By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
In a brief meeting Tuesday, the Forrest City City Council agreed to let Mayor Larry Bryant advertise for bids to replace the roof on city hall.
Bryant reported that the roof is leaking. He said it had been several years since any work had been done. Alderman A.L. Harris said it had been at least 12 to 15 years. At that time, the roof was patched only.
Bryant said he had talked to two contractors. He said he had learned that patching the roof could be done for about $1,000, and would not require bids. However, replacing the roof would cost more than the $5,000 maximum for which the mayor can contract without bids. He said if the bids come in too high they can still be rejected.
There were some comments that once a roof begins leaking -- this particular leak is next to an air conditioning unit on the roof -- it can gradually become worse, and the roof has also been patched once. Alderman Cecil Twilly called it a "no-brainer," because only so many years can be expected from any roof.
The city hall roof is flat.
On another matter, Bryant said negotiations are continuing on the possibility of the city's purchase of land adjacent to the Municipal Sports Complex.
Also on another matter, the council received a letter from Code Enforcement Officer Chester Crossen, asking for some guidance in the matter of a barbecue trailer that has been set up at a church in town. He said in the letter that if the trailer does business every week, it might be in direct competition with local businesses with permanent addresses who pay taxes. At the same time, he said there is nothing in city ordinances that govern how long such an activity can continue.
Council members said they might try to find out if the money being raised went strictly to the church. No action was taken.
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Thai police raided a beachside condominium and arrested an American wanted for the highly publicized murder of his socialite wife in Atlanta 15 years ago, officials said Wednesday.
James Vincent Sullivan, who had been under police surveillance for weeks, was arrested Tuesday night in a condominium in the Cha-am beach resort, 100 miles south of Bangkok, said police Col. Somchai Yoklek.
He said Sullivan's arrest was requested by the FBI. Sullivan, 61, has been indicted in the United States on charges of hiring someone to kill his estranged wife, Lita McClinton Sullivan, in 1987.
''We've waited a long time for this,'' Emory McClinton, the victim's father, told WSB-TV in Atlanta.
He said, however, the arrest would force him and his wife, Georgia state Rep. JoAnn McClinton, to relive the sorrow of their daughter's murder. ''We will have to go through the process again. We will have to resurrect all those memories and go through this trial.''
A Forrest City police officer is hospitalized for complications related to last week's chemical spill.
Patrol Sergeant Ronald Holub was admitted to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Forrest City on Saturday for breathing problems.
Holub was one of the police officers who helped evacuate residents within a one-mile radius of the spill near the Interstate 40 rest area just east of Forrest City. The evacuation involved residents in several neighborhoods along with patients at BMH-FC and guests at local motels.
FCPD Lt. Eddie Adamson said it is believed Holub gained most of his exposure to the chemicals while going door-to-door to tell residents of the danger. "This goes to show why the evacuation was necessary," Adamson said, referring to Holub's condition.
In addition to Holub, Adamson said a nurse and an EMT at BMH-FC have also been treated for symptoms related to the spill, but neither has been hospitalized. "Ronald is by far the most seriously injured that we know of," Adamson said.
Holub was diagnosed with chemical bronchitis just after the accident; however, after his symptoms worsened, doctors diagnosed him with reactive airway disease. Among his symptoms, Adamson said Holub has severe coughing attacks. "Doctors here conferred with a pulmonologist in Memphis who advised them on how to treat him. They basically said the doctors here are doing everything for him that would be done in Memphis."
Two Forrest City people were killed early Wednesday when the vehicle they were in struck an embankment, state police said.
According to an accident report from Arkansas State Police Troop D, William Corey Clarkson, 24, 232 Wolf St., Forrest City, and Jennifer Wright, 21, 2854 SFC 801, Forrest City, were killed this morning when they were ejected from the 1996 GMC S-150 that Clarkson was driving west on Arkansas Highway 306.
According to the report, at about 4 a.m. Clarkson lost control of the vehicle and drove into a ditch where the truck overturned and struck a concrete embankment. ASP Trooper Deryl Walker said it is suspected that Clarkson went to sleep.
