By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
For the second time in as many elections, the mayor of Forrest City will be determined by a runoff.
Larry Bryant was the winner in the last runoff, held in 1998, and will be in another runoff on Nov. 26.
Bryant was by far the biggest vote getter in Tuesday's election, with 1,601 votes in the unofficial count, but would have needed almost 1,800 votes to stay in office without a runoff. Bill Baxter tallied 934 votes for second place, and will face Bryant in the runoff.
Chris Oswalt pulled 562 votes and Frederick Freeman had 454 votes. Carroll Bishop, whose name was kept on the ballot after his death, received 12 votes.
Commenting last night after the vote, Bryant commented on his experience with runoffs, and also said he would run on his record this time.
"Four years ago we had a runoff, and hopefully I'll prevail again on Nov. 26 in this runoff," Bryant said. "I've run a positive campaign, I didn't sling any mud. All I ask folks to do is to look at my record, and continue looking at the record and what I've done, and vote for me based on my performance. I think I've done a good job. We have a $4 million surplus during my term in office, and there are a lot of things that are still undone that we would like to do and continue doing."
Contacted this morning, Baxter said he and his supporters have a hard job ahead of them, and said he hoped to pick up the supporters of Oswalt and Freeman in the runoff.
"It's going to be a real challenge to make up as much ground as we have to make up on Mayor Bryant," Baxter said. "But, the folks that didn't support him this time obviously felt like there were some things they didn't approve of in his administration, so hopefully they'll come to my side in the runoff. We're going to pour on the coal."
Baxter added, "I will say this. I commend all the candidates, because it was a good clean race. And when you see the other kinds of races that were going on across the state and across the country, all the junk, I just want to commend the people here for keeping it above board."
Oswalt admitted disappointment, but said he had learned a lot.
"I'm a little disappointed," he said. "Really, I thought I'd do a little bit better than the results that came in. The results came in for me lower than I thought they would be. Disappointed but not discouraged is my attitude right now. I've enjoyed going door to door, meeting people and getting to know people from different walks of life that I didn't know."
He said he would "wait and see" about any future races.
"I'm going to just wait and see. And whoever ends up winning (the runoff) , I'll sit back and watch. I'll decide if I like the way Forrest City's going, and stay back. If not, I'll give it another shot," he said.
Freeman said he still believes in the things his campaign focused on.
"I want to first thank the supporters, volunteers and the family members for their tremendous support," Freeman said. "I would also take time to thank the many folks who felt like our message was the right message. I think we ran a very good campaign. Obviously it was not as effective as it needed to be. I want to commend the other candidates for the races they ran. I think the issues that we raised and the plans we proposed are still very, very valid, and hopefully the other candidates, as they move forward, will look at them."
By KENDALL OWENS & ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writers
There will be four new city council members in Forrest City after Tuesday's general election.
However, several incumbents also held their own.
By a margin of 157 votes, Forrest City City Councilman Roy Hancock retained his position Tuesday, defeating Henry Peacock.
Hancock, who is currently in this third term on the council, took the majority of the 767 votes with a 462 to 305 win. According to Hancock, the challenge that he faced from Peacock was appreciated because it gave him an opportunity to get the voice of the people of Ward 1.
"Two years ago, I didn't face any opposition and so I didn't have to campaign or anything and I'm actually happy that Mr. Peacock ran against me. He ran a good, clean race and he brought out some issues that needed to be brought to the front. He made me work hard to keep this position and I appreciate the voters in Ward 1 for their votes. Anytime you win, it's a great feeling and I just left this decision to the voters," Hancock said.
Hancock also thanked the all the voters in ward 1 for casting ballots saying, "I appreciate the voters in Ward 1 for their votes, both for and against me. As an NAACP member it was great to see that people got out and voted because we've been pushing that for years. As a candidate I just want to say thank you to the people in Ward 1 for their trust in me and I will continue to work hard for them. I would also like to thank my family and friends for all the help they gave me in this election."
Peacock was unavailable for comment.
Incumbent Forrest City Alderman Glenn Ford was unseated by Louise Fields.
By a margin of 462 to 377, Fields took the spot with the help of the early voting and absentee ballot boxes. Following the announcement of the Ward 2 box, Ford held a slim 22 vote lead. Fields closed the gap when she picked up 163 votes in early voting while Ford picked up 146. The absentee box put Fields over the top when she outpaced Ford, taking a 108 to 19 margin.
Fields was overjoyed following the election when she commented, "First, I'd like to thank the head of my life, Jesus Christ, and then I would like to thank the people of Ward 2 for giving me this opportunity. I'm ready to work for the people and fight for the people. I'm here to serve the citizens of Forrest City and I can be reached at any time to hear their concerns. This was a hard won race and a hard fought race and I appreciate the efforts of those who helped me with the campaign."
