By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
A long holiday weekend kept state police in Troop D busy. However, in spite of having to work 37 accidents, they were able to report that no one was killed.
"We had no fatalities in our troop area," said Lt. Tommy Wicker of Troop D.
The accidents, while not fatal, caused traffic to be snarled.
"The interstates were backed up pretty badly," said Wicker. "The West Memphis area and the Brinkley area over close to Hazen were backed up pretty bad."
For State Police purposes, the holiday period officially began at midnight Tuesday, and ended at midnight Sunday.
During that time, officers in Troop D gave out 199 speeding tickets. There were also 14 DWI arrests.
There were 95 seat belt violations and 16 child restraint violations. Forty-five other hazardous violations were reported, along with 62 non-hazardous violations. There were also 43 criminal arrests. Wicker said there were a total of 874 officer-vehicle contacts.
In addition, the State Police have been active in the "Click It or Ticket" campaign, which ran from Sunday, Nov. 24, and ended Sunday, Dec. 1. This campaign targets people who are in violation of the state's seat belt and child restraint statutes.
Wicker also gave the numbers for that campaign, although he added that some of the numbers might not fit in with those during the Thanksgiving weekend period. He said this is because the Click It or Ticket was not in force at night.
"Click It or Ticket was strictly daylight hours," he said.
During the Click It or Ticket period, there were 110 seat belt violations reported, along with 20 child safety seat citations.
There were also other citations during this time, including 180 speeding tickets, 15 DWI's, one stolen vehicle and 22 criminal arrests.
Troop D of the Arkansas State Police takes in Crittenden, Phillips, Lee, St. Francis, Cross, Wodruff, Monroe and Prairie counties.
St. Francis County had an unemployment rate of 6.5 percent during October, down from 6.9 percent in September and also down from the 6.7 percent recorded in October of last year.
Along with the local improvement, there was also general improvement. For the first time since November of 2000, no county in the state had unemployment of 10 percent or higher. The state's highest unemployment was 9.8 percent, recorded in Mississippi County. Unemployment then dropped to 7.9 percent in Chicot County. Only six counties had unemployment rates above 7 percent.
St. Francis County had the 16th highest unemployment out of Arkansas' 75 counties for October, according to figures form the state Employment Security Department.
A new business aims to provide those who enjoy sewing and scrapbooking supplies for their hobbies without having to travel.
Wendy's Whimsy's, located in Forrest City, will specialize in several services and supplies including making clothes for children to be photographed in and Creative Memories scrapbook items, according to Wendy Kittler, owner and operator.
"We will offer sewing classes weekly and scrapbooking crops monthly," said Kittler. "We will also be offering smocking, embroidery, French hand-sewing and pleating. I believe that we are the only shop between Little Rock and Memphis to sell fine needles, fine thread and smocking supplies.
"We will also be carrying unique, handmade gifts including jewelry and handdyed fabrics from local artist Carolyn Dotson King, and I am a certified consultant for the Creative Memories brand," added Kittler.
Wendy's Whimsy's, located at 4357 Highway 284, Forrest City, is scheduled to hold an open house on Sunday, Dec. 8.
Roughly 739 people were fed Thanksgiving dinners on Wednesday and Thursday of last week, in a joint effort by several churches and the St. Francis County Food Pantry, it was reported this morning.
The churches participating were Madison Light, Salem Baptist at Haven and Broadway, First Baptist at Cross and Grant streets, Lane Chapel on Scott Street, New Light on Day Street, Church of God on Whitaker Street, and Prosperity Church on SFC 224.
"We appreciate everybody who helped, and God bless you," said Catherine Freeman of the Pantry.
The Forrest City City Council will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, at city hall. Councilmen will review several ordinances and decisions by the city's planning commission.