By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
It's fast-moving, hard to stop once it starts, and can cause evacuations.
It's not wildfire, it's mold, and it's in the St. Francis County Courthouse. And the evacuation, while not large-scale, has moved Chancery Court from one room to another, at least temporarily.
"We're having to move to a different courtroom today," said Judge Baird Kinney, who said there is a real problem with humidity and mold in the chancery courtroom, the law library and his office.
"Our envelopes are sealing shut, and we don't have a window to put a window air conditioner in. It's on the chairs, it's pretty bad."
Court reporter Betty McLain said the mold was triggering her allergies, which in turn was triggering migranes. She said the mold comes back quickly after being wiped up.
"They've wiped it several times," McLain said, pointing out a row of shelves in the law library. "But that's mold coming back. You can see it on the books."
County Judge Carl Cisco acknowledged the mold problem, and said that while it is worse in the courtroom area, it has actually made the rounds of some of the courthouse offices. He blamed the 30-year-old air conditioning system.
"We've had it in the law library, we've had some in the chancery courtroom. We've had some in my office," said Cisco. "It's basically the air conditioning system that isn't functioning right. We're trying to work our way through it."
He said there has also been some extra humidity lately. "Between the two, we ended up with some mold. But we've cleaned it up. We've had to go back and do some touch-up and everything.
Cisco said it may be necessary to put a dehumidifier in the law library, "until we can get that part taken care of."
Cisco said the local courthouse was not alone. "We're not alone. It's one of those things. I've heard of other places that have had some mold problems."
A fire which damaged the part of the courthouse which is now having the worse mold problem was mentioned, and Cisco said he wasn't sure if that was part of the problem.
"I'm not sure," he said. "It's hard to say. There's a possibility it could be (water which did not get removed) but I think of it as just because of this old system. The system is 30 years old, and we've had a lot of breakdowns and stuff we can't get parts for."
He said some individual units were being put in some offices to help the situtation.
"When you have a building this big, and the way it's built and designed, it's hard," he said.
The Crowley's Ridge Saddle Club is sponsoring an International Professional Rodeo Association (IPRA) Championship Charity Rodeo on Friday, Oct. 4, and Saturday, Oct. 5.
The gates will open at 6 p.m. each night, and the rodeo begins at 8 p.m. at the Wiley T. Jones Fairgrounds.
The IPRA event will benefit the Special Olympics program in local schools, but that's not the only thing area students will get out of it.
A professional rodeo clown will be in Forrest City on Thursday, Oct. 3, to visit FC elementary schools to entertain the children and hand out free passes to the event. Also scheduled for Thursday is a Miracle Rodeo, starting at 6 p.m.
"The Miracle Rodeo is for children and adults with a handicap and special needs," said Saddle Club President Bobby Huckaba. "We will have professional cowboys, saddle club members and community volunteers on hand to allow those attending to ride what we call 'gentle ride' horses."
Advance tickets for the rodeo are $6 for adults and $3 for children under 12 years old.
For ticket information, contact any saddle club member. The price for tickets at the gate are $8 for adults and $5 for children under 12.
With the November elections right around the corner, the St. Francis County Democratic Central Committee is gearing up for a pair of meet the candidate events scheduled for October.
At a meeting last week, DCC members elected to help raise funds for the Democratic Team Arkansas campaign. A fish fry will be held Saturday, Oct. 5, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Forrest City Civic Center, and the event will feature gubernatorial candidate Jimmie Lou Fisher. Also expected to attend are Congressman Marion Berry, who is facing opposition from Republican Tommy Robinson, and Sen. Blanche Lincoln.
Committee members also discussed a possible visit later this month by former President Bill Clinton who will be in Fayetteville on Oct. 21 for a dedication. According to committee chairperson Bettye Proctor, after leaving Fayetteville, Clinton's visit to the state could include a stop in Forrest City.
In a weekend of upsets, it was interesting that several Professor Pigskin entries missed just three of the selected high school, college and NFL games.
But, it was Hattie Wise of Forrest City who led the field by missing just two of the 24 games.
Wise earns the $50 prize for her winning entry.
This week's selection of games can be found inside today's Times-Herald.
Several windows were broken at a public school facility during the weekend.
Upon arriving for work on Monday, officials at Lincoln Middle School discovered windows in nine classrooms had either been broken out or damaged between the time they had left school on Friday and returned on Monday.
Officers with the Forrest City Police Department reportedly found pellets, BBs and ball bearings on the floor of the classrooms.
Damage is estimated at $1,800.
Village Creek State Park will host a stargazing event on Saturday, Oct. 5, at the park located about 15 miles north of Forrest City.
The Memphis Astronomical Society will present programs on constellations and other night sky sights at the Visitor Center auditorium beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Following the programs, participants will be treated to telescope viewing. In case of rain, the stargazing event will be moved to Saturday, Oct. 12.
For more information, contact Village Creek State Park at 870-238-9406.
The Forrest City City Council is scheduled to meet at 7 tonight at city hall.
Councilmen will discuss the filing period for municipal offices and introduce three ordinances.