By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The Forrest City City Council's police committee will recommend that for now, all certified police officers will be paid the same base as other officers when they are first hired.
After a raise given during budget talks last year, the base pay of certified officers became $10.59 an hour. However, two certified policemen with experience at other law enforcement agencies were hired this year, and were started out at a probationary salary of $10 an hour.
Chief Clarence McNeary said he had asked the mayor's office for guidance on new hires, and had been told to pay them $10.
McNeary told the committee that whether a policeman was certified or not, during a probationary period that officer should be paid less.
However, committee members Glenn Ford and Chris Oswalt both said they believed that the officers should be paid the full $10.59, at least under the system as it currently exists.
"I have a problem with someone who has experience (being paid less when he is hired by a new police department)," said Ford.
"The problem with this whole thing is, there's nothing in writing," said McNeary.
A.L. Harris, another committee member, said he could understand why there might be a good idea to pay a newly hired officer a lesser amount at first.
"What the chief is saying is that when a certified new man, he's got to carry the guy for (a certain amount of time)," said Harris. "That man is not up to speed. He's not familiar with the procedures, he's not familiar with the town. He doesn't pull his weight, whether it be for three months, four months, whatever."
However, Oswalt said there is no actual provision for paying new officers less.
"The problem I have is, when we voted on the budget, we...were voting on giving the position a raise."
In the end, the committee (Ford, Oswalt and Harris; Cecil Twillie was absent) decided to make a recommendation to the full council that all certified policemen be started at $10.59, which includes the pay raise which was voted in with the 2001 budget. The question of whether new officers should receive lower pay while on probation will be saved for budget discussions later this year.
McNeary also said he would like a clarification on what non-certified officers should be paid.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The Forrest City School District generally saw the same pattern as was shown state-wide on a benchmark test given to fourth and eighth graders last spring.
The test measured proficiency in math and literacy. It showed mixed results, with fourth-graders losing ground in their literary scores.
In Forrest City, fourth graders showed some slippage in both math and literacy, while eighth graders who took the test improved in both areas.
Forrest City fourth graders who took the test in the spring scored 9 percent proficient in math, down from 12 percent in 2000. Seven percent were rated as being advanced, down from 8 percent in 2000.
In literacy, fourth graders went from 29 percent proficient in the spring of 2000 to 21 percent this past spring. The percentage of advanced students fell from 1 percent to zero.
Forrest City eighth graders, while showing zero percentage in the advanced column, did show improvement in proficiency. Of those who took the test, 7 percent were shown to be proficient in math, up from only 3 percent in 2000. In literacy skills, 11 percent showed proficiency in this spring's testing, compared to 7 percent in the previous year.
State Education Director Ray Simon was quoted as saying there was concern over some of the fourth grade results. He said the Education Department will send a team to the Minnesota headquarters of the company that scored the test to review results for possible errors. He said officials would own up to the deficiency if the scoring turns out to be accurate.
''We're still very optimistic that we're moving in the right direction. We're not close to our ultimate goal, but our hope is for continued progress,'' Simon said.
In no case did even half of the students tested score at grade level in either subject. The education director acknowledged that Arkansas' tests are stringent, and that defining proficiency as performing at grade-level sets the mark high.
An official in the Palestine-Wheatley School District said the school has not yet seen the latest test scores officially, and did not want to comment until they saw them.
According to the Associated Press, 15 percent of Palestine-Wheatley fourth graders tested were either proficient or better in math, while 26 percent were proficient or better in literary skills. Among eighth graders who took the test, 10 percent were at or above proficiency in math, and 10 percent were proficient or better in literary skills.
Dr. Randy Crowder, superintendent at Hughes, said the scores are so close to last year's as to be statistically insignificant.
"They're not any better, but they're not really worse, either," he said.
According to the AP, of Hughes fourth graders who took the test, 6 percent scored at or better than proficiency in math, and 21 percent scored at or better than proficiency in literacy. Of eighth graders who took the test, none scored at or above the proficiency level in math, according to the AP, and 9 percent were at or above proficiency in literacy skills.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Several county offices are feeling the effects of budget problems which have contributed to layoffs in various departments.
