By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Construction at the medium-security phase of the Federal Correctional Institution in Forrest City is still ahead of schedule.
According to Danny Smith, supervisory construction representative with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the work is going well.
"We are at about 70 percent completion, in about 57 percent of the contract time," said Smith earlier this week.
Smith said there is still a lot of work to be done. Most of the buildings look fairly complete on the outside, but the insides of the buildings are beehives of activity.
Smith also said there is a chance that weather could be a problem. That's because although most of the buildings are "in the dry," there is still a lot of landscaping to be done.
Still, Smith said things are well on course for everything to be tested and ready to turn over by June 13, 2003. According to Smith, the medium security facility will hold 1,152 prisoners.
Conducting a tour around the site, Smith pointed out the recreation building, which he said is the only building with "red iron" -- the metal frame -- showing.
An impressive gate will mark the entrance to this portion of the prison. Everyone who enters the facility -- inmates, employees and visitors -- will enter this way. There is a large center for visiting.
The new prison phase will also have its own food service department, its own maintenance building and its own laundry. On the day of the tour, huge commercial washing machines, wrapped in protective plastic, sat in a row outside the building, waiting for installation.
A large courtyard which will be the visual centerpiece of the compound awaits landscaping and paving.
The most prominent feature of the entire prison complex is the new water tank, which is still under construction. At the present time, the section which will eventually hold the water is sitting around the bottom of the tower, giving the impression that the tower is sitting in an enormous bowl. Eventually, the "bowl" will be hoisted up to the top of the tower. When finished it will hold 750,000 gallons.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
A St. Francis County business has filed a lawsuit naming the city of Jennette, the St. Francis County Election Commission and the Crittenden County Election Commission as defendants, following a May annexation vote which placed property owned by the company inside the city limits of Jennette.
The complaint was filed Wednesday in the St. Francis County Circuit Court Clerk's office on behalf of Peeples Enterprises Inc. The lawsuit names Dr. John Griffee, Reginald Robertson and Scott Ferguson in their capacities as the Crittenden County Election Commissioners; Joe Young, Bettye Proctor and Steve Hollowell, in their capacities as St. Francis County Election Commissioners and the city of Jennette as defendants.
Among the over 30 complaints listed were charges that the proposed annexation area is not needed for proper municipal purposes such as the extension of police regulation and that Jennette has no active police department; that the proposed area is not valuable by reason of its adaptability for prospective municipal uses and that Jennette is not capable of providing sewer services to the proposed annexation area.
The suit also charges that Jennette has no means of providing any basic municipal services to the proposed annexation area and that the annexation was essentially nothing more than a land grab beyond the actual growth of the city with no goal of responsible land use planning.
The members of both the Crittenden County Election Commission and St. Francis County Election Commissions were named as defendants only in their official capacities as commissioners. The suit also accuses the city of Jennette of failing to properly comply with the election procedures set forth by law.
The proposed annexation will encompass 124.5 acres in both Crittenden and St. Francis Counties. In November of 2000, officials in Jennette had a bid to annex over 30,000 acres, 20,000 of which were in St. Francis County. That move was defeated by St. Francis County voters by a 246 to 22 vote. In May, only one registered St. Francis County voter lived in the area to be annexed.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Forrest City and St. Francis County residents should be on the look out for dead crows and blue jays, as a testing program for the West Nile Virus begins in Arkansas.
According to a press release from the Arkansas Department of Health, Arkansans should report dead birds for testing as part of the Arkansas Dead Bird Surveillance program for West Nile Virus. According to the release, residents are being asked to report, as well as submit, dead birds seen around their property or elsewhere to their local health departments.
According to Charles Presson with the St. Francis County Health Department, citizens should use caution when dealing with the birds.
"People should be careful when handling the birds. We suggest placing the birds in a plastic bag, and this can be done with rubber or plastic gloves or by taking the bag and turning it inside out and then picking the bird up using the bag," Presson said.
According to the release, birds should be placed inside a tied plastic bag and then that bag should be placed inside a second bag to avoid cross-contamination of individual birds and leaking containers that may contaminate vehicles or handlers during transportation.
Presson also added that due to the heat, it might be necessary to refrigerate the specimen until a health official arrives to take it for testing.
"When we get the call, we get out there as soon as possible, but sometimes that may take up to two hours. We have a small lab that is mobile where we test the livers of the birds. If the specimen has begun to decompose we can't test it, so it's best if it is refrigerated if it can be until we arrive. If a bird has been dead for a day or two there isn't really anything that we can do with it," Presson said.
Recent agricultural spraying will also force an increase in the number of dead birds, but Presson said that should not keep people from calling.
"The entire state has been placed under this program, and we know that there will be birds that are killed due to the crop spraying, but we still want to get as much help from the public as we can. It's hard to distinguish between some of the types of birds, but we'll field all calls. The three types of birds that are good indicators are the hawks, gulls and jays," Presson said.
To contact the county health department, call 633-1340.
Sales tax receipts for May in St. Francis County have been announced by the Arkansas Municipal League.
St. Francis County government received $136,547.43 during May. In addition, the following amounts were received: Hughes, $27,063.06; Forrest City, $214,156.23; Wheatley, $5,392.32; Palestine, $10,741.16; Madison, $14,307.04; Caldwell, $6,740.40; Colt, $5,334.34 and Widener, $4,855.97.
In the towns inside the county which have their own sales taxes, the following was received: Forrest City, $157,624.67; Hughes, $7,862.25; Madison, $3,010.66; Palestine, $5,704.98 and Wheatley, $4,262.38.
A truck driver who was stopped Thursday on Highway 1 South ended up being charged with DUI and possession of a controlled substance.
According to the Arkansas State Police report, Jeffrey Wayne Andrews, 50, of Brickeys, was driving a 1986 Freightliner, when he was stopped for losing his load.
The officer said that Andrews appeared nervous, and a search revealed Methamphetamine in his possession.
Andrews was charged with DUI-drugs, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.