More murders occurred in both Forrest City and St. Francis County last year, while overall, other crimes appear to be decreasing.
In Forrest City, law enforcement officers saw murders increase only one, from two in 2000 to three in 2001. Homicides doubled in the county last year from three murders in 2000 to six murders in 2001, according to sheriff's department officials.
The first of the three murders in Forrest City last year occurred in February when 28-year-old Jamelle Greer was stabbed at an apartment in Indian Hills following an argument.
In June, Dexter Tyrone Henry, 17, was also stabbed to death after an argument at his home.
The third Forrest City murder occurred in late December when 22-year-old Voltaurus Parchman was shot to death during a home invasion at his residence on Inglewood Drive.
Even though the city saw an increase in murders, the year as a whole revealed a 10-percent decrease in overall calls for service by the Forrest City Police Department compared to the previous year.
In 2001, the police department received 22,512 calls for service, a decrease of 2,305 from 2000, according to a police report. Rape cases increased in 2001 to 16, compared to the 13 rapes reported in 2000. Aggravated assaults also increased last year, from 28 in 2000 to 37 in 2001, and according to Chief of Police Clarence McNeary, domestic disputes may have also contributed to the increase.
"With two of our cases of homicide last year, they were incidents of people either living in a home with a person or a family member having a dispute. The same can be said for many of the aggravated assault cases that we saw. A husband or boyfriend may come home late and get into an argument with his wife, and the next thing you know one of them is fighting the other one and we're called in. Those are cases that we can't do anything about until everything is said and done," McNeary said.
Forrest City saw a 33 percent increase last year in auto theft cases from 46 to 68. According to McNeary, a number of factors contributed to the increase in auto thefts last year, ranging from economic problems to cases of vehicles taken without permission.
"The slow down in the economy may be a contributing factor in the increase in auto thefts, but we've also seen an increase in the number of cases where a child takes a car without permission or someone rents a vehicle from one of the rental places in town and doesn't bring it back on time. When those things happen, and reports are taken, we have to put them down as auto thefts, even though the vehicle may be recovered quickly," said McNeary.
There was a decrease last year in two areas, burglaries and criminal mischief. There was a 3 percent decrease in burglaries with 214 in 2000 and 208 in 2001. Criminal Mischief cases saw a 4 percent decrease with 494 cases in 2000 and 475 cases in 2001.
According to McNeary, the number of criminal mischief cases would have been fewer if not for the recent rash of Circle-H cases. Over the past few weeks, there has been a string of cases in which cars are being vandalized with the spray painting of an H with a circle around it.
"This is a case where we just haven't been getting any information. We're still working on the case, but any information that the public can give us will be a lot of help," said McNeary.
The county saw its first murder in July whne Arthur Lee Humphrey, 41, of Forrest City, was killed at a Caldwell pool hall.
In September Jimmy and Margaret Darby of Wheatley died in what was deemed a murder-suicide.
The third murder occurred in November.
On Nov. 18, hunters found the body of Edna Mae Thompson, 36, of Madison near Burnt Cane near Widener. Although no one has been officially charged in the murder, deputies have a suspect in custody.
The remaining three murders occurred in Crow Creek on Dec. 7. Dylan Boyd, 31, Carl Boyd, 21, and Dewayne Stewart, were shot numerous times in this home invasion. Two of three suspects in these murders are in police custody.
"We had six murders investigated in 2001," said SFC Chief Investigator Glenn Ramsey. "This is up due to the triple homicide that occurred Dec. 7," Ramsey said.
Sheriff Dave Parkman said he didn't think his department had handled as many homicides (six) during any of the previous years he has been in office. "I can't recall anytime we had so many homicides," said Parkman.
Other crimes in the county were slightly down from the previous year, and Parkman said arrests had decreased by about half.
According to records at the sheriff's department, there were 812 adult arrests and 47 juvenile arrests made in 2001.
The Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC), the record-keeping agency for police departments, reports that in 2000, there were 1,591 adult arrests along with 85 juvenile arrests.
According to the ACIC reports for 2000 and 2001, three rapes were reported in both years. Six arson cases were reported in 2000, and only three occurred in 2001.
Drug arrests were down by almost half, based on the report. In 2000, the department reported 247 total drug arrests, and in 2001, the department reported only 123 drug arrests.
In other incidents, larceny incidents decreased, along with aggravated assaults and robberies. Vehicle thefts were also down.
In 2000, the ACIC reported the sheriff's department investigated 54 motor vehicle thefts. Fifty-one motor vehicle thefts were reported in 2001. Parkman said motor vehicle thefts reported in 2001 still seemed higher than he had expected.
The St. Francis County Museum, located on Front Street, will host the third annual African - American Art from St. Francis County Exhibit during the month of February, in celebration of Black History Month.