Ford was not available for comment.
In the race for the vacant position (left vacant by the retirement of J.T. Higgins), Steve Hollowell outdistanced Danny Capps by a 78 vote span.
According to unofficial figures, Hollowell received 54 percent of the vote to Capps' 46 percent, taking a 486 to 408 victory. Hollowell used a strong Tuesday turnout to take the victory. Hollowell received 299 votes to Capps' 207, while in early voting and absentee voting, Capps had an advantage, with a 200 to 185 margin.
According to Hollowell, a grassroots campaign gave him the needed push to take the win.
"It was really a strong grassroots campaign that got me the votes that I needed to get the victory. Mr. Capps really ran a great race," Hollowell said.
"I would really like to thank the voters of Ward 3 for coming out today and I will represent them to the fullest of my abilities. I would also like to thank my family and friends for their help in this because without them I couldn't have done this," he added.
Capps was unavailable for comment.
Challenger Brent Ponder defeated long time incumbent A.L. "Sonny" Harris Jr. by a vote of 489 to 405.
"I'd like to thank the voters in Ward 3 for believing in me," commented Ponder on his win. "They said it would be hard to beat an incumbent, especially since he had been on the council for so many years, but I pulled it off. I'd also like to thank my family for their support."
Ponder also offered a message to the citizens in his ward, stating, "If any of the citizens in my ward have a problem, I want them to feel free to talk to me personally. I'll stay just as accessible to all of you as I did in my campaign. I look forward to working with the mayor, regardless of who that might be, to better the city."
Harris was gracious in defeat. "Congratulations Mr. Ponder." said Harris.
In one of two positions on the city council with no incumbent (Chris Oswalt, the incumbent, ran for mayor), Roger F. Breeding defeated Frank L. Shaw III by a 572 to 306 vote.
Shaw stated that even though he did not gain the vacant seat, he was pleased with the way the race was run.
"I think it was a nice race, I enjoyed it very much," Shaw said. "There are still some issues in Ward 4, like housing, that need to be brought to Mr. Breeding's attention, but I look forward to making this a great two years."
Shaw expressed his thanks to all his supporters saying, "I would have liked to have won, of course, but I was encouraged by the number of votes I received and would like to thank all that voted in Ward 4. I'd also like to thank the local media for all their coverage and getting each candidates messages out to the public."
Breeding was not available for comment on his victory.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Despite a larger than normal turnout for early voting, lines were still found at some polling locations throughout St. Francis County as residents turned out in large numbers to vote on various offices and issues.
According to figures from the St. Francis County Election Commission, 7,422 voters cast ballots during early voting and the general election Tuesday. There are 18,005 registered voters in the county.
According to figures from the St. Francis County Clerk's Office, 2,019 early votes were cast. Over 400 of the 594 absentee ballots were also returned. According to Election Commission chairman Joe Young, yesterday was one of the busiest election days that he could remember.
"It has been busy all day, everywhere. I know that we've had about 650 voters in Hughes, and for us, 400 is a good day. People were interested in the races on the ballot, and the turnout showed it," Young said last night.
The high turnout did cause problems in several polling places where the number of ballots ordered couldn't cover the number of voters in attendance. The shortage of ballots forced commissioners to make copies of ballots which were later handcounted by election workers. The handcount forced workers to remain at the courthouse until after 3 a.m. tabulating the final election numbers.
According to Young, with the exception of ballot shortage, things ran relatively smoothly.
"All in all, the election ran the way you would want it to run. We had some problems, but not nearly as many as they had in some other counties. We did have to handcount the ballots that were copied, but we were going to have to do a handcount on some ballots anyway, because of a write-in candidate," Young said.
There were also some issues regarding the seals on some of the ballot boxes. According to Young, there was a problem in Palestine after one of the seals that were placed in the supply boxes could not be found.
"Well, in each supply box, I send two sets of seals, one for the ballot boxes and one for the supply box. One of the seals came up missing, and they called over here and I took them a new seal. They handled it exactly the way they should have. We eventually found the seal in the ballot box so that problem was taken care of," Young said.
Another issue with seals came up when seals on the early voting boxes did not match the color of the seals being used throughout the county. According to Chris Thyer, an attorney with Mooney Law Firm in Jonesboro, who sat in through much of the election proceedings, the problem was quickly rectified when the numbers on the seals matched with the numbers posted by election coordinator Judy Armstrong.
"There wasn't really a problem with the seal, officials were just sure that they had used the same color seals on all the boxes. Once we checked the numbers and they matched, that problem was solved," Thyer said.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Mayors and alderman positions around the county were decided in Tuesday's general election.
