By Times-Herald Staff
Investigators are seriously considering the possibility that a blaze which destroyed a portion of the St. Francis County Courthouse Tuesday afternoon may have been intentionally set.
Local and state officials began walking through the fire-damaged jury room/upstairs library this morning looking for the origin of the fire.
At this point, investigators are not saying what may have caused the blaze.
Investigators are hoping to have the cause determined this afternoon.
The fire was reported just after 4 p.m. Tuesday in the jury room located adjacent to the circuit courtroom upstairs at the courthouse. Forrest City firemen were assisted at the scene by the Wynne, Caldwell and Palestine fire departments. Firemen remained on the scene until about 7 p.m.
A damage estimate has not yet been placed on the fire. St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco this morning said preliminary figures range from $100,000 to $300,000.
"Right now we aren't sure as to how much the total damages are and we won't until the insurance adjusters come in but after walking through it this morning there's more damage than we originally thought," said Cisco.
According to Cisco, the fire was primarily contained to the jury room on the second floor of the courthouse, but fire damage was also seen in the circuit courtroom and structural damage was also noticed.
"Bob Beavers and I walked through earlier this morning, and he was pointing out things that I would never have noticed. Some of the beams in the ceiling are damaged and although we thought the major fire damage was to the jury room, there was also damage to the courtroom because the door was open and the flames went through the door and up into the rafters," Cisco said. "The most severe damage may be to the ventilation system in that part of the building because there was damage to the vents in the upstairs rooms."
On the lower level, water and smoke damage may affect proceedings in the chancery courtroom along with meetings in the quorum court room. Last night's regular monthly meeting of the quorum court was moved to the municipal courtroom. Some circuit court hearings planned for Friday are also being moved to other portions of the courthouse.
Heavy damage was reported to the upstairs offices of the circuit court coordinator, defense attorney and chancery judge.
"I've got a black film covering everything in my office, my computer and all," said Circuit Court Coordinator Shannon Bonds. Damages were also reported to offices directly downstairs from the fire area, such as the public defender's office. All of those damages are expected to be assessed later today.
In the meantime, most offices in the courthouse were open today, except for those in the north wing of the building, where the fire did considerable damage. However, some employees were complaining about the strong smoke odor in the building.
The offices open this morning include the Circuit Clerk's office, the County Judge's office, the Country Treasurer's office and the Sheriff and Collector's office. The Assessor's Office was open, but had its doors closed to keep out the smell, which gets stronger the closer one gets to the north wing. Assessor Craig Jones said he might stay open but send employees home at noon.
"Some of my staff has been complaining and saying that the odor is giving them headaches this morning and I may send them home and keep the office open because the odor is bad," said Craig Jones County Assessor.
Jones' office was also being affected by the rush to shut down the computers Tuesday during the evacuation. Computers in both the assessor's office and the sheriff's office were inoperable this morning, and Jones said that was due to having to reboot the computers today.
Taking care of 114 prisoners in the St. Francis County Jail during the fire went smoothly, according to Chief Sheriff's Deputy H.N. Green.
"We just took them out of their cells and put them in a multi-purpose room until we made sure there wasn't any danger," said Green. "Then we put them back in their cells. It was probably 30 minutes to an hour after they were taken out. Everything went smooth -- no problems, no complications at all."
According to Cisco, there isn't a formal evacuation plan for the courthouse, but following yesterday's events one may be in the works.
"Because of the way the courthouse is laid out, evacuating the building is fairly simple, but we do need a plan. Since the fire was in that portion of the building there weren't any problems getting everyone out safely but if the fire had been on the lower level of the building it may have been a problem," Cisco said.
Members of the Forrest City Fire Department were keeping people from going upstairs until the investigators were finished looking at the scene.
FCFD Captain John Ruffin said the building appears to still be structurally sound. He also said the jury deliberating room and a library appeared to be the most heavily damaged upstairs.
At the scene Tuesday, some county employees said they were impressed with how quickly local firemen responded to the fire.
"They were quick to get on the scene and put out the fire before any more major damage could occur," Jones said. "They were so quick to put out the blaze that many folks didn't see the actual burning, just the smoke."
According to FCFD Acting Fire Chief Carroll Bishop, the fire had already been extinguished before help from other area fire departments arrived.
"We had the fire knocked down and under control within 10 minutes of after we got here," said Bishop. "We didn't even have to use Wynne's truck," he added. "The only thing we used from the Wynne department was the smoke shuttle, which works like a cherry picker," said Firefighter Jimmy Sandage.
Sandage, who suffered a first-degree burn while fighting the blaze, was the only injury reported. Sandage said he was climbing the ladder to the roof when glass from the top of a window burst and flames shot through the hole. "When I finally got on the roof, it flashed again and the heat from the flame touched the top of my forehead."
Sandage was treated at the scene for his injury.
In spite of the fire which damaged part of the courthouse Tuesday afternoon, people will still have their day in court this week.