The exhibition will be featured in the front parlor of the museum, starting Friday, Feb. 1, through Friday, March 1.
Artists of any age are encouraged to submit works for the exhibition, before Friday, Jan. 25. Works should be submitted exhibit-ready and accompanied by a brief biography. All mediums will be considered and artists are encouraged to be creative, so the exhibit will be as diverse as possible.
An opening reception is planned for Saturday, Feb. 2, from 2 to 4 p.m. Patrons will be able to meet the artists and refreshments will be served.
For additional information, contact the museum at 261-1744.
The museum is open to visitors from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The Forrest City School Board is already in compliance with an attorney general's opinion concerning where retreats can be held, Superintendent Lee Vent said this morning.
An opinion by Attorney General Mark Pryor restricts retreats by some school boards, which are held often in the relaxed atmosphere of a restaurant outside their home district.
The opinion says that retreats at which school issues are discussed are public meetings. And that means they have to be held in accordance with the state's Freedom of Information Act, which means the meetings must be held within the school district, according to the non-binding opinion.
According to Vent, the Forrest City board used to meet at Village Creek State Park, which is in Cross County, but no more.
"They have not done that since I've been here," said Vent. All our retreats are certainly within the boundaries of our school district, usually in a local restaurant."
Pryor said holding a school board meeting outside the district ''would thwart the purposes of the FOIA, because it would inhibit the attendance of the members of the public who are most interested in school board business.''
Pryor issued the opinion last year at the request of Rep. Barbara King, D-Helena. An audit of the Helena-West Helena District found that school board and administration spent $250,834 for travel from July 1, 1997, to April 30, 2001. That travel included retreats for board members and families to the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tenn., and to Tunica, Miss.
"That's not a very good practice, certainly," said Vent. "It's been abused, and it sheds a bad light on the entire system of public education. Our board certainly does not practice that. Our retreats have been within the boundaries of the Forrest City district."
On Friday, state Rep. Lindbergh Thomas, D-Grady, asked for an explanation of last year's opinion. He said his district, in southeast Arkansas, includes four school districts -- Altheimer, Dumas, Gould and Grady -- and only Dumas has facilities suitable for a retreat.
Assuming he is re-elected in November, Thomas said would propose legislation that would allow school boards to meet out of the district, but not out of state.
Also, Rep. Tommy Roebuck, D-Arkadelphia, said his city's school board travels six miles out of the district to a lodge on DeGray Lake for their retreat.
Roger Norman of the state Bureau of Legislative Audit, said retreats are not ordinarily called into question unless they appear too expensive or unusual, such as those held in Memphis and Tunica.
A restaurant manager in Wheatley faces charges after allegedly pulling a gun on a cook on Friday morning.
According to the report at the St. Francis County Sheriff's office, witnesses said Sammie Lou Evans, 47, of Wheatley, manager of the Rib House restaurant, pulled a .357-caliber Magnum on cook Earl Sweeney Friday morning.
Todd White, owner of establishment, told police he took the gun away from Evans after she pulled the gun on Sweeney. According to the report, there was no known motive.
Glenn Ramsey, Chief Investigator for the Sheriff's Department, said Evans faces charges of assault and terroristic threatening. Ramsey said Evans has been evaluated by a psychiatrist and transported to Clear View in Searcy for further evaluation.
Three city councils are scheduled to meet this evening in St. Francis County.
The Widener council will meet at 6 p.m., and the Madison and Hughes councils will meet at 7 p.m. The meetings will be held at each city's city hall.
The Forrest City Public Library Board was set to meet at 4 this afternoon at the library, and the Forrest City Civic Center commission was slated to meet at 5 this evening at the civic center.
On Tuesday morning, the Forrest City Water Commission will meet at 10 a.m. at the water department.
At 6 p.m. Tuesday, the St. Francis County Quorum Court will hold its regular monthly meeting in the quorum court meeting room at the courthouse. The primary topic on the agenda will be a two-month budget for the county.
The Forrest City City Council will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday to discuss a city budget, ward boundaries and a requested rezoning.
Second reading of the 2002 budget, calling for $7.9 million in expenditures, is on the agenda. Also on second reading is an ordinance establishing new ward boundaries, to put the wards in compliance with the 2000 census.
There will also be third reading and possibly a vote on a controversial ordinance to rezone property at 1455 Dawson from residential to commercial. The property is owned by Bennie Crawford, who says he wants to build a convenience store there. Since the ordinance was introduced, people have spoken both for and against the rezoning. There are also several people listed on the agenda to speak Tuesday.
Two more ordinances are on the agenda. On second reading is an ordinance to allow the fire department to charge for damage done to "hazmat" suits when answering mutual aid calls out of town.
The other, on second reading, would require, before a wrecker service can be put on the city's rotation, that it have wrecker trucks within a certain radius of the intersection of Washington and Broadway.