Two men were sentenced to state prison Monday during circuit court hearings at the St. Francis County Courthouse.
Both subjects were sentenced to the Arkansas Department of Corrections after having previous suspended imposition of sentences revoked on a variety of other charges.
Michael Coleman Jr., 21, Palestine, was given a 10-year sentence in the ADC for charges stemming from an October 2001 arrest. At that time, Coleman was charged with commercial burglary, theft of a firearm and theft of property over $500.
Also at the time of this arrest, Coleman was serving two five-year suspended sentences. One of those was for an October 2000 arrest involving drugs and the other was for an August 1999 arrest involving the theft of a vehicle.
He will also begin serving another five-year suspended sentence after his release from the ADC.
Nicholas Alexander Hamilton, 21, Forrest City, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on drug charges.
Hamilton was serving a five-year suspended sentence when he was arrested last December on drug charges at his home. The suspended sentence was given to Hamilton in August 1997, when he was arrested at the age of 16, also on drug charges.
This past December, he was charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent near a certain facility, possession of drug paraphernalia, simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms and possession of firearms by certain persons. Hamilton is scheduled to report to prison on June 27.
Also during hearings on Monday, attorneys deferred sentencing for three years on a subject arrested in March 1998 on drug charges. Curtis Hill, 29, Forrest City, was arrested on two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. He pled no contest to the charge.
Three members of Arkansas State Police Troop D were recently among 60 Troopers and civilian personnel who received awards and special recognition during a departmental honors ceremony held in North Little Rock.
According to a press release from the ASP, Trooper First Class Mike Kennedy, Trooper First Class Darrell Winston of West Helena and Corporal Terry Taylor of Hazen were honored during the annual event.
Kennedy was one of 13 Troopers statewide nominated for the honor of Trooper of the Year. According to Lt. Tommy Wicker, assistant commander with Troop D, for a Trooper to be nominated for the Trooper of the year honor, they must exhibit heroism or merit that exceeds normal standards and then be selected by an honor committee for nomination.
"The individuals recognized in the Trooper of the Year nominations are recognized for their acts of heroism or meritorious service, provided that it exceeds what is considered normal under their job duties. The Trooper is then submitted to the honor committee that makes a recommendation based on the information that they have," Wicker said.
According to Wicker, The Trooper of the Year is chosen by the Arkansas State Police Commission. Trooper Daniel Sanderson of Austin in White County, was named the ASP Trooper of the Year for 2001. On April 18, 2001, Sanderson was responding to a call involving a local law enforcement officer who was being held at gunpoint by two suspects who were involved in an earlier homicide. According to the press release, Sanderson was forced to shoot one of the suspects, ending the stand-off, when the suspect took aim at a second Trooper that had arrived on the scene. Trooper Joel Eubanks was named as 2000 Trooper of the Year.
Troopers Winston and Taylor were both honored with the Trooper's Cross. According to Wicker, the Troopers Cross is also awarded to Troopers that exhibit honor and valor in the line of duty.
"The Trooper's Cross is the second highest award for heroism that the ASP has to offer. It is distributed to Troopers that display intrepidity at a level not dignified for the Medal of Honor, which is the highest award for heroism," Wicker said.
Calvary Christian School has announced its Valedictorian, Salutatorian and Senior Honors Award recipient, for the school year about to close.
Rachel Lynn Gossel is Valedictor-ian, the Salutatori-an is Steven Wayde Thomas, and Jenna Lee Callahan is recipient of the Senior Honors Award.
Gossell is the daughter of Mark and Bea Gossell. Her parents are Harvey and Betty Gossell, and Ralph and Bette Stubrich.
Gossell was involved in cheerleading and basketball. She was also Homecoming Queen, Honor Roll member, attended Girls State, was named Most Valuable Cheerleader and Most Improved Basketball Player. She was named to Who's Who Among American High School Students, received an invitation to the Governor's Reception for the Top 10 Percent, and was a member of the Spanish Club and Drama Club.
