By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
With more driving expected during the Thanksgiving holiday, Arkansas State Police Troop D did not have a bad weekend, according to Troop D Commander Steve Gray.
The official holiday period for State Police record keeping was from midnight Tuesday until Midnight Sunday. Troopers in Troop D worked 27 accidents in its eight-county area. However, there was only one fatality, in Lee County.
The fatality took place Sunday at about 4:26 p.m., at the intersection of Ark. Highway 1 and Ark. Highway 243, two and seven-tenths miles south of Marianna. Helen Turner Parks, 85, of Marianna, was traveling east on Hwy. 243, when she apparently failed to stop at the intersection. She was killed when she pulled into the path of a vehicle driven by Johnny Cofield, 51, of Lexa.
According to Gray, over the holiday period 11 people were arrested for DUI, and 238 speeding citations were issued. There were 30 criminal arrests, making a total of 418 arrests. Troopers also issued 167 warnings.
"We had a total of 818 officer-vehicle contacts for the holiday period," said Gray. "All in all, it was a petty good weekend."
Troop D includes the counties of Crittenden, Phillips, Lee, St. Francis, Cross, Woodruff, Monroe and Prairie.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
A public meeting at the Forrest City Civic Center on Tuesday will give St. Francis County citizens an opportunity to find out more about what the East Arkansas Enterprise Community has to offer.
The EAEC will host its annual public meeting from at 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The EAEC Board of Directors will meet prior to the public meeting at 9:30 a.m. in a meeting also open to the public.
According to Rex Jones, Assistant Director in the Office of Administrative Services with the Arkansas Department of Human Services, more public involvement is needed for the EAEC to continue working in Eastern Arkansas.
"We need to get the public more involved in the projects that we're working on with the EAEC. Over the past few months, the EAEC has been getting a lot of attention, and it's good to get that type of attention. The more the public knows about it, the more involved they will want to become, and for this enterprise community to be successful, we've got to have that public involvement," said Jones.
According to Jones, more involvement is also needed from the target group of citizens the EAEC was created to help.
"These enterprise communities were designed to be able to offer assistance to a wide range of people in lower income areas. We need to get those people to become more involved with the program so that we can insure its success which will then bring about more money and funding for the community because of the successes that they can show," Jones added.
Although Forrest City is not actually in the EAEC, Jones said that Forrest City residents should also feel free to attend the meeting.
"Just because someone doesn't live in the enterprise community doesn't necessarily mean that they can't receive assistance. If someone is going to open a business in St. Francis County, which is in the EC, but they live in Forrest City, then they can apply because the new business would be helping to increase the income levels in the community," Jones said.
The EAEC consists of all of St. Francis County, excluding Forrest City; a portion of Cross County; and parts of Lee and Monroe Counties.
After the latest round of budget cuts, it turns out that the Forrest City School district's share of state money will decline by more than a half million.
According to Pat Flanagin, fiscal officer for the district, part of that decline was anticipated, and part wasn't.
"At this point, the cuts from last year to this year amount to $748,000," said Flanagin. "However, we had anticipated about $312,000 of that because it resulted from declining enrollment."
The 2000-2001 fiscal year saw Forrest City Schools receiving total state revenue of $15,708,846. The declining enrollment reduced that to $15,396,017.
Flanagin said the other reduction, recently announced by the governor as the result of a revenue shortfall, was not anticipated.
"For the fiscal year that started July 1, 2001, we planned the budget based on the printout from July. The amount we had planned on ($15,396,017) has been reduced by some $436,000 in the middle of the fiscal year."
Flanagin said he believes the school district may have enough carry over from last year to deal with the shortfall. The trouble, he said, may come in following years if the state's tax base does not recover.
"Now, if there are more cuts, or if you've used your emergency funds for shortfalls, you've got to figure out what you're going to do next year to continue at that level of spending, and try to rebuild your cushion," he said. "One way to do that is, this spring, when next year's budget is being planned, to figure out some major cutbacks for next year.
"But at least, we'll have the luxury of knowing it ahead of time instead of being cut short in the middle of the year."
He said there is always hope that the economy will improve.
"I know there have been years when revenue came in to the state higher than originally forecast," he said. "And we had to make adjustments. Of course, those are very pleasant adjustments."
Three Forrest City men have been sentenced to prison during circuit court activity at the St. Francis County Courthouse.
Steven Henderson, 26, was sentenced to eight years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections on burglary and theft charges. He will also serve a three-year suspended sentence after his release from prison.
Timothy Mark Ison, 42, has been sentenced to five years in prison on drug charges. He will also serve a five-year suspended sentence on a theft charge after his release from prison.
Ronald Farrell, 34, Forrest City, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on drug charges.
A public hearing on a grant to fund roof improvements at the Lincoln Middle School will be held during the Forrest City School Board's regular monthly meeting Tuesday night.
The district is seeking a $150,000 grant through the U.S. Department of Education's school renovation program to fund the necessary roof repairs.
The board meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. in the administration building.
Board members will also consider bids for the construction of a new junior high school.
An Arkansas Communities Activated for Leadership Mobilization (CALM) meeting will be held at East Arkansas Community College Thursday, Nov. 27, at 7 p.m. in the large conference room in the EACC Learning Center.
The CALM meetings, which were initiated by Gov. Mike Huckabee, will allow St. Francis County residents a forum for gaining information on plans and preparation in place to deter and respond to acts of terrorism. The meetings will include a multimedia presentation, statements from local officials, the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management and others, followed by a question and answer period. Handouts including checklists for a family disaster supply kit and a family disaster plan will also be available.
Employees at a local grocery store were robbed at gunpoint Friday night.
Leak's Quick Shop at 1328 S. Washington was robbed about 8:15 p.m. by two suspects who pointed guns at the employees and demanded money from the cash register.
An undetermined amount of money, food stamps and vouchers were taken. No injuries were reported.