By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
According to St. Francis County Treasurer Ann Harbin, the county's general fund is still not in a critical situation, and recent income will allow the county to handle payroll for May and pay bills.
"Right now we're still not in a critical situation. We're able to handle our bills and payroll and that's just about all," said Harbin.
Harbin said that a pair of deposits will help county general and more funds are expected from some of the county offices later in the month.
"We had a deposit on the first from the half-cent sales tax increase that was for close to $251,000. Most of that money will go to the school districts and cities but $33,000 went directly to county general. We also got a tax settlement in, that the Sheriff's office turned over the other day for $542,288.01 and $65,000 will go to county general," said Harbin.
According to Harbin the $542,288.01 received from the Sheriff's office was due to the county receiving the quarterly tax payments from the utilities.
The county ended the month of April with $37,906.94 and according to Harbin now stands at close to $135,000, which will increase with payments from the other county offices.
"We're in a situation that will allow us to handle payroll and the other money that will come in will be an added plus to our current situation." Harbin said.
According to St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco the budget is in good shape right now and the current situation is nothing that wasn't expected.
"We knew that at some point things would be slow and that's why we started preparing for it. We have other funds that will be coming in later this month that will help out that $135,000 and that will keep our heads above water. The turnbacks and shortfalls from last year are still having some effect on this year so we're having to take this month by month until things get better," Cisco said.
A Tennessee trucker was killed this morning when his vehicle left the Interstate in St. Francis County.
According to the report by the Arkansas State Police, Raymond Thomas, 56, of Jackson, Tenn., was traveling east on I-40 at about 2:36 a.m. when his vehicle left the right side of the roadway and went about 390 feet, striking the pillar of a bridge at a high rate of speed.
The cause of the accident was unknown.
A team from Forrest City High School will represent Arkansas May 10-12 at the National High School Mock Trial Championship, to be held at Omaha, Neb.
Forty-three states will be represented at the competition.
Each team will participate in four trials, running through Saturday afternoon. Every team will be given the same facts about a specific case, and be notified shortly before the trial whether they will serve as the prosecuting attorneys or represent the defendant. Each eight-member team will select whom they want to serve as witnesses or attorneys for the trial.
A panel of attorneys and judges, who have been recruited from Nebraska and a number of other states, will score each trial. Students will be judged on the performance of the witnesses, objections raised by attorneys, opening and closing arguments and how well they handle surprise situations.
After the four rounds have been completed, the top two teams will compete in one final round to determine the national champion. Results of the competition will be announced at an awards banquet Saturday night.
The Nebraska State Bar Foundation is serving as host sponsor for the national competition. The foundation's executive director, Doris Huffman, said the mock trial program is a great way for students to gain an early interest in the law profession.
"The Mock Trial Championship provides students an opportunity to learn how to prosecute or defend an individual in a real-life courtroom setting," she said. "Students learn that there is tremendous time and effort required in preparing for a courtroom case, and take the competition very seriously."
"Walkaways" from correctional facilities have kept local law enforcement officers busy.
Forrest City Police received information from the Iowa Department of Correction on Wednesday that two men had walked away from a work release center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The two were located in Colt, at a trailer house on Highway 306. County, Colt and State Police officers arrested the two without incident. They are Steven Michael Nelson, 25, and Timothy Michael Gunderson, 23, both from Cedar Rapids.
In a related incident, St. Francis County Sheriff Dave Parkman confirmed three juveniles walked away from the Consolidated Youth Services Center in Pine Tree.
The three youths, all males, reportedly left the facility at 8 p.m. last night, but were captured at Love's Truck Stop in Palestine. The three were apprehended without incident.
In the meantime, Parkman said he expects to apprehend an inmate from the SFC jail whowalked away Wednesday.
According to the sheriff, Timmy Parker, a white male, was an inside trustee at the facility. "He was a felon but he was not a violent criminal," said Parkman.
"We have to have trustees and you pick the ones you think are the most trust worthy. We couldn't run this jail with out the trustees."
Parkman said "Parker was an inside trustee, meaning he worked only inside the jail facility, not outside or in the courthouse.
"Parker reportedly escaped by slipping out a door." he said. "Apparently it was just one of those times when only a few people were around and were busy with something else and he took the opportunity to slip out the door."
Parkman said incidents such as this one occur from time to time, but not very often. "Out of all the trustees we use, about 99 percent of them do right and never try to escape." he said.
Parkman could not release details about search for Parker but said he expects to pick him up today.
Students in the Forrest City School District will be dismissed early on Tuessday, May 8.
Classes will be dismissed at 2 p.m. to allow time for teacher inservice.
A Regional Summit on Youth Violence Prevention will be held Tuesday, May 22, at the Forrest City Civic Center from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.
The purpose of the summit is to identify youth violence issues in this region, and to provide a forum to offer ideas, information and resources.
The summit is being sponsored by Common Ground, a state-funded program whose mission is to provide a bridge connecting and assisting government, communities and citizens.
The summit is aimed at adults who impact the lives of children, such as school personnel and other community representatives who work with youth. There will be panel speakers from different segments of the community.
There is no charge for the summit, and lunch will be served. To register or for more information, contact Tonya Smith, Common Ground coordinator for Region 7, at 870-343-2887 or on the Internet, coordinatorreg7@yahoo.com.
This week is AARP Independent Living Week which is meant to encourage people of all ages to help older people stay in charge of their lives.
AARP is conducting a campaign centered around the importance of having family conversations to allow older persons to remain in their homes as they age. According to Claude Berry, president of the local AARP chapter, volunteers can perform activities such as making minor home repairs, conducting simple home safety checks, distributing night lights, sponsoring displays in local hardware stores and providing information.
Berry is currently involved in distributing free night lights to the elderly and shut-ins in the area. There is no cost for the night lights.