Gossell plans to attend Williams Baptist College, where she will major in early education.
Thomas is the son of Wayde and Judy Thomas. His grandparents are Eugene and Mildred Thomas, and Jerry are Margaret Millikin.
During his high school career, he has been on the Honor Roll, received an invitation to the Governor's Reception for the Top 10 Percent, was included in Who's Who Among American High School Students, and was a member of the Drama Club and Spanish Club.
Thomas plans to attend technical school, majoring in computer technology.
Callahan is the daughter of J.L. and Sally Callahan. Her grandparents are John and Lula Frost.
During high school, she was a cheerleader and participated in the play, "Meet Me In St. Louis." She was a member of the Honor Roll, received a Drama Award and the Cheer-leading Hustle Award, and was also cheerleader manager. Callahan served as student council president and received an English Award, was named to Who's Who Among American High School Students, and received an invitation to the Governor's Reception for the Top 10 Percent.
She plans to attend East Arkansas Community College, and plans to enter the medical field.
Calvary will graduate at the school auditorium on Saturday, May 18, at 6 p.m.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Discussion at the regular Widener City Council meeting Monday night centered around the rescheduled Widener Day celebration, to be held this Saturday, May 18, in the area of city hall.
"We're going to start off with the senior citizens' Bingo at 10 a.m.," said Mayor Dot Halford, "until about 11." This is for anyone age 55 or older.
There will also be games for young children, and an obstacle course for young people. A tug-of-war is planned, as is a softball game for later that day.
All day there will be live entertainment and food, including barbecue, fish and hot dogs. People will also get a chance to look over the progress on the city's new community center.
It was also announced that there will be a Meet the Candidates rally with free food, beginning at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Members of the Madison City Council agreed Monday to designate June as a city-wide clean up month.
By a unanimous vote, council members agreed to encourage residents to help clean up the city of Madison next month. According to Councilman Leroy Anderson, the council member who proposed the idea, the city is in need of a cleaning, and efforts in surrounding communities prompted his decision to put the matter before the council.
"I think that it is time for the city to have a spring cleaning. In other cities in the area they are making the effort to clean up their cities, and we need it too. This is a matter that the families of Madison need to take upon themselves and do," Anderson said.
Madison Mayor James Brooks agreed, and told aldermen the city had been able to get dumpsters in the past and that he felt the city could again get a dumpster for the excess garbage.
"This is something that if we're going to do, we need to make sure that people know it is going on. We can have a large dumpster brought in whenever we need it ," Brooks said.
In other business, council members tabled several issues brought before the council by Brooks regarding the creation of zoning laws in the city.
Council members heard from Brooks regarding the creation of fees for plumbing, electrical and gas permits. Brooks approached aldermen suggesting an ordinance be adopted Monday, but council members opted to table the issue until the June meeting.
"I don't think that I can vote on this tonight because this is the first that I have heard of it. I know that I can't give my vote one way or the other without investigating the material that you presented a little bit more," said Council Member Annie Winfrey.
The Hughes City Council Monday night agreed to replace the city's current telephone system.
Paul Parker, of Paul Parker's Telephone Services, presented the council with a $2,227.47 proposal to replace the phone system at city hall.
According to Parker, the phone system has trouble when the radio tower used for the police station is struck by lightning. Parker told councilmen that with the new system, the phone lines would not have "as much problem" as they did with the old system, but the tower is the real problem because it is not grounded.
Councilmen unanimously voted to replace the phone system, and to have Parker's company do the work at the quoted price. The council said the new system will be paid for with money in the city's sanitation fund because the sanitation department vehicles are dispatched through the city hall phone system.
In other news, the annual summer feeding program, which feeds children under 18 years old, will take place Monday through Friday, June 3 through July 3, at the old fire station building in Hughes. The program fed an average of 178 children daily last year.