Francis County sent three high school basketball teams into postseason state tournaments in three different classifications.
Two of those -- Hughes and Palestine-Wheatley -- were able to "go the distance" to find their own "field of dreams" by winning first-ever state championships.
That makes St. Francis County the only county in the state to produce two state champions.
And just for good measure, add in Marked Tree boys' basketball coach Barbara Wilburn, who played her high school basketball at Forrest City. Her Indians won the Class AA boys state championship Friday night over Turrell, making Wilburn only the second woman coach of a boys' team to accomplish this feat. In 1921, Irene Jones coached the Leslie boys to a state title.
It began Friday at Pine Bluff's Convention Center when the Hughes Blue Devils, ranked seventh in the state, took down Clarksville 70-65 to win the Class AAA boys' state championship, proving themselves to be the "best little team in class AAA."
It was the first ever state title for a Blue Devil basketball team.
Then, less than 24 hours later, Saturday afternoon, the Palestine-Wheatley Lady Patriots took the floor for their third straight appearance in the Class AA championship game. After finishing as the runner-up to Greenland the past two seasons, the Lady Patriots had no intentions of leaving empty-handed this time.
Riding a 25-point performance from senior standout forward Erica Smith, who played the entire fourth period wearing four personal fouls, the Lady Patriots put away upstart Riverside 72-48 to win the first state title since the two schools merged. Palestine owned state titles in 1980, 1982 and 1983 before consolidation.
Both Hughes and Palestine-Wheatley finish the season with 35-1 records, but that is not the only similarity between these two outstanding teams.
Both teams have been led this season by a player named Smith -- Lonnie for Hughes, a 5-9 junior guard and Erica for Palestine-Wheatley, a 5-10 senior forward considered by most to be the best player in the state.
Both Smiths were named the Most Valuable Player for their performances in the state final (Erica had 25 points against Riverside and Lonnie had 27 against Clarksville).
Both Hughes and Palestine-Wheatley play similar styles. They like to play 94 feet of intense pressure-packed basketball. Both teams are loaded with quickness and with guards who can shoot lights out anytime, any place.
Erica is headed to Louisiana Tech following graduation in May. She is one of seven seniors who played their final game for the Lady Patriots on Saturday. Four of those seniors started for the Lady Patriots.
Lonnie will be back next year to help the Blue Devils defend their title. The Blue Devils lose four seniors to graduation -- three of those from the starting five.
Hughes Coach Wes Swift took over the Blue Devil reins for the start of the 1997-98 season after former long-time coach Charles Patrick stepped down.
Swift's first season ended just short of the .500 mark at 12-13 overall and a first-round loss in the regional tournament.
He has been on the plus side each of the last three seasons -- going 15-13 overall in 1998-99 and reaching the first round of the Class AAA state tournament.
Last year, Swift's Blue Devils finished 24-9 and got to the Class AAA state tournament semifinals before losing to eventual champion Lonoke.
Hughes also reached the semifinals under Patrick in 1988 and again in 1993.
This year, Hughes rolled undefeated through the 6AAA Conference and won the district and regional titles on their way to the state championships.
Palestine-Wheatley Coach Beverly Bass has watched her Lady Patriots dominate regular season conference opponents for the past three years and she has watched her team -- which she calls "the best team she has ever coached" finish second for two consecutive years in the finals.
"This is one of those times that I wish there was still an overall tournament played," Bass said.
As the team opened drills last fall, their common goal was a simple one -- win the state title.
"The first time we were here we were young and scared," Bass said. "Last year we were happy to be back but we got spanked. This year was going to be our year and the girls were not going to let anything stand between them and a state title."
What about the third county team to reach state tournament play.
That would be the Forrest City Mustangs, who made their third state tournament apperance in five years under head coach Dwight Lofton.
The Mustangs were eliminated from the Class AAAAA state tournament by Camden-Fairview.
Little Rock Central went on to win the AAAAA state title on Saturday, holding off long-time nemisis and bitter rival Little Rock Hall, 63-59.
The Forrest City High School Mock Trial team won the Arkansas Bar Association's Youth Mock Trial state competition Saturday in Little Rock.
The group worked its way through local and regional levels to the state event held at the Pulaski County Courthouse. They will now compete at the national Youth Mock Trial event in Omaha, Neb., in May.
Members of the winning team include: Amy Darnell, Allison Dulaney, Nick Norfolk, LaShay McDuffey, Trevin Ware, Hallie Dodson, Thomas J. Drake, and F. Murray Ford. The winning teacher/coach is Jimma Darnell and the winning attorney coach are Chris Morledge and Brad Beavers.
Arkansas Bar Association Executive Director Judith Gray praised the local team's efforts. "Those kids were fabulous, not just in the way they competed, but also in the way they conducted themselves. They were a credit to Forrest City."
The mock trial case concerning the death of a child was heard by a presiding judge, Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice W.H. "Dub" Arnold; and two scoring judges, Mark Pryor, Arkansas Attorney General; and Sandra Wilson Cherry, President-elect of the Arkansas Bar Association.
Attorney Sandra Moll is chairperson of the Arkansas Bar Association Youth Education Committee and Becky Gravely is coordinator for the project.
"The program is designed to teach high school students about the legal concepts involved in a trial," Moll said. "The mock trial competition would not be possible without the volunteer efforts of more than 100 trial judges and attorneys throughout the state."
A mock trial, similar to a real court trial, requires the team members to serve as "attorneys" and "witnesses" as they prepare a case for trial before a presiding judge and scoring judges. Although each team is allowed eight members, only six actively participate during any given portion of the competition. Arkansas young people grades 9-12 or ages 14-19 are eligible to compete, and each team must have a teacher sponsor and should have an attorney coach. All teams prepare the same case with the help of the attorney and teacher coaches. The teams present their cases according to established rules governing trial procedures modified somewhat from those of formal trials.
Attorney coordinators and Arkansas Bar Association Youth Education Committee representatives make sure each trial runs smoothly. All participating judges, attorney coordinators and Youth Education Representatives are volunteers from the legal community. The program is made possible by funding from the Arkansas Bar Foundation and the Arkansas IOLTA Foundation.
The Arkansas Bar Association is a voluntary, statewide Association with over 4,300 attorney members. The Association and its members participate in a variety of programs and services for the legal profession and society. Among the purposes of the Association are the advancement of the administration of justice in Arkansas and the fostering among its members of high ideals of integrity, learning and public service. The Arkansas Bar Association was founded in 1898.