By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
No cases of anthrax in humans have been documented in Arkansas, but Bonnie Dodson of the St. Francis County Health Unit said this week that it is still a good idea to know what to do in case anyone is worried about infection.
She mentioned the powder in a letter in Hughes recently, which turned out to be simple flour.
"I know in the instance that happened in the Hughes area, they did what they were told, which was to cover it and call for help," said Dodson. "And that was exactly what we want anybody else in the county to do -- cover and call for help. Because the people you call for help will have instructions on how to deal with it."
Even though there have been no cases in Arkansas, people should be aware of the potential for danger, she said.
"We do not want any possible specimens of anthrax out there. We don't want people dragging them around or passing them along through lots and lots of people."
She said anyone in doubt should call 911 or call the state health department to get specific instructions.
Dr. Frank Schwartz, a local physician, while not dismissing the seriousness of anthrax, said anthrax is a difficult weapon to deliver effectively.
"The anthrax, I think, is meant to be more of a distraction," he said. "Anthrax itself is hard to package and hard to deliver as a weapon."
Schwartz went on to say that the places where anthrax has been found -- such as network television offices and the offices of tabloid newspapers -- indicate a desire to attract as much attention as possible. In that, he said, the perpetrators have been successful.
There has been a concern about possible bioterrorist attacks since the events of Sept. 11, and most of that publicity has been over anthrax.
The following information is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is providing guidance to state agencies about the possibility of a bioterrorist attack.
*To cause infection, anthrax must be rubbed into the skin through a cut or abrasion, inhaled in a fine mist or swallowed. As many as 8,000 to 40,000 anthrax spores must be inhaled to cause the inhalation form of the disease. The disease can be prevented after exposure by early treatment with the appropriate antibiotics. Anthrax is not spread from one person to another.
*For anthrax to be effective as a covert agent, it must be aerosolized into very small particles. This is difficult to do and requires a great deal of technical skill and special equipment.
*Anyone who is concerned over a suspicious, unopened letter or package should take the following precautions: Do not shake or empty the contents; place the envelope or package in a plastic bag or some other type of container to prevent leakage; if there is no plastic bag handy, cover the envelope or package with anything -- paper, clothing, etc. and keep it covered; leave the room, close the door and prevent others from entering; wash your hands with soap and water; call the police department; list all people where were in the room or area when the letter or package was recognized and give the list to public health authorities and law enforcement officials.
In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned doctors nationwide to watch for possible cases of smallpox, food poisoning and deadly viruses like Ebola following the recent mailings of anthrax.
Schwartz said smallpox could be a much scarier threat than anthrax.
"What we really need to worry about is something along the lines of smallpox," he said.
Smallpox, he said, would travel fast and infect more people.
"And the pools of vaccine are so low, you couldn't vaccinate people in sufficient numbers."
The smallpox vaccine does not grant lifetime immunity, he said. That means most of the population has no protection against the disease, if it were to get started.
However, he added, "I have a feeling if they (terrorists) had smallpox, they would have used it by now." According to Schwartz, because smallpox spreads so readily, it could be a treacherous weapon, as dangerous to those using it as to those they are trying to infect.
"It might turn around and bite them just as easily," he said.
The CDC cited the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and urged doctors in its weekly health bulletin to be alert for unusual outbreaks among people who attended the same public event.
The CDC also told doctors to be vigilant in detecting unusual age distribution of diseases, such as a chicken pox-like illness in adults.
The agency asked state health departments to come up with plans to teach health-care providers how to recognize unusual diseases that might be cases of bioterrorism.
State health officials should remain on 24-hour alert for reports of intentional release of biological agents, and to report those outbreaks immediately to federal officials, the agency said.
In a list of biological agents ''of highest concern,'' the CDC also included plague, additional cases of anthrax and tularemia, a rare bacteria that humans can contract from the carcasses of dead animals.
The article was a rare immediate warning in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which typically includes detailed explanations of disease outbreaks that happened months ago.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
St. Francis County elected officials have three days to prepare budget proposals for their offices or leave their budgets up to members of the St. Francis County Budget Committee.
In a meeting this morning, Quorum Court Justice Regan Hill told officials of the plan which will give each elected official a bottom line amount to be budgeted for their office and allow them to spend those funds as they see fit.
"What we've decided that we'd like to do is give you the amounts that you were given Friday and have you take those amounts and have you make a budget to the best of your abilities. This will be turned in to the judge's office by 4 p.m. Wednesday, and you can do whatever it takes to balance your budget. For those that can't establish a budget, then we'll just have to present it to the entire budget committee and then ask the committee to formulate the budget for that department," said Hill.
