By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
Area merchants have benefited over the past 10 years from an office that was established to help them recover some their losses due to people issuing worthless checks.
From humble beginnings in 1994 with a $7,000 budget, the First Judicial District's Hot Check office, located in Forrest City, has since collected over $4 million from people writing "hot" checks throughout the six-county area. The majority of that money has been returned to the merchants.
The office was established by First Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Fletcher Long after he realized the problems merchants were having trying to collect on a bad check. The Hot Check office simplifies the process for merchants at no cost to them.
"When I first came into office, I saw the problem we were having with hot checks," said Long. "Before the program, when a merchant got a hot check, they had to write a letter stating to the person who issued the check that they had 10 days to pick up the check. Then, if the check was not paid, the merchant had to take the check to the police or sheriff's departments and sign an affidavit. Then they had to take the person to court.
"Now, with the hot check office, all merchants have to do is contact the office for a hot check affidavit form with the check. The office handles contacting the person responsible for the check and notifies the authorities," Long said. "In some cases, the merchant still has to go to court, but that is rare."
Long said that the idea came from other similar offices in the state. "I saw where other districts in the state had offices where merchants could take hot checks and they would handle them. I checked them out and tried to find any drawbacks to the First District having a hot check office. I couldn't find any, so I talked to JoAnn (Peterson, Hot Check Coordinator for the First District) back then, and we started to set things in motion."
Peterson recalled getting the office, which serves St. Francis, Woodruff, Cross, Monroe, Lee and Phillips counties, started. "We began on about $7,000 Mr. Long borrowed from the Drug Control office because we had no start-up money. We began with a lot of donated furniture and not much else. Our standard of living has not changed much, but we are now self-sufficient, and of course, we paid back the Drug Control fund."
The office is run on Prosecutor Collection fees. These are fees that range from $5 to $75 depending on the amount of the check. "All other money goes to the merchant," said Long. "All restitution and the merchant fee (which is a flat fee of $25) is returned to the merchant upon collection."
"Before our office, many people just threw away hot checks instead of pursuing them," said Peterson. "Or they would go through private collectors. The advantage of our office is that we give back the collector's fees when the money is recovered. Private agencies keep the money as payment for their services. We can also enforce what we say. If a person does not pay, we can have law enforcement back us up. Private agencies can't; many times they come to us with checks they can't collect on." Peterson added that $320,000 has been collected through July this year and returned to merchants in the district.
While many local and chain merchants already take advantage of the Hot Check Office and the services it provides, Peterson still wants to get the word out. "I suspect that many small merchants don't know that we are here. We want them to know that if they need us we are here for them. The bulk of what we deal with are local merchants, not big chains."
While you might think people would be angry that the office contacts them, Peterson says most people just pay for their checks and fines.
Long added, "Most people have an attitude of 'you caught me' and pay their fine."
Long also said that while he is very pleased at the success of the office, he feels that there is always room for improvement. "We are collecting at about 60 percent right now, and that's a pretty big bang for our buck. I feel this office is doing a very efficient job, but we are always looking for ways to improve. I would invite anyone with constructive ideas on how we can collect more to contact the hot check office or my office."
For more information regarding the First District Hot Check Office, contact Peterson at 633-3313 or Fletcher Long at 633-4611.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
Forrest City is behind by over $1 million in real estate business from this same time last year, according to numbers provided by the St. Francis County Assessor's office.
The statistics that were provided compared Jan. 1 through June 30, 2002, to Jan. 1 through June 30, 2003. In comparing the numbers, last year, there were 72 sales total with an average sales price of $54,825, and the total sale price for all 72 sales combined was $3,947,440. The numbers for this year indicate that 50 sales have been recorded. While the average sales price increased to $58,420, the total price for all 50 sales is listed at $2,921,000. That is a decline of $1,026,440.
"These are figures derived through numerous computer programs, and there is a margin of error on the report," stated SFC Assessor Craig Jones. "The sales that I used are all 'arm-length' transactions. Those are sales that are not between relatives, special warranty deeds, state certified sales or bank foreclosures. All sales used in the report are single family residences, no commercial properties, mobile homes or vacant land was used. Each home also sits on less than five acres. They only include sales on existing homes, not newly constructed homes."
Jones also offered his thoughts as to why the decrease appears so large. "The decline could reflect the war in Iraq, the national recession or lack of available housing in Forrest City. However, I am not an economist, and any guess I have is purely speculation."
Some local realtors offered their opinions as to why they think the sales numbers experienced such a sharp decline.
Connie Rice, of Walker-Rice Real Estate stated, "I think a lot of people have lost jobs in Forrest City recently, with Yale and Thorne Apple Valley. Most people don't realize that when one person loses their job, it impacts the rest of us. If there are many people out of work, many other businesses suffer because those out-of-work people don't have money to spend. We need more industries to hire people who are out of work. Another factor is the economy. Interest rates are low right now, but the economy is shaky. People are being cautious about things right now, and many are waiting for the economy to even out."
Thomas Long Real Estate's Joyce Long said her company is also feeling the effect. "Our sales have been cut in half."
Another realtor, Martha Wilson of Martha Wilson Realty added simply, "Hopefully things will pick up really soon for us."
The same comparison applied to the total St. Francis County (all of the county that is not in an incorporated city) numbers mirrored the numbers in Forrest City. The numbers reflected a decrease from 87 total sales in 2002 to 74 total sales in 2003. A slight increase in average sales price, from $54,990 to $56,960 occurred, and the total sales price for all sales dropped from $4,784,040 to $4,215,200.
Jones also provided numbers for the other cities in the county, but stated that any of the studies that were under 10 in total sales needed to be disregarded due to lack of information.
The closest cities to having 10 sales this year were Caldwell and Hughes. Each city had four sales in 2003, and both recorded increases across the board. Caldwell went from no sales in 2002 to four sales, jumping the average sales price from zero to $52,500, and the total sales from zero to $210,000. Hughes, which increased its sales number from two to four, increased the average sales price from $35,000 to $47,625, and the total sales price went up from $70,000 to $190,500.
The Arkansas Partners for Educational Excellence (APEX) will hold an education forum in Marianna on Thursday, Aug. 14, at the Community House, located at 67 West Main street from 6 to 8 p.m.
The purpose of this forum will be public education, and to clarify the current education situation as it relates to the Lake View ruling.
For more information on APEX, visit their website at www.dontfailourchildren.com
A stolen four-wheeler was recovered early this morning after a break-in at a Palestine convenience store.
According to reports from the St. Francis County Sheriff's Department, Donald Michaelis, 49, Palestine, reported just after midnight that a 2001 Honda four-wheeler, green in color and valued at $2,000, was stolen from his shop.
A few hours later, at about 2 a.m., SFC Sheriff's Deputies responded to a call about an alarm sounding at the J&D Flash Market in Palestine. The back door of the business had been kicked in, but an inspection of the store revealed nothing else was disturbed.
However, about 2:45 a.m., deputies encountered three black male juveniles riding a green Honda four-wheeler south on Highway 261. Deputies stopped the three and, according to the report, during the conversation, the teens admitted to stealing the four-wheeler and kicking in the door at the store.
The SFC Sheriff's Department stated that charges will be filed in Juvenile Court against the three, but no details were available as to what they will be charged with.
The Forrest City School District will hold an Open House from 2 to 4 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 15. Parents and students will be able to visit with teachers and administrators during the event.
All campuses, except for the new Forrest City Junior High School, will participate in the open house.
An open house for the junior high will be announced at a later date.