By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The town of Jennette in Crittenden County has made a request to the Delta Regional Authority for $2.4 million, to finance a sewer extension which includes an area of St. Francis County that supposedly became a part of the town after a May annexation vote.
The funding request has been received for review by the East Arkansas Planning and Development District, located in Jonesboro.
According to Eddy Brawley, project engineer for Jennette, if the money is received most of the expense will be for new lines.
"It will be pumping back to the existing treatment plant, which will probably have to be expanded, but there will not be a whole new treatment plant," said Brawley.
He said the full project includes about 39,000 linear feet of sewer lines, with a capacity for about 200 new customers.
A lot of the proposed project is not in the city.
"There are areas outside the city," said Brawley. Some are pretty concentrated, where you've got quite a number of residences. So it's serving more than just their city, even outside the area they annexed."
He continued, "There is a subdivision called Morning Sun in Crittenden County. There is also the Blackfish area in St. Francis County, and then the area that pretty well runs along between Blackfish and Highway 79. That's in St. Francis County, too."
He said that area is fairly well developed. "And all of them are on septic tanks. A lot of that area isn't suitable for normal septic operation. This will be giving some sewer service."
He said the people affected are on the Crawfordsville Water Association, which he said is mainly in Crittenden County; and the Midway and Hughes water associations, in St. Francis County.
In June, a lawsuit was filed over the annexation vote, by Peeples Enterprises Inc., located in St. Francis County. Named as defendants were the city of Jennette, the St. Francis County Election Commission and the Crittenden County Election Commission.
The suit claims, among other things, that the city was not capable of providing sewer services to the proposed annexation area. The suit also claims that Jennette has no means of extending any basic municipal services to the proposed annexation area. It characterized the annexation as a land grab beyond the actual growth of the city, with no goal of responsible land use planning. The suit also accuses Jennette of failing to comply properly with election procedures.
The proposed annexation will encompass 124.5 acres in both Crittenden and St. Francis Counties. In November of 2000, Jennette attempted to annex more than 30,000 acres, with 20,000 of those acres inside St. Francis County. That proposal was defeated by a vote of 246 to 22. In May of this year, apparently only one registered St. Francis County voter lived in the area to be annexed.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
A Colt man who allegedly shot a nine-year-old boy inside his home at Pine Tree following a domestic disturbance last month now faces a $1.5 million lawsuit from the parents of the injured child.
A restraining order has also been issued against the shooting suspect, Steven Drummond, 23. The order mandates that Drummond keep a 200-yard distance from the property owned by the boy's family.
According to a lawsuit filed last week in the St. Francis County Circuit Clerk's office, the parents of Bobby Dilks are seeking compensatory damages in the amount of $1 million, and $500,000 in damages for costs and all other proper relief, from Drummond following the June 20 shooting.
Dilks, the son of Kenneth and Tina Dilks, was shot following a domestic disturbance between his parents and Drummond. Dilks was injured when a slug, allegedly fired by Drummond, went through his stomach as he stood in the dining room of his home. Drummond told authorities that he fired a shot in the air with his .12-gauge shotgun. The slug from that gun was found inside the dining room of the Dilks' home.
In their lawsuit, the Dilks' allege that Drummond was shooting at Kenneth Dilks when the injury occurred.
"As Kenneth Dilks approached the front of his home to enter, the defendant pulled his vehicle in front of the plaintiffs' house and while using his pick-up truck as a weapon platform, the defendant pointed a .12 -gauge shotgun out of the driver's side of the defendant's motor vehicle and shot at Kenneth Dilks. The projectile fired by the .12 gauge pump shotgun was a slug that went through the wall of the plaintiff's' house and struck the right side of Bobby Dilks' abdomen and passed through his body and exited on the left side of his abdomen and struck a dining room chair before falling to the floor in the dining room," the lawsuit alleges.
Drummond must also obey a court order issued last week which will force his family members to visit him at his new residence in Wynne, according to St. Francis County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chris Morledge. According to Morledge, the order from Circuit Judge Ben Story, orders Drummond to remain at least 200 yards from the Dilks' property.
"Mr. Drummond told the court that he had a residence in Wynne and his only concern was visiting his mother who lives at the address basically across the road from the Dilks. The judge issued the order, and if Mr. Drummond wants to visit with his family, they will have to go to him," Morledge said.
Drummond is charged with committing a terroristic act because he allegedly shot into a house, causing an injury. He faces a penalty of 40 years to life in prison.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The Forrest City City Council's fire committee on Monday gave its approval to a new pumper truck, and listened to some other requests from Fire Chief Dan Curtner.
The recommendation of the committee now goes to Mayor Larry Bryant.
Curtner, who had studied the bids on the pumper, said the low bidder met the specifications. Pro Line Equipment of Olive Branch, Miss., bid $143,467, and the committee will recommend to the mayor that the bid be accepted. The other bid was $159,319, from the Ferrara company of Louisiana.
On another matter, Curtner told the committee members who were present (Glenn Ford and Chris Oswalt) that the fire department needs some new hoses. He was requesting 5-inch supply line, which he said can move much more water than the three-inch line currently in use. He said it is also easier to maintain, and lasts about twice as long.
"We're in the middle of the summer, but we're coming up on winter," said Curtner. "And we need to replace some hoses."
He said the cost of the hose would be $24,000 to $25,000.
Ford said he was not against getting the hose, however, "Unless this is actually an emergency, I'd like to address this in next year's budget. This is fine, we need to upgrade. But we're just a few months away from budget talks, and I personally will push for this."
Oswalt agreed with Ford's assessment, and Curtner said he had no problem with it.
Curtner also said the fire department needs some new software for its computers. He said the money, around $3,000, could come from Act 833 funds -- funds collected by the state from a surcharge on fire insurance and distributed to fire departments. Also, because it is under $5,000, the bidding process is not necessary.
Curtner also showed Oswalt and Ford a thermal imaging camera, with a price tag of about $16,000 to $18,000.
This camera can be used to see in the dark, or through smoke.
"The advantage of this is, it works on infrared," said Curtner. "It is a tremendous advantage when you get into fire scenes and have so much smoke. You have trouble finding victims, finding hot spots."
He said that although bids have to be taken on the camera, it could still be paid for with Act 833 funds.
In a final matter, Curtner said the mayor has given him approval to promote one person to lieutenant, who could be in charge when none of the captains are around. He said at present there is not an actual pay increase for a lieutenant, just an increase in responsibility. However, he said he was requesting that at least a small increase be included.
"We would have to bring that before the whole council," said Ford.
Curtner said, "The men understand right now that there's no pay increase with it."
A "Building For Success" caravan, sponsored by the Arkansas State University Athletic Department, will be at the Forrest City Civic Center Friday, July 26, at 2 p.m.
The traveling group will include representatives of the administration, athletic department, student athletes from the selected communities and local Indian Club members.
These receptions will give local citizens an opportunity to meet the new administrative team, coaches and athletes of the ASU Indians. There will also be information about new conference affiliations, newly built and renovated facilities, the "Indian Eye" and the new NCAA requirements for Division I programs, according to a press release.