By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Forrest City mayoral candidates squared off Monday night in a second forum, this one sponsored by East Arkansas Community College, and hit on themes similar to the ones brought out in the first debate -- with quality of life and economic issues up front.
The candidates are Larry Bryant, the incumbent, and challengers Chris Oswalt, Frederick Freeman and Bill Baxter.
The single subject which seemed to cause the sharpest disagreement was the need -- or lack of need -- for a multi-purpose center. Bryant has tried unsuccessfully to get such a center built. A special sales tax was defeated in an election, and the city council would not vote to build the facility with available funds.
Bryant said that since the failure of Forrest City to build such a facility, similar ones have been built in other towns.
"If you don't go forward you lose," said Bryant. "Since that time when Forrest City said no, Lonoke has built one, Sherwood has built one, and a number of other cities have built multi-purpose buildings. Those help attract industry into town. What do we have to offer? We have to have something."
He said there are facilities around town which can be used as a start if the city can partner with others, and said that "Maybe eventually we can get the center built."
Bryant also mentioned his work with the Forrest City Community Voices.
Oswalt spoke next on that subject, and questioned the need for a center.
"The city can work with churches and schools," he said. "We don't need to worry about building a multi-purpose arena when there are facilities throughout this city that we can utilize."
Freeman said he is the only candidate who has detailed a program for youth. He said he has met with school officials and others who are willing to work with the city.
"We will institute a year-round program for all the students in all aspects of the city," he said. "But we won't stop there...I see students on an almost weekly basis who come in looking for a job."
He said he also has talked about a program to help young people train for jobs.
Baxter said he knows of a project in North Little Rock, in which the city, the housing authority and the high school worked together to build a gym.
As for the center proposed by Bryant, Baxter said he could never get enough details on it.
"We couldn't find out where it was going to be, we couldn't find out what was going to be in it." he said, but added, "That doesn't mean it's the end of the road."
He said if the people wanted a center, there would be one.
During the forum, Bryant talked about his record, and said he had the experience to do the job. He talked about some of his accomplishments, mentioning streets, sidewalks and street lights.
Oswalt said he, as a city council member, has more experience in city government than Freeman or Baxter. He also said he would push to get a fire substation built and to extend Deaderick Road out to the Forrest City bypass.
Freeman said he has been involved in many behind-the scenes projects to bring funding and jobs into this area. He said he is the only candidate with written plans for the future of Forrest City.
Baxter said Forrest City can be not only the "Jewel of the Delta" but of Arkansas. He also said that if the city has a big surplus, it should be used to improve the looks of the city.
The general election is Nov. 5.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Palestine-Wheatley School Board members voted unanimously Monday night to approve the acceptance of over $43,000 in grant money which will go toward the renovation of a building the district will use to house a preschool in Palestine.
PWSD Superintendent Jimmy Allen said the district is receiving the grant from the state after already receiving over $84,000 for the project. According to Allen, the district received a telephone call earlier this month informing them that an additional $43,996.11 was also available.
"We had already gotten some grant money towards the project ,and then on Oct. 1, I got a telephone call asking me if the district could use another $43,000. This was totally unexpected, but I'm glad that we got the call. We originally applied for over $128,000, and the total with the original grant and this one will put us within $1,000 of that request," Allen said.
In other business, board members elected new officers. Bill Ray will serve as board president for the year, Rodney Hicks as vice-president and Ronnie Crider as secretary/treasurer.
Board members also passed a resolution that will allow them to be a freedom of choice school if any applicants request.
"Once the state and the board of education pass this, we want to be sure that we're an option for parents who can seek a different district," Allen said.
Board members also approved the hiring of Debbie Hatcher for the remainder of the school year. Hatcher will serve as a teacher on the fifth and sixth grade campus at PW Junior High School in Wheatley.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second entry in a three-part series on the local effects of proposed Amendment 3, which would eliminate the sales taxes on food, medicine and soft drinks. The series outlines how the county, Forrest City and the Forrest City School District would be impacted by the loss of revenue. Today's interview with Superintendent Lee Vent focuses on how the measure would impact the Forrest City School District.)
A vote of yes for proposed ballot Amendment 3 could cost the Forrest City School District as much as $1 million, according to district Superintendent Lee Vent. According to Vent, the proposal, which would remove sales taxes from food, medicine and soft drinks, would cripple school districts statewide, and with an impending decision from State Supreme Court on the Lake View school funding case, Vent said the district is facing a huge storm cloud.
According to figures provided by the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators, $117.6 million, or $265 per student, would be lost annually in schools statewide. An additional $168 million would be cut from Medicaid programs across the state, with $42 million lost from the soft drink tax and another $126 million lost in matching federal funds.
