By TAMARA JOHNSON
Managing Editor
A Palestine teenager was killed Saturday afternoon when his pickup collided head-on with a tractor-trailer truck near Pine Tree.
Kenneth Edward Long, 17, died in the accident. Joshua Flowers, 18, a passenger in Long's Ford F-150 truck was seriously injured in the crash and transported by helicopter to the Med Center in Memphis. Flowers suffered head and leg injuries, according to the sheriff's department report. A Med spokesperson today said Flowers is still listed in critical condition.
According to a report on file at the St. Francis County Sheriff's Department, Long was traveling south on St. Francis County Road 107, just over six miles north of Palestine, when he struck a northbound 1965 Kaiser tractor-trailer truck driven by Terry Lynn Taylor, 30, 1211 Stuart Springs, Forrest City. Taylor was not reported injured.
Long was pulling a jet ski behind his truck, according to deputies, who said the teenage pair was headed home after spending the afternoon riding the watercraft. The tractor-trailer driven by Taylor is owned by the Pine Tree Experiment Station, and was empty at the time of the accident. Deputies reported the tractor was totaled in the accident along with Long's pickup.
The accident occurred just after 5:30 p.m., according to a sheriff's department spokesman, who added that visibility was a contributing factor in the wreck.
"Part of that road is dirt, and the dust was real thick," SFC Deputy Mel Dickerson. "Several vehicles were going south and two had already passed the 18-wheeler. The driver of the truck said he didn't see him until they collided."
No charges are expected to be filed in the accident, Dickerson said.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
With the runoff election set for Tuesday, some of the wrinkles that plagued the May primary election have been ironed out and election officials are expecting smooth sailing tomorrow.
According to Election Coordinator Judy Armstrong, early voting in the races for Madison Township Constable and the Democratic nominee for the Land Commissioner post, has seen some address problems, but overall run well.
"So far, everything is going OK. There have been some address problems with people not being in the books or listed at the wrong address, but things are in a lot better shape than they were before," Armstrong said.
According to Armstrong, there have also been measures to help decrease the cost of tomorrow's election. St. Francis County voters will vote at four consolidated polling locations tomorrow.
"We cut down the number of poll workers and the number of polling places to save us some money, and I don't think that it will cause many problems. To keep the number of wasted ballots down I also took a look at the voter participation in the primary to gauge how many ballots would be needed for this. There were only two separate ballot forms that we needed so that also helped," Armstrong said.
Early voting closes today and as of 11 a.m. 95 ballots had been cast. Polls open in Forrest City, Palestine, Hughes and Madison Tuesday morning at 7:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
A public hearing has been scheduled to discuss a grant for which the City of Forrest City is applying.
The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 18, before the regular city council meeting.
The grant would be for matching funds to help the city purchase land adjacent to the Municipal Sports Complex.
Mayor Larry Bryant said this morning that the complex, located on South Washington (Ark. Highway 1) needs expansion.
"The sports complex out there is probably one of the hottest items Forrest City has, one of the most prestigious places, and we've outgrown it," said Bryant.
"In days past, after we built it, we've extended the parking lot once or twice, and with more people playing and more grandparents coming out, you need more parking," he continued. "And looking to the future, we need to have more room to expand."
Bryant said the city is looking at purchasing from a minimum of 25 acres to a maximum of about 50 acres.
"It will give us room to expand, so we will not have to use baseball fields for soccer fields or flag football fields," he said. "We'll have designated areas for those things. And, if we should be fortunate enough to be like cities -- for instance, Sherwood -- to build a multi-purpose center, we could also do that. We could also increase our baseball fields.
"Basically," he said, "it's what I call an investment in the future."
Along with the baseball fields, the Municipal Sports Complex will also soon house a Senior Citizens Center.
An arrest has been made in the recent kidnapping and rape of a Forrest City woman.
On Sunday, the Forrest City Police Department arrested Terry W. Hamilton, 32, of 833 Sherwood Dr., Forrest City, in connection with the alleged rape of a 21-year-old Forrest City female on May 28.
Hamilton was arrested at his home without incident, and charged with rape, kidnapping and criminal impersonation.
According to police reports, in the early morning hours of May 28, the victim told police she was walking on Izard Street when the suspect pulled up next to her in a white SUV type vehicle and pointed a pistol at her, forcing her to get into the vehicle. After driving through areas of Forrest City, the suspect allegedly took the woman to Eldridge Road where the assault occurred. While driving back to town, she reportedly jumped out of the vehicle and went to a family home where she then notified the police department of the assault.
Hamilton was placed in the St. Francis County Jail on a $100,000 bond, and was scheduled to appear in court today.