By TAMARA JOHNSON
Managing Editor
Two federal prison guards were arrested on drug charges this week following an investigation by two federal agencies.
Inspectors with the U.S. Postal Service and the Office of Inspector General, with the assistance of the Forrest City Police Department, arrested the two men Tuesday afternoon at separate locations.
According to a report on file at the FCPD, Shannon Lloyd Hendrickson, 36, of DeValls Bluff and Charles Troup Jr., 25, 1005 Fordham St., Forrest City, are each charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent near certain facilities. Barbara Young, an executive assistant at the Federal Correctional Institution-Forrest City, said the men have been employed as correctional officers for several years at the Forrest City prison. Hendrickson has been employed there since Sept. 14, 1997, and Troupe has been employed there since Aug. 29, 1999, according to a press release from Young.
Troup was arrested about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Pizza Inn on North Washington in Forrest City. He was arrested within 1,000 feet of a Forrest City Public School building. Hendrickson was arrested about 3 p.m. at a convenience store on Highway 70 in Palestine. His arrest occurred within 1,000 feet of the Palestine-Wheatley High School.
Police seized 2.2 grams of cocaine and 40 grams of marijuana during the arrests. The drugs have an estimated total street value of $420.
Details surrounding the investigation and the arrests are not being released at this point, according to Postal Service Investigator Mitchell Webb, who added that more arrests may be pending in the case. "You can reason that the mail was involved in some way or another," Webb said.
"FCI-Forrest City will aggressively investigate any suspected criminal misconduct or illegal activity in order to maintain a safe, secure and humane environment for staff and inmates," Young said, adding that additional information on the case should come from the inspectors.
However, Young did say that both men have been placed on paid home duty status until the investigation can be completed.
The two men appeared in St. Francis County District Court Wednesday afternoon where their bonds were set at $25,000 each. Both men have bonded out of the county jail.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The St. Francis County Election Commission certified the results of the Nov. 5 general election Wednesday.
At the same time, the commission was informed that one formal challenge has been made to the outcome, concerning absentee ballots in a Forrest City race.
Commission Chairman Joe Young read a letter from Glenn Ford, incumbent alderman from Forrest City Ward 2, Position 2. Ford lost to Louise Fields, by a final vote of 462-377, or 85 votes. Fields had an edge of 108-19, or 89 votes, in absentee balloting.
"We have a letter," said Young. "It's an official challenge to the election results of Nov. 5. The area of challenge is the absentee votes in the Ward 2 Position 2 races."
The letter states that Ford wants the commission to examine the applications used to get the ballots and the statements that accompanied the ballots.
The letter states, in part, "The results in this race were skewed in my opponent's favor, 5-1, after all the other boxes indicated a very close race. The number that my opponent got defies logic. I am asking that the applications be examined for proper verifiable signatures as well as any other and all state and federal laws that were possibly abused in the area of absentee ballots."
After some discussion, the commission members agreed to meet on Tuesday, Nov. 19, to comply with Ford's request.
Although there were several complaints about the election, Ford's is the only official challenge so far. Candidates have 20 days after the election to officially challenge election results.
Young said he doubted that the outcome of the election would be affected, "But we've got to investigate it."
Young stated, "When you've got an election or a ball game, you're going to have a winner and a loser, and the loser's gonna be unhappy."
On another matter, Young said early voting in the runoff elections could not start because the ballots still have not arrived (they still had not arrived as of 9:20 this morning).
After the business was taken care off, Young spoke out on a recent letter from the State Board of Election Commissioners, stating in part that investigation materials have been forwarded to the U.S. attorney for Eastern Arkansas.
"All our problems were that our voter registration books were not ready. All our problems stem from that," he said. "I even spoke to the Secretary of State about it. And why we're getting this same thing over and over again and being investigated -- for what? We don't know."
Commission member Bettye Proctor said, "We've done everything they've asked us. We have sent it over there. We have got where we have sent it to the mail and received notification that it was signed for."
