By TAMARA JOHNSON
Managing Editor
The third suspect in a triple homicide that occurred last year in Crow Creek is behind bars.
Steven Dewayne Neal, 35, 513 St. Andrews, Forrest City, surrendered Thursday morning at the St. Francis County Sheriff's Department.
St. Francis County Sheriff's Department Chief Investigator Glenn Ramsey said Neal contacted his family saying he wanted to come home.
Neal is charged with the Dec. 7 shooting deaths of Dylan A. Boyd, 31, and Carl Boyd, 21, both of Madison, and Dewayne Stewart, 27, of Forrest City. The murders occurred at the Boyds' residence. The three had been shot numerous times.
Neal is charged with three counts of capital murder and theft of property over $2,500.
He was arraigned Thursday afternoon in St. Francis County District Court, and is being held without bond in the St. Francis County Jail.
The other two suspects, Kevin Mosby, 30, and Jimmy Mills, 30, both of Forrest City, were captured in January by the Hudson Police Department in Hudson, Wisc.
Mosby is charged with the three Crow Creek murders and the theft of the van. Because he was on parole, he is now being held in the Arkansas Department of Corrections at Varner awaiting a trial on the murder charges.
Mills is charged with four counts of capital murder. In addition to the three Crow Creek deaths, Mills is also accused in the Dec. 28 murder of Voltaurus Parchman on Inglewood Drive. He is being held in a county jail located outside St. Francis County.
Ramsey said Neal contacted his family in Forrest City earlier this week and told them he was ready to surrender, but had no money or transportation to Forrest City. Neal had apparently been living with relatives in Gary, Ind., since the murders. "A family friend traveled to Gary, Ind., and gave him a ride back to Forrest City," Ramsey said.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The financial state of the East Arkansas Enterprise Community is still in good shape, and according to EAEC Consultant Dr. Robert Cole, some of the furor over the loan account with the Enterprise Community of the Delta is beginning to clear even though the Arkansas Department of Human Services still has questions on the draw down process used for the account.
According to Cole, in meetings during the first quarter of 2002, officials with the EAEC and the ADHS have been able to begin to work together to answer some of the questions on the loan account.
"We had some very productive meetings with the ADHS, but there are still some questions that they want answers to. We've submitted our annual audit report, and our auditor didn't have any problems with the draw down process, but as you can see, DHS submitted a letter that still questioned it. The auditor has since responded with a letter, and we're waiting to hear a response from them on that," Cole said.
Also present for Tuesday's meeting was Asika Muhammad with the ECD. He updated board members on the state of the loan fund and the work that it has been doing in the EAEC. According to Muhammad, the ECD has approved over $581,000 in requests with $145,250 being attributed to the EAEC loan fund. Muhammed said that another $738,000 in requests are currently being processed with the EAECLF amount totaling $184,500. The total amount on funded requests stands at $175,000 with the EAECLF portion totaling $43,750. According to Muhammad, the final figures are the most important.
"We have really had a good relationship with the EAEC, and it's beginning to pay off. I'm glad to be speaking to the board today, because I'm the person that is actually in Forrest City on Tuesdays and Thursdays giving the ECD a physical presence in Forrest City. We don't have a list of why we rejected people, but we're in the process of compiling a list that will be able to show people why they were rejected so that in the future we can also show them what they need to improve, be it in their business plan or in their credit, so that they can get approved," said Muhammad.
Cole also told board members that EAEC officials and St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco's staff met recently in an attempt to clear differences over issues dealing with payments.
"We're working on a very narrow budget, and we all needed to know how the system was going to work, but I think that myself and Judge Cisco are both pleased with the outcome of the meetings that we had," said Cole.
Board members were also witnesses to the formal creation of the EAEC Youth Consortium. According to Frederic Smith, youth coordinator for the Youth Consortium, the group is working to create a system of services and programs for youths that will provide career and leadership development, enrichment, employment opportunities, entrepreneurship training, workforce education, access to technology and recreational activities for all youth in the EAEC census tracts and Champion communities.
Several grant checks were also presented during the meeting this week. The Cross County Wood Grinder project received $10,000; the Lee County Family Resource Center, received $5,000 as did the White River Rural Health Center, Inc. The Arkansas Land and Farm Development Corporation received $8,000.
The annual auction of tax delinquent land in St. Francis County will be held Tuesday, March 26, according to a press release from Commissioner of State Lands Charlie Daniels' office.
According to the release, 99 St. Francis County parcels are slated for sale during the auction which begins at 10 a.m. at the Forrest City Civic Center. Registration for bidders begins at 9:30 a.m.