Hill also spoke briefly on the problems that the proposed plan might cause St. Francis County Sheriff Dave Parkman, saying, "The only thing that we were changing is if we combine all three of your departments you will have $1,310,000 dollars to work with, so approximately $800,000 of that is the jail which will leave you with a little over $500,000 for your other two departments."
According to the proposed plan presented Friday, only $47,970.87 would be budgeted for the county jail for the year 2002. That plan, according to Parkman, was impossible for him to approve.
Hill also spoke briefly about the possibility of the county opening a separate fund which will hold excess revenue to be used by county elected officials to supplement the budget. The funds in the account would be appropriated to each elected official's office in the three month appropriations that the county will be using for 2002.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Dale Charles, state president of the NAACP, spoke to an audience of close to 200 Friday night at the St. Francis County chapter of the NAACP's annual Freedom Fund Banquet. The event was held at the Forrest City Civic Center.
Charles, a Little Rock native, spoke to the group on the importance of the continued role of the NAACP and its theme "NAACP, It's Time."
"As you know, the NAACP has always taken a position to advocate for those that have been disenfranchised by society, which means that the position that we take may not be popular, but nevertheless those positions have to be visited and discussed. We must remain on our mission," Charles said.
"Part of our mission is to ensure political freedom, and that's something that we've done throughout our 92 years as an organization. We've insured people the ability to register to vote, to run for office and to hold political positions, and that's a mission that we're continuing," Charles added.
He also spoke to the group about the importance of educating the youth. "Society has told us that education is the key to opportunity, but look at the state of Arkansas. We've been grappling with a group of people who still don't feel that our schools should be equal. We have some 310 school districts in the state of Arkansas and they are not equally funded. The NAACP chapter in Helena and Lakeview has challenged the state to do their duty and insure that education is equal," he said.
Also during Friday night's festivities, Forrest Citian Shirley Harvell was presented with the NAACP's Civil Rights award for work done to preserve the civil rights of Forrest Citians.
By CRYSTAL HOLLIS
T-H Staff Writer
Legend has it that the St. Francis County Museum, located in the historic Rush-Gates house on Front Street, is haunted.
It's that legend that St. Francis County Museum Director Laura Mazzanti is counting on to bring in visitors for the museum's annual haunted history tours that begin tonight at 7 o'clock.
Actors involved with the Forrest City Little Theatre and students at EACC will dramatize characters in a tale about an outlaw, John Murrel, who was notorious in this area in the mid-1800s. Mazzanti promises the tour will not be "scary," but that's not to say those taking the tour will not have an "eerie experience."
In keeping with the legend, Mazzanti and museum employee Brenda Fort say there are certain unexplained occurrences which have been noted at the museum. "There has been so much that has happened here just in the year I've been here," said Mazzanti. "It seems to mainly be pranks, and not things that are scary at all like lights going on by themselves, things coming up missing, motion detectors going off, a computer coming on when we're not here, etc. But if anyone had told me over a year ago that I would believe in ghosts, I would say they were nuts.
"One morning, Brenda and I arrived here at the museum at the same time, and we walked in together. The computer was on and it wasn't just on, it was logged onto the internet. Brenda and I were both positive we turned it off the night before," Mazzanti said. "Even if we had left the computer on, it has a 20-minute no activity shut-off activation device built in so if you leave the computer on and walk away for a while, it will shut itself off."
Another strange incident involved florist wire. Mazzanti said she had purchased the wire to wrap Christmas garland around the outside bannisters and had left the wire in the kitchen. "When Brenda and I came in the next morning, the wire was gone. We knew we had laid it on the card table in the kitchen just before we left, and we still haven't found it yet," she said.
The computer and wire incidents both occurred in the kitchen area.
Another area where strange things occur is the room used for examinations by the late Dr. Rush.
"There is a light, an examination light, that we turn off every night before we go home and sometimes when we come in the next morning, the light is on," said Mazzanti.
The haunted history tours, which take about 30 minutes, will be conducted tonight and Tuesday from 7 to 9 p.m.
The Forrest City MRI Center is now open for business at 1801 Lindauer Rd., Forrest City, just behind Dr. Kumar's Medical Clinic.
The center is locally owned and operated and will offer a full line of MRI procedures at the patients' convenience. It is open five days a week, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Other arrangements can be made at the patient's request.
The center will accept and file all insurance claims and workman's compensation.
Forrest City MRI Center utilizes the technology of General Electric and is a 1.5 Telsa MRI, the strongest field and highest resolution available on the market.
Rick Hall, center manager, has over 28 years of imaging experience to offer a complete and accurate study. Patients may be referred by their doctors.
The St. Francis County Health Unit has not received any flu vaccine as of yet, according to Bonnie Dodson, Health Unit administrator.
She said it is hoped the vaccine may arrive this week some time. At that time, the office will announce it, and also inform the public of who gets first priority.