By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Early release of more than 500 state prison inmates over the next 90 days was recently approved by the state Corrections Board, a prison spokeswoman said.
St. Francis County Sheriff Dave Parkman said this morning he has not received any word so far on how that might affect state prisoners currently being held in the St. Francis County Jail. With prisoners being released early from the state system, room may be left for prisoners being held in county jails to move on to state prisons.
"They haven't called here about moving any prisoners out," said Parkman. "They haven't notified any of us."
Still, Parkman said he wasn't surprised that the prisoners are being released, given the overcrowded conditions.
"It doesn't surprise me," he said. "I guess it's the only way they can handle it, but they haven't notified us. I hope they will, because we could sure use the room."
The state is supposed to pay counties $28 a day for each inmate housed in county jails, but has fallen behind. It was reported recently that the county received a check for $109,850 as a partial payment. At that time, it was reported that there were 18 state prisoners in the St. Francis County Jail.
Statewide, it was reported that 634 inmates are backed up in county jails, awaiting space in the prison system -- 35 women and 599 men.
Dina Tyler, spokeswoman for the state Correction Department, said the board voted to invoke the Emergency Powers Act, which authorizes early release of inmates nearing parole or release dates when the state prisons reach capacity.
Tyler said prison officials told the board that 74 women and 456 men would be released early, over the next three months.
She said the state prison system had room for 10,306 male inmates, but held 10,804 as of Thursday -- 4.8 percent over capacity. The additional inmates are being accommodated in extra beds that have been installed in some units, she said.
The system's rated capacity for female inmates is 662, Tyler said, but the female inmate population as of Thursday was 757, 14.4 percent over capacity.
An Oklahoma man was killed in a motorcycle wreck Sunday morning on Interstate 40 near Forrest City.
According to Senior Cpl. Howard Smith of the Arkansas State Police. Randall J. Stover, 51, of Norman, Okla. was driving a motorcycle in the outside lane, westbound on I-40 at about 9 a.m.
Also riding with him on another motorcycle was Stover's stepson, Gavin R. Bell, 21, also of Norman.
According to Smith, the two motorcyclists approached the scene of a minor accident and were looking over at it. At that point the back wheel of Stover's motorcycle apparently struck the front wheel of Bell's motorcycle. Both motorcycles went out of control.
Stover was pronounced dead at the scene. Bell was transported to Baptist Memorial Hospital, Forrest City, where he was treated and released.
The accident took place at the 252 mile marker.
Earlier, at about 8:20 at the 242 mile marker, a man received only minor injuries after flipping his van four times.
According to Smith, Tremmel M. White of Marion said he must have fallen asleep at the wheel, ran off the road and then overcorrected, causing the van to roll four times.
White received minor injuries and was treated and released at Baptist Memorial Hospital, Forrest City.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
An ordinary day on a mail route turned out to be anything but ordinary for a letter carrier with the Forrest City Post Office.
Cathy Scott and her daughter Bethany Hines are thankful their mailman, Kelly Bascue, was running his route on a recent spring day when they found themselves facing a very serious situation.
Hines, who was at home with her mother, was eating a peppermint when the candy became lodged in her throat causing her to choke.
"We had just finished eating, and Bethany was eating a peppermint when she came running to me and asked me to help her because she was choking on the peppermint. I started patting her on the back, but that didn't work, and I then tried giving her something to help it go down. When that didn't work, something told me to open the front door. When I did, Kelly was standing there," said Scott.
According to Scott ,she told Bascue, who is a former Emergency Medical Technician, what was happening, and he "sprung into action.
"I asked him if he would help me, and he laid his mail down and asked if I had performed the Heimlich maneuver on her, and I told him that I hadn't. He then did the procedure which allowed the candy to go down into her esophagus more. This allowed her to breathe better and calmed her down," Scott said.
Bascue then stayed with the family as things apparently went from bad to worse as Hines began to bleed from injuries sustained in the choking incident. According to Scott, Bascue attempted to calm the situation with both mother and daughter and also explained the situation to paramedics when they arrived on the scene.
Hines is now recovering from her injuries, but she and her mother both thank Bascue for his heroic actions and for being there when they needed him the most.
"Both Bethany and myself would like to thank Mr. Bascue for such a heroic, good Samaritan and fatherly role that he played. He aided her like she was his own child, and he talked to her so calmly. For a while, he dismissed his job as a mail carrier and worked at his "heart" job. We are really thankful and appreciative of him. We will never forget what he did," said Scott.
Although Bascue preferred not to comment on his actions, for Scott and Hines, his silence speaks volumes about his character. To them, Bascue is a lifesaver in the truest sense of the word.
Building permits for projects valued at $838,568 were issued in Forrest City during May, making the year-to-date total just over $2 million.
Two major projects accounted for almost all of the amount. An addition at Boar's Head Provisions, 2530 W. Broadway, will cost $462,000. A project to install a sidewalk canopy and also do some parking lot work at East Arkansas Community College on Newcastle Road is valued at $318,158.
In other projects, H&W Auto Tech is erecting a new building at 1425 Lindauer, valued at $4,900, and Stewart School, at 400 Dawson Road, is putting up a sign at a cost of $2,000.
The rest of the permits were for residential projects. There was one mobile home permit, two permits for fences, one permit for a room addition, and two remodeling project permits.