By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
It will be a tedious process, but the job of cleaning up the fire damage at the St. Francis County Courthouse has begun.
The northern wing of the courthouse was heavily damaged by fire on March 20.
Metro Builders and Restoration, a North Little Rock company specializing in buildings with fire, smoke and water damage, is working at the courthouse.
Delana Knight and James Oliver with Metro gave a quick tour of the damaged upstairs area. The damage centered on the jury deliberation room and a room where old books were kept.
At the moment, they are cleaning out -- they call it "debrising" -- all the fire damaged material.
"Anything that has been burned or has to be replaced, we go in and we debris it out and carry it to dumpsters, that's it," said Knight. "Then we have to come back in and clean up after they debris it out. We have to do a structure clean."
A structure clean is more detailed.
"We go up in the ceiling and the joists up there and we have to clean it all out, get all the smoke residue off it," she said.
That takes care of a lot of the smell, but not all of it. Oliver said he is a deodorization technician.
"That's pretty much what I do," said Oliver. "I come in before and after, and spray some different kinds of chemicals to try to kill the smell. But the only way you're going to totally get rid of it, is if you get rid of the smoke residue."
Everything in the north end of the courthouse will have to either be cleaned or replaced.
"Like with these benches," said Knight, indicating the benches in the circuit courtroom. "We have to come in and wipe them down, top to bottom. Because the smoke penetrates, goes under every thing, goes into every nook and cranny."
Upholstery and carpeting can be cleaned in some cases, but not always.
"It can be cleaned if it's not in right directly with the fire," said Knight. "If it gets around too much heat, it can't be cleaned. There's just no way you can get rid of it. Most carpet will have to be ripped out and debrised.
"A lot of that is due to the water damage, too," she continued. "You get the smoke and then you get the water on top of it, it's gone."
According to Oliver, "On the carpet and stuff like that, when it's hit by the fire stuff that the fire department uses, usually, most of the time it does away with it."
Outlying offices can probably have their carpets cleaned.
Oliver said there was no telling how long the job would take. Knight agreed.
"I was told yesterday that the workers, not just us but contractors who come in and rebuild everything, it's going to be at least three months," she said. "After we do our job, then they (other contractors) come in and do what they have to and rebuild it. Then we come back in after they're finished with it and do what we call a final clean of everything in here. So it takes a while. It's a lot of work."
However, it beats having to rebuild an entire building. "It's more cost effective," Knight said.
By CRYSTAL HOLLIS
T-H Staff Writer
A vacant lot on South Washington, across from the Forrest City Sports Complex, could be rezoned from residential to commercial.
The Forrest City Planning Commission Tuesday afternoon agreed to rezone the 1.4-acre lot, as requested by attorney Chris Morledge who was representing Cotton Roberts and Jim Frazier.
According to Morledge, Roberts and Frazier are planning to purchase the land, and were hoping to construct a Regional Child Support office there. "We have all read in the Times Herald that Scott Carroll had won the bid for the facility, but I have no personal knowledge of any bidding process taking place as of yet," Morledge said.
Morledge also told commissioners that Roberts and Frazier still intend to purchase the property, despite the close of any bidding for the Child Support office, and would still purchase the property if it is not rezoned.
Commissioner Glenda Wade asked Morledge what would be the intended use for the property if the men could not build the Regional Child Support office. Morledge said to his knowledge, his clients had no intended use for the property unless the Child Support office bids continue.
In other business, commissioners also approved an 18-foot backyard variance to allow Larry and Judy Murray to build a 12x15-foot storage building at 225 Roosevelt.
Both parties will now take their requests before the city council at its next meeting.
By CRYSTAL HOLLIS
T-H Staff Writer
A recreation director was hired Tuesday morning to run the Palestine ball complex.
The city's Advertising and Promotions Commission voted to pay Mark Main $3,000 to run the facility this summer.
Main will be responsible for mowing, dragging and general care of the ball complex.
The commission paid $8,000 last year for the softball season. Those funds were for financing expenses and concessions. However, the commission received bills in excess of $3,000 after the softball season had been completed.
The group agreed Tuesday that someone should be responsible for paying the bills on the facility and held accountable for the money spent there.
"We don't know where all the money went from last year," said Palestine Mayor Willetta Carroll. "The $8,000 we gave for the program was supposed to pay for all expenses. We should not have received any bills."
Commissioner Nellie Higgins suggested establishing a baseball commission to oversee not just the games, but how the money is spent and how much is made at the park.
"I don't see why the A&P has to be held responsible for all of the decision making for the ball park. If there were a commission, we could just give the money every year and be done with it," said Higgins.
Commissioners agreed to meet later in a special called meeting to determine if a baseball commission is necessary for that facility.
The group also discussed collecting late fees from Palestine businesses which are required to pay the A&P tax.
According to Higgins, "These businesses that serve food have until the 20th of every month to pay for the previous month. There is a 10 percent late fee."
Commissioner Charles Maness and Carroll said they would like to see the A&P send out a letter to those businesses who haven't paid the fee to remind them of the 10 percent late charge.
"We should stick to the ordinance and collect the money," said Maness.