"We suspect that Mr. Clarkson fell asleep at the wheel because there were no skid marks or any other evidence that he had attempted to stop the vehicle. Neither occupants of the vehicle was wearing a seatbelt and both were ejected on impact," Walker said.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The new regional child support building being constructed on Arkansas Highway 1 South in Forrest City should be completed within the next 60 days, although officials with Arkansas State Building Services could not confirm those estimates.
According to Laura Sharp with SBS, efforts to contact Forrest City businessman Scott Carroll, who represents the Herman Young Estate which was awarded the bid for the project last year, have not yielded any answers as to when the building would be finished. Sharp said several attempts to contact Carroll over the past couple of weeks have been unsuccessful. Sharp also said that the lease agreement had been turned over to the SBS attorney.
According to the terms of the lease, officials with SBS and the Herman Young Estate agreed to a 10-year lease which began Oct. 1, 2001, and ends, Sept. 30, 2011. According to Sharp, state bids are worked on the understanding that the lease will give the contractor time for construction, while also paying on the lease. Groundbreaking for the building was held in November of last year.
"When the terms of the lease are written up we give the contractor an opportunity to give us the best case scenario for when to expect completion, and October 1, 2001, was the date that we were given for the best case," Sharp said.
In an interview Tuesday afternoon, Carroll said that the building should have been completed a month ago, but issues with contractors have kept things at bay.
"We're currently waiting on the electrical contractor to complete his work, and we're having to wait on the concrete contractor to get in from Texas. These are all things that can hold up the process, but I believe that the building will be ready to go within the next two months. We've finished painting, and we're almost at the point where we can install the carpet, so things are moving along.
"I tried to use as many local contractors as I could because this building is going to be located in Forrest City, and I feel that the people that do the work should be from Forrest City if that's possible," Carroll said.
According to Anne Laidlaw with SBS, no contact has been made with Carroll. Laidlaw did say that any questions over the specifications for the building as well as the contractors' requirements were spelled out in the lease agreement.
Many people are looking forward to a long Fourth of July weekend. The Arkansas State Police want to remind them that the weekend fun should not include unsafe driving.
For the troopers, the holiday will be anything but a holiday.
"Our 'holiday' period is going to start at 6 p.m. Wednesday (July 3), and it will go through midnight Sunday night," said Lt. Tommy Wicker of Troop D, headquartered in Forrest City.
"We'll be working several sobriety checkpoints in the troop, as we usually do," he continued.
There will also be a continued emphasis on passenger restraints (seat belts and child seats). Wicker said the two-week "Click It or Ticket" program has been over for some time, but that doesn't mean people can get away with not buckling up.
"The state received a federal grant to enforce passenger restraint laws," he said. "The grant goes through September, and pays officers for overtime. When they're working this overtime, their main emphasis is restraints -- seat belts and child safety seats."
The offices of the Times-Herald will be closed Thursday, July 4, for the Independence Day Holiday.
The paper will be open again for business on Friday, July 5.
Other businesses, such as banks and government offices, will also be closed for the holiday.
Building permits were issued for projects valued at a total of $283,600 in Forrest City during June, in a month almost totally dominated by residential work.
Only two permits were issued for commercial projects, one for a fence at Best Western on Ark. Highway 1 North, valued at $2,600; and a sign at Cellular Services, located at 1043 N. Washington, valued at $5,400.
The residential permits included one new house, one duplex, one siding project, a room addition, one fence, one patio, two remodeling projects and a roof.
The East Arkansas Area Agency on Aging will provide free electric fans to elderly citizens who need them this summer.
"If anyone is 60 or over, or knows anyone 60 or over, who is in need of a fan, you may call the EAAAA, and we will find you one," said Janice Waddy, a case manager with the EAAAA.
"If they call the office, it may take a day or two, but we will provide them with a fan, free of charge. If we don't have a fan at this (St. Francis County) office, we can get one from our area office in Jonesboro," Waddy added.
To receive a fan, donate a fan, or for more information, call the EAAAA in Forrest City at 870-633-1340.