Vent answered a series of questions on the issue and his answers are as follows:
How much will Amendment 3 cost the Forrest City School District?
"If this measure is passed, we will face losing approximately $1 million per school year, and for us that's devastating. Over the last year, we've already had to work with cuts of $100 per child and another $265 per child would almost cripple the district. For this year's budget alone, we'd already cut close to $1 million out, and we used staff attrition to offset some of the cuts.
I understand that no one likes to pay taxes, but there is no fairer way than through the sales tax. Repealing the sales tax would not only hurt schools, it would also hurt other public services like the police force and libraries and the Medicaid program. On top of that, if the Supreme Court rules in favor of Judge Kilgore's ruling on Lake View, then another $1 billion would have to be raised, and that would be a severe blow to school districts."
How will the losses be offset?
"Well, first off, the last thing that would be touched are our instructional programs. Repairs to buildings and facilities would be impacted greatly. Staff raises would be virtually non-existent, and where we have been introducing new programs, there would be none.
The district would also have to look at the extension of our bus routes and we would have to take a long look at the number of campuses that we have. It would be a real economic constraint. We'd also hope that we would get some help from the state. There are some areas that have several exemptions from taxation, like agriculture, that might have to be relooked."
What services would citizens lose if Amendment 3 passes?
"As I said before, there would be several different areas that we would have to look at. In order to reduce the staff we might have to look at closing some campuses. We currently have 4,000 children on eight different campuses, and we would have to look at ways to try to combine some of those campuses. That would also allow us to possibly look at some staff reduction while still maintaining state and federal guidelines on classroom size.
We've made some great strides to try to work within the budget that we have before us now, and we were able to take advantage of attrition, but it would take an even greater effort if this proposal is passed."
How are you encouraging voters to vote against Amendment 3?
"I'm encouraging the voters to not think about the short term effects of removing the tax, but to look at the long term effects of losing the tax. We don't want our farmers, who are the backbone of our communities, having to bear the brunt of this, and we don't want educational standards for our children dropping due to this. I would simply ask the voters to look at the long term effects of this.
I understand that no one wants to pay taxes and that the immediate impression is to vote for the tax, but when you look at what the long term damage would be throughout our communities, the few dollars we spend in sales tax just don't stand up to the advantages we reap from them."
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The St. Francis County Election Commission this morning said that County Clerk Elizabeth Smith has the final authority and responsibility for handling election ballots, particularly for absentee and early voting.
In a meeting of the Election Commission that was also attended by Smith, Frederick Freeman, a candidate for Forrest City mayor, expressed some concern over the way ballots were being handled. Specifically, he asked if there was a way that individual candidates could trace a vote back to an individual voter. He said he was also concerned with the security of the ballots themselves.
Smith said the ballots are locked up every night, in a separate cage inside a vault, and that she has the only key.
Earlier there was also some discussion over keeping the absentee and early voting ballots in sequential order.
Election Commission Chairman Joe Young said state law states the county clerk has that responsibility.
"There is a list of names and a list of ballots," said Young, "and if the two don't jibe, then we'll look. Otherwise, its her (Smith's) business."
Addressing Smith, he said, "What you're doing with the ballots in your office is your business, and if you break the law, you'll be punished. I don't want to run your office."
Smith agreed that it was her responsibility. "Absentee and early voting is my responsibility," she said. "The ballots are locked up every night and will continue to be."
Young said there were going to be protests, no matter what.
"We're gonna have a mess in Forrest City, just get ready for it," he said.
As of Monday, 108 voters took advantage of early voting, according to St. Francis County Clerk Elizabeth Smith.
There were also 300 absentee ballots mailed to voters who had requested them.
Early voting is held from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and will continue through Monday, Nov. 4.
The general election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 5, from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., at polling locations throughout St. Francis County.
A rare tie between family members led to something even more rare as the Professor Pigskin winner for week number seven was determined.
Lois Gaskin of Wynne and Marilyn Gaskin of Forrest City each missed just two of last week's 23 selected high school, college and NFL football games.
And, as always, when a tie occurs, the "tie-breaker" game is used to determine, whenever possible, a clear-cut winner.
Most of the time, it works out. But there are those rare times when it doesn't.
Both Lois and Marilyn selected Blytheville over Forrest City in the tie-breaker, which was wrong, since Forrest City won the game 37-15.
After some discussion, the contest was declared a draw and the money is being split between the Gaskins.
This week's selection of Pigskin games can be found inside today's Times-Herald.