By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The job of demolishing the two-story section of the old Forrest City Junior High was awarded Monday to Leonard Biggs Wrecking Co. of Millington, Tenn., pending a final report on asbestos contained in the building.
The building, which in the past has also served as a high school and middle school, will be torn down to make room for a new structure.
The Biggs bid is $145,000, and is the lowest. Other bids included $191,700 by Patton Wrecking of Little Rock; $266,000 by Jimmy Patton Contractor of Little Rock; $270,000 by Broadway Electric of Forrest City; and $284,000 by Murdock Enterprise of Marianna.
Only the two-story, middle section of the building will be demolished. The two one-story wings -- one housing the cafeteria and the other housing classrooms -- are still considered structurally sound and will be renovated.
According to Pat Flanagin, financial director for the school system, when the work will begin depends on how serious a problem the asbestos poses. If an asbestos abatement program is needed, the building may have to be cleared of asbestos before demolition can begin. This would be done by a separate company.
"It's a little complicated at this time," said Flanagin. "Mr. Biggs and I went into the basement and looked under the building, and Mr. Biggs is of the opinion that the only asbestos problem we have is the plaster-looking wrapping of the old boiler pipes that are under the floor. That would not impede the demolition of the area above the floor but would have to be dealt with once we got down to it."
He said there is also some concern over the floor tiles. He said an asbestos survey may show that the tiles have asbestos in them.
"That would be more time consuming and more expensive," Flanagin said. "If the survey does say that, I may ask for a separate opinion."
He said he believes the floor tiles may have been laid in the "post-asbestos era." If so, he said the job will be much simpler.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Area crop dusting services, which had been grounded for much of last week, are back in the air in St. Francis County.
Gil Gilbreath with Hutcherson Flying Service said the Federal Aviation Administration grounded all aerial applications last week as a security measure until proper checks could be made of all pilots. The move was necessitated by the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C.
"This is something the FAA did after last week's attacks to try to make things more secure. If someone was to hijack one of these planes they could spray chemicals over a wide area of the population. They wanted to make sure that we could secure our planes or place them in a hanger, and they wanted to make sure that all of our pilots are properly certified," said Gilbreath.
According to Gilbreath, area pilots were told last week they could fly again but, within the same hour, the FAA again grounded all flights.
"Last week I was in the air once. I flew from Blackfish to here (Forrest City Municipal Airport), and when I landed they told me that all flights were grounded again," Gilbreath said.
"Having us on the ground during a time like this doesn't bother me because we all have to do what we can to help. It makes sense to put us on the ground until everything is secure because a person could do a lot of damage with one of these planes," Gilbreath said.
Area farmers have felt a crunch with the weeklong absence of aerial applications, but Gilbreath said that cotton farmers still had two or three more days they could hold out before finding other methods.
Bill Watkins, Municipal Airport manager, said today that pilots were allowed back in their airplanes late Monday afternoon.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Madison officials have taken the first step toward improving the city's fire department.
City Council members recently voted unanimously to seek bids on the cost of building a new bay door that would allow the city to house a new fire truck.
Mayor James Brooks told councilmen that in order for the city to utilize a grant which was received for the purchase of a new fire truck, the city must have a place to store the equipment.
"As I told you last month, the grant that we received for the fire truck requires us to have purchased it within 60 days after receiving the money. If we had the truck today we wouldn't have anywhere to house it, so this is a priority," said Brooks.
Madison Fire Chief Stanley Anderson told councilmen of an estimate he had received for the construction of the bay to house the new truck. According to Anderson, the cost for the materials for the construction of the bay is estimated at $4,286. Anderson said he did not have estimates for the construction of the building or the cost of the concrete foundation that would be needed for the structure.
"It won't take much for me to get estimates from some construction companies on how much it will cost to have the building built. We won't need any plumbing work done because we already have restroom facilities in this building. This will just be an addition to the existing building," said Anderson.
In other business, Brooks opened a bid from M & T Paving of Forrest City for work on several Madison streets. Council members voted last year to do the street work, and bids were taken last month to begin the work. According to Brooks, M & T Paving was the only company to submit a bid. M & T's bid for the work would pave Jackson, Gore, Hadley and Bland streets.
The paving would cost the city over $94,000, but according to Brooks, an agreement has been reached with M & T that will allow them to begin work on some streets and stop when the city's funding stops.
"What we have talked about doing is beginning with the streets that are in the worst condition and move forward from there. That will allow us to fix our biggest problem areas first and get some of the city streets in better condition," said Brooks.
Council members voted unanimously to accept the bid from M & T Paving and begin work.
Council member Annie Winfrey questioned the Brooks on the current working status of Madison Chief of Police Jerry Donaldson. Brooks told councilmen that Donaldson is currently working part time as chief in Madison and is also teaching. Brooks also told aldermen that the city is in the process of finding a replacement for Donaldson.
"We have been interviewing people and taking applications. We don't want to rush this process. We're just trying to make sure we do what's best for Madison," Brooks said.
Nine flags have been stolen from Forrest City businesses since the terrorist attacks one week ago in New York and Washington, D.C.
The Forrest City Lions Club placed its flags at local businesses in support of the United States recovery efforts. During the weekend, the flags were stolen.
As a civic organization, the Lions Club uses its money to assist people with vision and hearing impairments. A Lions Club spokesman said because of the thefts, the money to replace the flags will have to be taken from these programs.
Anyone wanting to donate money toward the flag replacement, may mail a check to the Forrest City Lions Club, P.O. Box 1224, Forrest City, AR 72336, or contact any club member.
The St. Francis County Sheriff's Department is investigating a shortage of money in the Municipal Court Clerk's office.
According to Glen Ramsey, chief criminal investigator for the Sheriff's office, the shortages amount to $1,499, and apparently occurred between Dec. 13, 1999, and Jan. 26, 2000.
"The money that goes in there are fines and costs," said Ramsey. "Someone was responsible for this money. When you total up all the deposits versus all the money taken in, it's $1,499 short."
Ramsey said the case was still in the investigating stage, and said he didn't want to release the names of anyone under suspicion at this time.
The Forrest City City Council will meet at 7 tonight at city hall.
The St. Francis County Quorum Court will meet at 7 p.m. at the courthouse. A budget committee meeting will be held at 6 p.m.