"The sale of property is a last resort. Over the years we've improved methods of contacting property owners to encourage them to pay delinquent taxes. As a result, between 87 to 90 percent of parcels certified to our office are redeemed before the sale," Daniels said.
The parcels, which will be sold through an oral auction procedure, are delinquent for the 1997 tax year and include acreage, town lots and improvements only. The property is sold to the highest bidder and some mail-in bids may already have been received on various parcels. Those bids will be read at the beginning of the bidding on those parcels.
Successful bidders are required to pay the full purchase price on the day of sale. That price includes the amount of the highest bid plus all taxes, penalty, interest and costs due as shown in the State Land Office's "Catalog of Tax Delinquent Lands." According to state law, the first $100 of each parcel must be paid in the form of cash, cashier's check or money order. The remainder may be paid by personal check.
A 30-day grace period is extended to the owner of record after the auction of property. Unless the owner of record redeems the property within the grace period, a Limited Warranty Deed from the Commissioner of State Lands will be issued to the buyer. Original owners, assigns or heirs can contest the validity of the sale in court for up to two years following the date the deed is issued.
"We regret offering anyone's land for sale. By the time a parcel reaches the auction date it has been delinquent for nearly 5 years. Every effort is made to see the original owner pays those taxes, but if that does not occur, our goal is to return the property to tax-generating status through sale," Daniels said.
Since 1985, over $104 million in delinquent taxes have been collected through both redemptions and sale. These dollars returned to the county of origin, with interest, to finance schools and local government services.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Three incumbents filed for reelection in county races, and one candidate entered the mayoral race in Forrest City during filing Thursday at the St. Francis County Clerk's office.
St. Francis County Circuit Clerk Bette Green filed for reelection to the clerk's position. Joining Green in seeking reelection are Justice of the Peace for District 2, B. McCollum Jr., of Heth, and Jack Crumbly of Widener, for JP District 3.
In other county races, David Courtney of Widener entered the primary attempting to become Constable of the Griggs Township and James "Butch" Leoppard, also of Widener, entered the race for Constable of Heth Township. Forrest Citian Ernestine Weaver also filed yesterday, seeking a position on the County Committee and Joe Young, of Hughes, filed seeking the position of JP #1 position 1 for the Democratic Central Committee.
Forrest City Fire Captain Carroll Bishop became the first candidate to officially file for the position of mayor of Forrest City.
The filing period for the May 21 Primary races ends on Tuesday, April 2, at noon and filing for November races in Hughes, Forrest City and Wheatley ends on Monday, May 20, at noon.
Carroll A. Bishop has announced today that he will seek election for the office of Mayor of Forrest City.
"I decided to run for mayor because I am ready for positive things to start happening in this town. I would like to help pull this community together, as a whole, undivided, and support the library, the museum, industry, the recreation facilities, civic center functions, the schools, the churches, the east side, west side north side and south side. I would like to work with the realtors and the Chamber of Commerce to find out how we may better our community so that new families as well as existing families will be proud to say, 'I'm from Forrest City.' I welcome the opportunity to work with local law enforcement agencies to help combat the drug related issues that affect many Forrest Citians. And work with the various agencies to attract new industry."
He worked for the Forrest City Housing Authority for 11 years and served in Army Aviation for four and a half years. Bishop, who is a captain and a 27-year veteran with the Forrest City Fire Department, says, "I am ready, I am excited -- let's get busy making Forrest City the town where people work together, play together and pray together."
Bishop is married to the former Sue Lloyd and has two sons, three daughters and one stepdaughter.
The Forrest City School District is gearing up for a one-day pre-kindergarten and kindergarten registration for all students who will be attending school in the fall 2002 semester.
Registration will be on Friday, April 5, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Mustang Arena. The St. Francis County Health Unit on Division Street will be open to administer immunizations to children on the same day from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Prizes will be given to all children whose parents complete and return applications on the day of registration.
Parent or guardians must bring the following documents for registration purposes: the child's birth certificate, immunization record, Social Security card and physical exam document dated within the last six months.
A child must be five-years-old on or before Sept. 15 to register for kindergarten. To register a child for ABC and Madison Preschools, the child must be four-years-old on or before Sept. 15, of this year.
People who would like to keep in touch with Forrest City's "C" Company, currently in the Sinai, Egypt, now have a website which they can visit.
The company is part of a Multinational Force and Observer mission.
The website is www.gunslinger.info
The site will give each visitor a chance to sign its "guest book." There is also a photo gallery of each company, a discussion board and a number of links to other websites.