Races in the county went as follows. The figures are unofficial:
In the Mayor's race, Donnie Mooney held off two challengers to keep his position. Mooney received 382 votes, or 66.55 percent, to 180 for Edward Watt and 12 for Greg Gardner. Mooney needed 51 percent to avoid the possibility of a runoff.
In Hughes alderman races, Malcolm Curne defeated Joe W. Cox, 121-95 in Ward 1, Position 1; in Ward 1 Position 2, Rudolph Robinson defeated Thomas Turner Murrier, 370-233.
Also in a five-way race for Hughes Alderman in Ward 3, Position 1, the unofficial results show Gary B. Barkley with 85, Irene G. Combs with 67, Joyce Long with 60, Jake Gardner with 24 and Reginald Mitchell with 8. in a three-way race for Ward 3, Position 2 alderman, Ray Charles Robinson received 341 votes, Jon E. Take got 247 and Edward garner got 27.
The only races were for alderman positions. With unofficial totals, Sandra H. Smith defeated Oscar Lee Brown, 44-32 in Ward 1, Position 1. Christal Taylor defeated Thomas E. Davis Sr., 43-79 n Ward 2, Position 2. Annie Winfrey defeated Gail Patsy Graham 45-35 for Ward 3, Position 1. Janice Whitaker defeated Steve McDaniel, 41-36, in a race for Ward 3, Position 2.
Mayor Willetta Carroll kept her job, defeating Henry Kimble 159-88.
There was also one alderman race in Palestine, in which Danny Person defeated Ricky Plunkett, 48-45 for Ward 1, Position 1.
Mayor Larry Nash defeated challenger Timothy W. Sparks, 138-35, to keep his position.
For Wheatley alderman, Robbie W. Horton beat Billy R. Darby, 120-52 for Position 1. Rodney Hicks beat Enola Gay Kersey 123-50 for Position 2. For Position 5, David Lee defeated Ethel M. Watson, 121-51. Woodrow Harris beat Ellis Coleman for Position 5, 129-44.
Mayor Dot Halford kept her position by defeating Larry White, 75-71 in unofficial returns.
Also in Widener, Lillian P. Williams was elected city clerk by a vote of 84-56 over Terri R. Billingsley. In alderman races, Carl Winters defeated George Danner, 78-64 and Versie Pitts defeated Edward H. Busby 81-62.
A man who escaped from the minimum security facility at Forrest City in 1998 was killed Tuesday in Haines City, Fla., when he attempted to flee from deputy U.S. marshals.
Juan Castellanos, who had been sentenced for cocaine smuggling, was in a GMC Yukon with two other men around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday when two undercover deputies tried to make the arrests in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart on U.S. Highway 27.
When Castellanos tried to drive away, a deputy fired a shot through the vehicle's rear passenger window and struck him in the back, Polk County sheriff's spokeswoman Michal Shanley said.
Castellanos was transported to Lakeland Regional Medical Center, where he died.
Castellanos, a Miami native, had escaped from the minimum-security Federal Prison Camp at Forrest City in April 1998. He was serving a six-year term for conspiracy to import cocaine.
The other suspect, who had served time for bank fraud and resisting arrest in Alabama, was identified as Arturo Hoyas, 54, of Miami. Hoyas was wanted for a probation violation.
''He has an extensive record,'' U.S. Marshals spokesman Ed Hurley said, without elaborating further.
Hoyas was being held early Wednesday in Orlando. It was not immediately clear if he had retained an attorney.
The third man, whose identity was not released, was questioned and released by authorities. No charges were outstanding against that individual, officials said.
The deputy who fired the shot that killed Castellanos has chosen to take some time off ''because he felt like he needed to,'' Hurley said.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Three people were arrested by St. Francis County deputies Tuesday, when a meth lab was discovered in a shed on the property where they lived.
According to the report, deputies went to 240 St. Francis Heights at about 10:30 p.m., searching for a suspect on another matter. A shed on the property had its door open and the light on. Permission to search the shed was given, and one deputy said the shed contained a methamphetamine lab in plain view. Drug paraphernalia was also discovered inside the residence.
Arrested were Tonya Adamson, 30, Stacy Williams, 33 and Kenneth Howk, 38. All three are charged with manufacture of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), possession of anhydrous ammonia in an unlawful container and possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to manufacture.
Two men allegedly robbed Handy Foods No. 1, at gunpoint Tuesday night.
According to an employee, two men came into the store and demanded money. While one of the men held two guns, the other went behind the counter and took an undetermined amount of money from the cash register and fled on foot.