By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Ballots for the June 5 school millage election arrived in time for early voting to begin this morning.
The Forrest City School district is asking for 2.5 mills to build a new junior high school.
There was concern when the ballots did not arrive 25 days before the election (May 11) as required by law. The requirement is so absentee ballots can be mailed overseas and returned in a timely manner. The concerns were that the election might have to be postponed. There were no requests from overseas for absentee ballots.
Today was the first day for early voting in the clerk's office, and the first day to pick up absentee ballots in person.
According to County Clerk Elizabeth Smith, her office received the ballots at about 7:30 this morning. She said that by around 9 a.m., about a half dozen people had voted.
Pat Flanagin, administrator for foundation resources and finance director of the Forrest City Schools, said this morning he believes there will be no problem with holding the election as scheduled.
"In fact, I early voted at about 10 minutes after 8 o'clock this morning," he said. "I was number one on the list. The ballots are there, and that's evidence that anyone who wants to early vote can have the opportunity to do so."
Flanagin said the lack of overseas requests for absentee ballots means no one who wants to vote has been denied that right.
"Although the Election Commission delivered the ballots over a week later than the law requires, no voters were disenfranchised as a result of the delay," said Flanagin.
"And that's the important part," he continued. "For someone to object to the election, it would have to be based on some irregularity that would affect the outcome or would have kept somebody from voting.
"I'd say this violation of the code was, I'm sure, an inconvenience to the county clerk and those conducting the election. But it did not impair any citizens' right to obtain a ballot. So I'm very pleased."
The delay was caused over an apparent misunderstanding over when the ballots were supposed to be received by the county clerk.
The library of the current junior high had to be abandoned recently, as did the classroom immediately below the library.
Two local school boards have meetings set for this evening in St. Francis County.
The Forrest City School Board will meet in special session at 5 p.m. in the administration building. Board members will discuss a grievance policy proposal and a proposal to remove a dismissal policy.
The Palestine-Wheatley School Board will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the junior high school library on the Wheatley campus.
Board members are expected to hire a junior high coach, discuss a pre-school building, approve resignations and approve a school calendar.
The Forrest City Planning Commission meeting originally set for Tuesday, May 22, has been canceled.