A land auction for tax delinquent properties in St. Francis County this week generated over $58,000 for county and state governments.
According to a press release from Commissioner of State Lands Charlie Daniels, 40 bidders attended the sale at the Forrest City Civic Center with $58,716.99 in revenue being collected. Twenty of the 99 available parcels in the St. Francis County were sold during the auction. Property on auction at the annual sale has had taxes which have been delinquent for the past four years.
"Most of the properties certified to our office are redeemed, meaning the back taxes are paid by the original owner. A very small percentage of our certifications actually make it to public auction," Daniels said.
According to the release, redemption of property is the preferable method of disposing of tax delinquent land. In 2001, 83 percent of the dollars returned to St. Francis County were redemptions.
Tax delinquent property may be purchased at auction by a registered bidder for no less than a minimum bid, which represents the assessed value of the property, plus all taxes, penalties, and interest due.
Upon sale of tax delinquent property, the commissioner issues a limited warranty deed to the highest bidder. The state offers a 30-day grace period for payment after the sale. If the original owner takes advantage of the grace period and pays the back taxes, the purchaser is refunded their full bid amount.
The Land Commissioner's office returns delinquent tax and interest collected, whether through redemption or sale, to the county taxing units just as if the money had been originally collected there.
"In 2001, we returned nearly $8 million to school districts and county governments. During this era of budget cuts, local governments desperately need that revenue," Daniels said.
Since 1988, St. Francis County has received $122,919.06 in turnback from Daniels' office.
A former St. Francis County Clerk threw his hat into the ring for the county and probate clerk's position Monday, and several people filed for positions on the Democratic Central Committee in Wednesday transactions at the St. Francis County Courthouse.
Former St. Francis County Clerk Dick Krablin of Colt filed yesterday, and will face off in the May 21, Democratic primary against incumbent Elizabeth Smith. Smith defeated Krablin in 2000 in a race for the job.
Also facing competition in the primary will be Democratic Central Committee member Johnetta Crumbly, of Widener. Crumbly, who holds the position of JP #3 position 3, will face off against Jennie Hartman of Forrest City. Both filed yesterday. Also filing for a position on the Democratic Central Committee is Joyce Ann Jones of Hughes. Hughes filed for the JP #1 position 1 spot.
St. Francis County Quorum Court member Donald Cagle of Palestine also filed yesterday as did J.B. West of Forrest City. West filed for Constable of Franks Township.
Forrest City City Attorney Knox Kinney was the only municipal filing on record Wednesday.
Filing for the May 21 primary ends Tuesday, April 2, at noon. Municipal filings for the November general election ends on Monday, May 20.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
A Forrest City man whose lawsuit against the Forrest City Housing Authority was dismissed earlier this month, said Wednesday that he will appeal.
Michael Gray filed the suit, claiming racial discrimination, in April of 2001. The suit was filed against Janet Duncan, FCHA director; Wayne McNeary, assistant director and the FCHA board.
In the suit, Gray claimed, among other things, that while he was an employee of the FCHA, he was placed on probation and then fired, and said the reason was that he had entered a school board race against a white incumbent. The defendants claimed that Gray was insubordinate and did not perform his job in a satisfactory manner.
On March 14, Federal Judge William R. Wilson Jr., issued a summary judgment, stating that Gray had not produced sufficient evidence to prove his claims.
Gray said he would represent himself and appeal the decision to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
"I looked at the judge's order, and basically, I didn't see this as a defeat," said Gray. "I think actions abusing me were brought out. A few dollars would have been good, but that wasn't the purpose of me filing this lawsuit."
Gray said he believes the judge was in error for dismissing his suit. He said that the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has said that summary judgment should be invoked with caution.
"In most cases, discrimination cannot be proved, like in the old days when you were hanging people," said Gray. "Discrimination cases are very hard to prove. That's why they said summary judgment should be very sparingly used."
He said the fact that McNeary is black and two FCHA board members are black does not mean there was no racism.
"In essence, they sided with the wrong decision, and that swayed against my case," he said.
"When I look at the judge's opinion, I just see racism dressed up in robes. I see racism dressed up in the management position. Racism is a sophisticated form of terrorism. We don't have to go to the caves of Afghanistan to find terrorism, when we find it in most of our white collar positions."
He compared his plight to that of Nolan Richardson, who was recently fired as head basketball coach at the University of Arkansas.
"I find my case similar to Nolan Richardson's, really. When evidence is provided, and you're fighting against a system of racism -- I'm not saying everybody's a racist but we still have pockets of racism -- it's very hard to win a case," he said.
A Forrest City teenager was arrested Thursday in connection with several arsons last fall in Hughes.
Seven structures were destroyed after two fires were set inside buildings on Love and Cowan Streets about 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 19.
According to police reports, the first fire was set inside a duplex and spread to two nearby buildings. The second fire spread to two more vacant buildings and to a mobile home.
Police believe four people were responsible for the blazes, according to Hughes Police Chief Joe Stone.
Three of the suspects were arrested last fall.
The fourth suspect, Julius Brown, 19, 510 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Forrest City, was arrested last night. He is charged with two counts of arson and seven counts of aggravated assault.
The Spring Home Improvement tabloid is included inside today's Times-Herald. The special section is sponsored by these local merchants:
AC Services Inc., Arkansas Concrete Company, Best TV/VCR/Satellite Service, Blankenship Marble Works, Budget Mobile Homes, Chez Weenie, CCR Inc., Ivan Cummings Heat & Air Repair, The Curious Heart, Delta Lawn Care,
Forrest City/St. Francis County Abstract, Forrest City Bank, Forrest City Plumbing, Forrest City True Value, First National Bank of Eastern Arkansas, First National Bank of Wynne, Griffin Rent to Own,
Hill's Delta Concrete Ready Mix, Hurd Construction, Imperial Real Estate & Property Management, Kerby's Home Improvements, McCluskey Insulation, Miller Fencing & Decks, Howard Miller Insurance, National Carpet One, Parker's Best Brands Plus, Perdew Construction Company Inc., Phil's Honey Dew Service, Pike's Roofing Company, Quality Plumbing, Qualls Construction Co., Ran-Dee's Construction,
Ridout Lumber & Home Center, Ross Plumbing, Roto-Rooter, Sears, Security Door Company, Southern Furniture Company, Steam Max, Superior Lawn Services, The Title Company Inc., Town & Country, Vaccaro Lumber Co., Western Auto, Martha Wilson Realty and Woodruff Electric Cooperative Corporation.
County sales tax receipts for February totaled $142,612.20 for the St. Francis County government.
In addition, the following towns received their prorated shares: Hughes, $28,265.08; Forrest City, $223,668.02; Wheatley, $5,631.82; Palestine, $11,218.22; Madison, $14,942.48; Colt, $5,571.26; and Widener, $5,071.67.
Also, in towns which have their own sales taxes, receipts amounted to the following amounts: Forrest City, $172,499.39; Hughes, $6,225.35; Palestine, $6,623.30; and Wheatley, $6,180.67.