"We're working on that right now," St. Francis County Circuit Court Clerk Bette Green said. "We've got criminal pretrial Friday. That will be postponed until 1 p.m., and be held in the Municipal Courtroom. We have civil pretrial tomorrow, and it will be held in the Municipal Court Building at 9 a.m."
According to Shannon Bonds, circuit court coordinator, there may be an effort to hold pretrial on Friday morning in the chancery courtroom for Roger Dante Hill, who is being tried for murder and escape.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The regular monthly meeting of the St. Francis County Quorum Court was moved Tuesday night from its regular location in the quorum court meeting room to the municipal courtroom because of the fire at the courthouse.
Justices voted last night to require county elected officials to report any funds received by their offices to the county treasurer's office.
The ordinance came following a meeting of the budget committee last week when it was reported that forfeited bond money, dating back to 1987, was on file in the sheriff's office. Those funds are being sought by the county to help with the recent budget crunch in the county's general fund account.
"What the justices basically decided is that all money accepted by county offices be reported to the treasurer so that we can keep a handle on all county funds. Some of the bond money that we're going to get has been there since 1987," said County Judge Carl Cisco.
County officials also heard from County Sheriff Dave Parkman on the status of his health. According to Cisco, there have been rumors regarding the sheriff's health and Parkman spoke to the justices to reassure them that he is healthy.
"According to the sheriff, there have been rumors about everything from his heart to him having cancer. He spoke briefly to reassure us of his good health. He told us that he had a pacemaker installed to regulate his heartbeat and that was all," said Cisco.
David Courtney also petitioned the court to reinstate the pay for county constables. The monthly stipend of $150 for constables was eliminated last year, and Courtney was seeking to have that reinstated. Cisco said that in a meeting with the constables he explained to them that there were funds to pay three of the constables or to not pay any of the constables. The constables agreed to not accept pay.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The Forrest City City Council voted on Tuesday to move the location of a new senior citizens center from the city's sports complex to a downtown location.
Action took place after new council member, Richard Benson, was sworn in by Judge Baird Kinney.
The city has a $325,000 grant from the state to build the senior citizens facility. The location change was brought up by Alderman Cecil Twillie.
"I'm 1,000 percent against the location of the senior citizens center," said Twillie, who also emphasized that it was the location, not the idea of a center, that he was against.
Twillie had missed part of a meeting in which the location was discussed, but had expressed reservations about the site before. He said a senior citizens center would be better located in the downtown area, where it would be closer to banks, stores and doctors' offices. He also said the sports complex might be a bad place to locate a center for senior citizens, especially if a new multi-purpose building is constructed at the complex. He said that might put too many, potentially rowdy young people in close proximity to much older people.
On Tuesday, he said he had contacted the appropriate state officials and found that the site was not set in stone. Twillie suggested a site he said was owned by the city, at the corner of Broadway and Rosser. It is an old parking lot in front of Vaccaro Lumber Co.
After lengthy discussion a vote was taken on moving the senior citizens center. On the vote, council members Benson, Twillie, Chris Oswalt, Glenn Ford, A.L. Harris and Mary Jeffers voted yes. Roy Hancock abstained. John Gadberry was absent.
On another matter, the council turned over to a committee made up of Chris Oswalt and Roy Hancock the job of sorting through bids for baseball uniforms and caps for the city's recreation program.
Bryant also mentioned a possible ordinance to prohibit trucks from driving on certain streets in town, because they were damaging streets.
"This would not preclude anyone from driving through a neighborhood to make a delivery," Bryant said. "But driving tractor trailers into neighborhoods and parking them is breaking storm drains and culverts. We have to replace them periodically. And it puts undue stress on pipes that are under the streets because they were not made for heavy trucks."
Alderman A.L. Harris said there is an existing ordinance which could do to the job if it is enforced.
"What I want is -- back me on the one we have if we enforce it," answered Bryant. "This has come up before."
Alderman Glenn Ford said he wanted to give people time to adjust, particularly those who have made a habit of parking their trucks at their homes.
"You've got people who drive trucks for a living, and we want to give them time to make some other arrangements," Ford said.
The annexation of land around the new western bypass was also discussed. Bryant said an election on annexation would cost about $5,000. Another route could be to get agreements signed by all landowners and then submitting the matter to the county.
After some discussion, Bryant agreed that the area of the Patillo subdivision could also be included in the annexation area, if the residents agree.
"I'll get with the people and see if that is their wish," he said.
Also under discussion was a contract proposed by Delta Beverage Group (Pepsi) for exclusive sales at the sports complex for 10 years. The company was offering $20,000, plus a share of the profits. The company would also repair all the scoreboards up to a certain amount and would also provide scoreboards for the proposed multipurpose facility.
The council wants a five-year contract, with a full-service agreement on the scoreboards. Bryant said he would pass it on to the Pepsi people.
The council also heard third reading, and adopted, an ordinance defining purchasing procedures. Second reading of an ordinance was heard, which will stiffen the penalties for dogs not kept on owners' property or not on a leash.
The council also held a lengthy discussion, and agreed to study, a proposal by Ford that people not be required to be on the agenda in order to speak at city council meetings.