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
A Forrest City man who was given a suspended sentence in 2000 for engaging children in sexually explicit conduct, was sentenced to 10 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections Wednesday for his participation in the August rape of a 12-year old Forrest City girl.
Bishop Pruitt III, 26, was sentenced to 10 years in the ADC Wednesday after entering a guilty plea in St. Francis County Circuit Court. Pruitt was one of seven men charged in the August rape of a 12-year-old who was coaxed from her home and then assaulted on a ditch bank before being led to an abandoned house where she was further assaulted.
In 2000, Pruitt was sentenced to a five-year suspended sentence for engaging children in sexually explicit conduct. One year of the sentence was supervised.
Pruitt was also sentenced Wednesday to a 10-year suspended sentence upon his release from prison on the charge of possession of a firearm by a certain person. Charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver near a certain facility and criminal use of a prohibited weapon were nolle prosequi.
A second Forrest City man was also sentenced to time in the ADC Wednesday on firearm charges. Kirby Wilson, 27, was sentenced to two years in prison for possession of a firearm by a certain person. Wilson faced additional charges of possession of a defaced firearm and terroristic threatening, but those charges were merged into the first charge.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
Funding for the Christmas Parade and a request for removal of Mightymite equipment were discussed in a brief meeting of the Advertising and Promotion Commission this week.
Sheila Lieblong presented the commission with a funding request for the Forrest City Christmas Parade which is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m.
"For last year's parade, we asked for $2,500 for the whole thing, and we spent $2,015 of that. I don't see the need in asking for more than $2,500 this year," Lieblong said. "Also, I'd like to remind you that the parade route has changed. It will begin this year at Forrest City High School and will end in the Union Planters parking lot." The commission unanimously voted to finance the parade, up to $2,500.
Commission member Chris Oswalt then presented a letter from Roger Mansel requesting the removal of old Mightymite equipment from a barn on this property.
"The letter states that he wants the equipment, which he says is about seven truckloads, off of his property," Oswalt explained. "He wants us to remove it or pay to have it removed. I don't think we have any need for it, so we don't need to store it anymore. We don't have a place for it, and the city won't store it."
Oswalt went on to say that Mansel requested $400 for the removal of the equipment. After some debate, the members unanimously to approve Mansel's request, granted a certified letter be drawn up stating that the money was for the equipment removal and the commission was no longer responsible for it.
Before adjourning, Lieblong presented a hand-out from Dustin Lemke, president of the Forrest City Little Theatre, asking for $500 for advertising for their upcoming presentation of Handel's Messiah. The motion died for lack of a motion.
A Captain D's restaurant and Motel 6 are coming to Forrest City, as part of a development project in the north part of the city.
It was announced today that a groundbreaking will be held Friday, Nov. 15, on the north side of Food Giant.
Included in the development will be Captain D's, a Motel 6 with 43 units, an office building and a bank, the name of which has not been disclosed.
Forrest City Investment Group, LLC is the group of investors from Forrest City and the surrounding area involved in the project. The actual building will be done by Commercial Group South, LLC, located in Marianna.
Derwin Sims, vice president of Commercial Group South, said the mayor, Larry Bryant, was instrumental in getting the development.
"Forrest City right now is growing, and also needs this office space," Sims added.
A new restaurant, Beef-N-Basket, is now open at 2424 East Broadway in Forrest City. The business is a new family-owned and operated eatery that offers dine-in and carry-out orders.
Lawanda Ratchford, one of the owners of the restaurant, said that she was driving on Broadway when the idea for the restaurant hit her.
"I created it in my mind when I saw the property," said Ratchford. "I imagined the type of food we would serve and the type of set up the inside would have, and it just went from there.
"We hope to provide good food, offer a safe atmosphere and satisfy the customer," Ratchford said,
The Beef-N-Basket menu includes Italian beef, Polish sausage, hot wings, catfish and hamburgers. The business is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday.