By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
This Thursday will be the traditional evening for little ghosts and goblins to do their trick-or-treating.
As one statewide story said, Halloween gives children the chance to wear a costume in public, become frightened in a haunted house and score some free candy in the process, always with safety as a top priority.
Numerous churches have scheduled Halloween or fall festival activities for children and families.
There has been one major change in scheduling, involving the Haunted History Tours at the St. Francis County Museum.
There will only be one night of tours, and that will be tonight, Oct. 29. There had also been a night scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 31.
The museum's director, Laura Mazzanti, said the change had to be made because many of actors playing the parts of historic figures had scheduling conflicts.
This year's theme is "Outlaws from the county's past."
The museum will have a pumpkin contest from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., followed by the tours from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m.
Admission to the tours is 50 cents for kids and $1 for adults.
Representatives of the Forrest City Church of God youth group will be selling hot dogs and soft drinks in the museum's parking lot.
As far as Halloween night itself, Forrest City Police Chief Clarence McNeary said there have been some discussions of the best times or children to trick or treat.
"We believe that, with Standard Time back in effect, that from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. would be the safest time," said McNeary, "because it's dark at 5:30 now, right?"
McNeary said that should give people ample time, especially those with small children, to go about their trick or treating.
He also said that people at home who wish to welcome trick or treaties should leave their porch lights on. He had some other tips as well.
"Young children should be accompanied by adults, and it's a good idea to stay within their own neighborhoods and only visit homes they know."
He continued, "People who want to give out treats should only give out wrapped or packaged candy. Nothing lose. And keep children and costumes away from pets. A pet might not recognize the child and become frightened."
Flame retardant materials should be used for costumes, and even with flame retardant materials, it's best to stay away from open flames, he said. That includes jack-o'-lanterns lit with candles.
"And if a child is wearing a face mask, make sure the eye holes are big enough to see out of," he said.
Another concern is traffic safety, according to Donna Parnell, Arkansas Children's Hospital tram coordinator, the combination of costumes and excitement can be dangerous.
''What we see more are kids who fall and are hit by cars, they trip on long costumes or they'll dart out into traffic,'' Parnell said. ''And a lot of neighborhoods don't have sidewalks, so the kids end up walking in the street.''
McNeary agreed.
"If you're out driving, look out for those kids. And if you're trick or treating, look out for cars," he said, reminding everyone that many of Forrest City's streets do not have sidewalks.
"So they'll often be out in the street," he said. "Children should wear light color costumes, or at least have reflective tape on their outfits."
McNeary said he doesn't want to alarm anyone, but simply encourages people to consider safety.
"We really don't have a lot of problems on Halloween," he said. "It's just a fun time for children to get out and enjoy themselves. We are going to have some reserves out there to help everything go smoothly, as well as normal patrols."
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
The Times-Herald recently asked the candidates for the Ward 4, Position 1 city council seat to answer six questions on issues that the city faces today and some that it will face in the near future. The candidates for this position are Frank L. Shaw III and Roger Breeding.
Shaw, a 1977 graduate of Forrest City High School, has received degrees from East Arkansas Community College in 1980, Crowley's Ridge Technical Institute in 1981 and Arkansas State University in 1984. He earned his master's degree in math education in 1989 from ASU. Shaw is married to Debra Ann Shaw and they have two sons, Frank Shaw IV who is a student a Deverie University in Irving, Texas and Melvin Shaw, who is a junior at Forrest City High School.
Breeding is a graduate of Palestine High School, and continued his education at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. After college, he returned to Forrest City where he is a local businessman and is married to Pamela McGuire Breeding. They have two children, Paige Breeding Hopkins and Chase Breeding.
The questions and each candidate's response are as follows:
1. What do you believe are the biggest issues facing city governments today?
Breeding: "Recruiting industry, financial responsibility and budget management, especially if Amendment 3 passes. I also feel making our city a place where people want to come to live and raise their family is important."
Shaw: "I think the most important issue is attracting quality industry and making sure the city services are distributed equally across the community."
2. If elected, what improvements would you work toward in city government?
Shaw: "Specifically in Ward 4, I'd like to see improvements dealing with the housing, drainage and sewage. I'd like to see us help people find housing in the ward but also the entire city. Getting rid of the eyesores in the community, the buildings that are run down in town, is another improvement I'd work towards."
Breeding: "Allow department heads to manage their departments and bring grievances before the council and not just to the mayor. We should also encourage promotions from within our employee base to get good employees to stay instead of going somewhere else."
3. Are there any city services you would like to see improved and if so, what are they?
Breeding: "Mosquito control should begin before the breeding season. Our mosquito control officer should be allowed to do his job when it needs to be done. I feel policing should be done in the city as a whole, and not just in problem areas. We should establish a division within the police department dedicated to drug eradication."
Shaw: "One of the things I'd like to see improved are emergency services. Other cities our size have a better response time to emergency calls than we do. I'd like to see a fire department substation built in the Ward 4 area and more firefighters become emergency certified so the response time will improve."
4. What improvements would you like to see the city make in regards to the area adjoining the Highway 1 bypass?
Shaw: "I'd like to make sure that the infrastructure is extended there water, electric, gas and sewer so that when new businesses want to locate there everything will be in place."
Breeding: "We should start working now with the planning commission to have definite zoning regulations. We should also have a short term and long term plan on how to incorporate this addition into our city, instead of it totally bypassing us."
5. What additions would you like to see at the Forrest City Municipal Sports Complex since the city is in the process of finalizing the purchase of additional land in the area?
Breeding: "I would like to see a lake with a walking trail around it, defined picnic areas and fishing. After that, there should still be room for a couple of soccer fields and more parking without breaking the budget on operational cost."
Shaw: "I think the city has done a good job so far with the senior center, but I would like to take a wait and see attitude for the next two or three years, maybe more. More parking would be a good addition, but I think we are at the point where we should look elsewhere in the city for building more recreational facilities."
6. Why do you believe that you are the best candidate for the job?
Shaw: "I've been involved with the community for many years, and I feel I'm in touch with the working men and women. Being a working man myself, I feel I can bring that perspective to the council. The current council members are mostly retired and don't have that perspective. The people in Ward 4 want to improve city services, quality housing, safer neighborhoods and faster response time for emergency services, and I will work toward those goals."
Breeding: "I have 12 years of experience on the council. This helps me know what to do when something comes up. The council should be questioned and looked into more closely. I will stand up for your rights and wishes as your representative in city government. It's your money we're spending. My more than 20 years in business management affords me a lot of insight to the business community that I will bring to the council."
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Area school board members were in Forrest City Monday night for the Region 9 Arkansas School Board Association workshop held at the Forrest City High School Cafeteria.
Board members and administrators discussed a number of issues, including the impending decision in the Lake View school funding case and the recent studies performed by the Blue Ribbon Panel on Education.
Special emphasis was given last night to proposed Amendment 3, which would remove sales taxes on food, medicine and soft drinks. According to ARSBA Executive Director Dan Farley, the damaging effects of passage of the amendment would far outweigh the benefits to Arkansans.
"The idea is great, and this bill looks good on the front end, but unfortunately it's not such a good idea. The proposal on the table doesn't have any way to replace the lost revenue. Virtually every institution in the state has come out against this measure and there's now a grass roots effort underway to shoot this down," Farley said.
Farley also asked those in attendance to talk to their friends, neighbors and anyone they come in contact with to ask them to vote against the measure.
"There's an effort out there to get this stopped, and it's picking up some momentum. I ask that you study the proposal and the information available on that and then pass the word to everyone that you talk to friends, neighbors, even people in line at the grocery store. We have to let the general population know what we're risking and those losses would be even greater when the Lake View ruling comes in.
We would see cuts in all types of human services, Medicaid would see drastic cuts, child care and early childhood education would be cut. Juvenile services would be hurt and any efforts across the state to stop jail overcrowding would come to an immediate stop. The state prison system might be forced to begin an early release program and in communities where sales taxes have been voted for to keep hospitals and nursing homes open, you could see those quickly close," Farley said.
According to Farley, the movement to remove the taxes was started by a group called the Arkansas Libertarian Party.
"I just want you to know that the people that got this on the ballot stands on a platform that would like to see Medicaid done away with, the social security program gone, all taxes, including the income tax repealed and all tax evaders either released from prison or their investigations halted. They don't just want limited government they want no government," Farley said.
It doesn't happen very often, but it does happen.
Nicholas Hill, of Forrest City, turned in a perfect Professor Pigskin Contest entry to win the week's $50 prize.
Hill did not miss a single game of the 23 high school, college and NFL games selected.
Hill's winning entry included Searcy's upset win over Jonesboro, Seattle's win over the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans' victory over Jacksonville.
This week's list of games can be found inside today's Times-Herald.
Arkansas State Police confiscated over 40 pounds of marijuana during a routine traffic stop Monday morning on Interstate 40.
According to the arrest report, a trooper stopped a 1995 Lexus for speeding near the 243 mile marker, just east of Forrest City. After issuing the driver, Maria Elva Hernandez, 19, of Dallas, a ticket for speeding, she consented to a search of the car. Inside the trunk, troopers found 43 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of $43,000.
Hernandez and a passenger, Rubin Martin Hernandez, 22, also of Dallas, are charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.
The two are scheduled to appear in St. Francis County District Court on Wednesday.
As of early this morning, 948 St. Francis County voters had taken advantage of early voting.
St. Francis County Clerk Elizabeth Smith said the turnout so far is encouraging. "I am very pleased with the turnout so far. I'd like to remind voters that voting is not being held on Saturday this year, and that Monday, Nov. 4, is the last day for early voting."
Early voting is held from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. at the county clerk's office in the courthouse.