When the budget for St. Francis County was amended last month, a hiring freeze for new positions in all county offices was implemented, and according to St. Francis County Sheriff Dave Parkman, that hiring freeze could make tax collections next month more difficult.
"We're one employee short in my department, and really that's about all that we can handle. We've been doing a good job of handling things so far, but next month we'll have tax season and that's where we could see some problems," said Parkman. "As the deadline nears, I'm hoping that we won't need another person, but that really remains to be seen. So for us, it will be really just trial and error. Our services will remain the same, but people could face more delays when they come up here."
Throughout the courthouse, officials are saying that although the hiring freeze is affecting their staff, operations and services are still top priorities.
County Clerk Elizabeth Smith, who is short two staff members, says her office has been able to operate as it is staffed, but the busiest time of year is still ahead.
"Since this isn't an election year, we're not feeling it as much as we might if it were busier. We've still got November, December and January to come, but we're hoping that we can last the year out as it stands. We've been doing whatever is necessary to make sure that our customers are taken care of and that includes coming in early and staying late if need be," said Smith.
Circuit Clerk Bette Green, agreed with Smith. "This has been a tough year for us in my office because we've been down a person and a half all year. Everyone in the office has pitched in, taking work home or coming in on weekends to make sure that we're ready for court and everything, but this is tough," Green said.
Green said she foresaw problems at the beginning of the year and prepared for working this year short staffed. "This was something that I could see coming. At the beginning of the year I lost an employee, and instead of filling the position and later having to lay off, I just left the position vacant. We've worked around it, but with our office taking on another court in January it will make it hard on us," said Green.
County Assessor Craig Jones, who filled a vacant position in July but is still one employee short, said his office has functioned well while short staffed but more layoffs would be hard on the assessor's office.
"Right now we're operating pretty efficiently, and if need be, I could use contract labor because I have some funding set aside for that. But, if I had to lay someone else off it would make it hard not only for me, but for the citizens of the county. At the beginning and end of the month when people are getting their car tags, no one wants to have to wait in long lines to get things done," Jones said.
According to Jones, he was able to fill the one vacant position because Jones lost a staff member after the county's three-month budget period began. None of the elected officials knew if there would be budget changes to lift the hiring freeze at the end of the month when the next budget period should be arranged.
County Judge Carl Cisco has seen some changes in his office. Two employees were transferred to other departments outside the courthouse, and one employee was transferred into the judge's office to fill the spot created by those transfers.
County Treasurer Ann Harbin, who operates her office with one chief deputy, has not suffered any personnel changes.
Keep Arkansas Beautiful's Great Arkansas Cleanup campaign will kick off Saturday as counties across the state begin the annual fall anti-litter campaign, and once again St. Francis County citizens are being asked to do their part.
According to a press release from the Keep Arkansas Beautiful commission, each year the campaign runs from September through October and begins on the Saturday following Labor Day.
In St. Francis County, the Northeast Arkansas Recycling Company will be heading up St. Francis County's role in the cleanup, and J.D. Sharp with NEARCO will be the primary coordinator of the effort. NEARCO can be reached at 630-0357.
According to the press release, the Keep Arkansas Beautiful commission, along with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service and Sonic, is hosting a poster contest for children in kindergarten through sixth grades, the Scouts, 4-H clubs and other youth organizations.
Keep Arkansas Beautiful is a division of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, and is a statewide, non-profit organization dedicated to litter prevention, recycling and beautification issues.
The city of Colt will have its 10th annual Colt Pioneer Days sponsored by the Colt Community Development Corporation, on Friday, Sept. 7, from 5 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 8, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Historic William Stone House on Hwy. 63 East in Colt.
All proceeds will go towards the upkeep and restoration of the historic house.
The day is scheduled to end with a drawing for a quilt and a watermelon feast donated by a member of the community.
Those attending the two-day event are asked to bring lawn chairs to enjoy the music, activities, food and fun.