By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The attacks launched Sunday against suspected terrorist targets in Afghanistan have generally not caused any higher degree of local alertness than existed as a result the Sept. 11 attacks.
Capt. Steve Gray, commander of Arkansas State Police Troop D, said this morning that the ASP state of alertness has not be changed.
"We're sure that everyone's aware of what's going on right now, and that should have heightened their state of alertness," Gray said. But as far as making any changes, we haven't. That doesn't mean something won't come out at any time, changing that."
Of major concern of Troop D are Interstate 40 and the bridges across the Mississippi River from Memphis to Arkansas, which are major arteries.
"The only areas we're really looking at over here are the three bridges. But other than that, we don't see any potential (terrorist) targets," Gray said.
At the Forrest City Municipal Airport, the same measures are still being taken that were implemented as a response to the Sept. 11 attacks, according to Gil Gilbreath with Hutcherson Flying Service at the Forrest City Airport.
"We're just locking up all the airplanes, and doing things pretty much like we were already doing," said Gilbreath. "We're watching during the daylight hours, and the sheriff is really stepping up patrols at night."
The policy of locking up all planes was begun after a conference call by Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee last week.
Vester Wroten, commander of the local Civil Air Patrol organization, said the CAP is "more or less on standby."
He said the Civil Air Patrol in this area has not been asked to do anything yet, but is ready if needed.
"They used a lot of Civil Air Patrol that are stationed up in that area (New York, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania)," said Wroten. "But right now we have not been contacted. Of course, we might be put on standby."
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
With an October 10, deadline fast approaching, the rush to pay real and personal property taxes is picking up.
St. Francis County Chief Deputy Collector Emily Holley said the collector's office is beginning to see an increase in traffic as taxpayers begin the process of paying their 2000 property taxes.
"We've seen an increase in the number of people coming in and paying their taxes over the last week or so," Holley said. "The best time for people to come in was probably last month," Holley added.
Taxpayers also have a couple of additional factors that they have to encounter when it comes time to pay their taxes, according to Holley. This year is the first year of the $300 homestead tax credit which allows the credit to be given on an individual's homestead. According to Holley, taxpayers must have already applied for the credit before paying their taxes.
"We've had some people come in and pay their taxes and then find out about the credit. What happens then is they have to go to the Assessor's office and then come back over to us so that we can give them a refund. It's easier all around if they go to the Assessor's office first so that we can accurately figure their taxes," Holley said.
The second factor in paying taxes dealt with the federal holiday being observed at the St. Francis County Courthouse. The collector's office was closed today in observance of Columbus Day. The office will reopen Tuesday at 8 a.m.
However, following the close of business on Wednesday, Oct. 10, the office will be closed for about two weeks as collectors sort through the taxes.
"This is something we do every year. We close for about two weeks, beginning the day after the deadline," she said.
Holley said the office is tentatively scheduled to reopen on Wednesday, Oct. 25.
Plans are set for the 2001 Forrest City Community Christmas Parade for Friday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m. The theme for this year's parade will be "A Patriotic Christmas." The grand marshals for this year will be Otto and Rosemary Kirkpatrick of Forrest City.
Entry forms must be turned in by Monday, Nov. 19. No groups will be allowed in the parade without an entry form. There is no charge to enter.
All entrants, except for bands, will be judged prior to the parade , therefore, all entrants will be required to be at the Forrest City Civic Center parking lot no later than 5:30 p.m. to compete. Bands will be judged at the corner of Washington and Arkansas Streets, in front of Southern Furniture Co., during the parade. Those who arrive late may still participate but will not be judged in the competition. School bands will be the only entrants judged during the course of the parade.
The floats will be divided into five categories: industrial/commercial, churches, civic groups, novelty and schools. Entrants will compete for first, second and third place. Winning entrants will be presented their trophies and banners prior to the beginning of the parade. First, second and third place trophies will also be awarded in the junior high and senior high band competitions.
All area antique tractor owners are invited to join the parade again this year.
Any vehicle participating in the parade without a float attached to it must be classified as an antique (25 years or older). Also, to enter the competition as a float, there must be a float attached to the vehicle or pulling mechanism, for example, a decorated car will not serve as a float.
For more information, call the Forrest City Area Chamber of Commerce at 633-1651.
Despite rain and cold weather, the Crowley's Ridge Technical Institute's annual barbecue was a success, according to CRTI President Burl Lieblong.
Friday night's barbecue was the 14th annual event held by CRTI. Lieblong said the crowd didn't seem greatly affected by the rains and cooler temperatures Friday.
"The weather could have been better for us, but we still had a great crowd. We had long lines of people that we were getting through as fast as we could. The people who came out were extremely patient. We did a lot more to-go business this year than we normally do, but that could be linked directly to the weather," Lieblong said.
According to Lieblong, between 3,500 and 4,000 plates were served during Friday night's festivities, which was an increase from last year. Lieblong also said that the number of prizes given away this year was greater and he thanked local businesses for their support.
"We saw a small increase in the number of people that we served this year, but our biggest increase was in the number of prizes that we were able to give away. Last year we had between $17,000 and $18,000 in prizes, and that increased to about $24,000 in prizes this year. We can't thank the area businesses enough for their support, without them this would be harder to pull off every year," Lieblong said.