By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Although there have been some bumps along the way, Forrest City has made it over them and is ready to go forward.
That was the assessment of Mayor Larry Bryant as he looked back over 2003 in a recent interview.
"For the most part, we had a pretty good year," said Bryant. "We completed our Senior Citizens Center, which was delayed somewhat. But the efforts of our labor are showing, and they are enjoying that facility.
"The south leg of the bypass opened, and we hope that in the next six months the north leg will open, and that should open up our western sector for development."
Bryant had praise for the police, fire and public works department for the job they have done, "sometimes under duress. We had that wind storm, and we missed the national spotlight because it almost blew Memphis off the map. But Forrest City had some big problems, only you never would have known it because of the good job our street department and solid waste department did in that effort.
"Our street department people and public works people don't get enough credit, and those are the lowest paid people in the city. But when you need them, you see them out there."
He said computers were bought for all the departments, and the city is in the process of purchasing a new knuckle boom truck for the solid waste department. Improvements to the air conditioning at the Civic Center are being worked out.
"We're going to build some soccer fields and baseball practice areas at the Municipal Sports complex, and we're looking at possibly partnering with the schools in some manner for some track facilities," he said. "We have a pond (at the sports complex), and once we stock it, get the grass to growing and put up a pavilion, it'll make the quality of life better here for our citizens."
The other parks are also getting attention.
"As we speak, they are putting up new backstops at South Side, and putting a new one up at Stewart Springs," said Bryant.
After a long struggle, Bryant finally got approval to go ahead with a multi-purpose building.
"I fought for that for about five years," he said. "I'm hopeful that the city council will ratify an architect and we can move forward."
(This interview took place last Friday afternoon. Later that afternoon, the council failed to ratify an architect)
Also, the improvements to the South Side swimming pool are ready to start at the beginning of the year.
Bryant said some streets were overlaid, but admitted not as much got done as he would have liked.
"And I-40 was a thorn in my and everyone else's side -- the grass on the interchange."
The city and state received numerous complaints about the looks of the interchange.
"We finally got that cut and it was sprayed with herbicide," he said. "We're going to try to do a better job of taking care of it, hand in hand with the Highway Department. We've worked out some of the problems and by spraying, we've killed the weeds and should be able to have more bermuda grass. And we're sending a crew over there to pick up paper once a week or so."
He said a new apartment complex at Chapel Ridge and improvements at East Arkansas Community College were also part of an improving picture.
Financially, he said the city is in good shape.
"Over all, everything looks good. Our finances were lower than expectations, which means we'll have to tighten our belt some. The state has cut funding to cities and sales tax revenues have dropped off slightly. But over all, I think, we'll be able to maintain things and next year be in a good position," he said.
Bryant said Forrest City is actually in better shape than some cities.
"One good thing about Forrest City, is that we're not looking at laying off people for 2004," he said. "If you would compare Forrest City with some other cities, you see that they are laying off policemen, firemen, public works employees."
He said some people don't realize that Forrest City is doing well.
"What looks bleak is not always as bleak as our people might think" he said. "I think, sometimes, because we live here and things are good, people have a jaundiced view of Forrest City. But I think we should be proud of our city because it is the best in the area."
Bryant said he tries to keep a tight rein on expenses, and said judicious use of the city's reserves can help.
"I've never said we don't need to have a reserve. It's good to have money in the bank," he said. "But then you should also use tax payers' money for a better qualify of life.
"Over all, things have worked relatively smoothly. Sometimes we have some conflicts with some of our council, and we've tried to iron some of those things out."
Bryant said there are opportunities if the town will stick together.
"All we need to do is find a way that we all might be able to work together to feel positive about ourselves. And once we start feeling positive about Forrest City, then we'll have a better shot at attracting others.
For instance, he said, "we have about a nine month window for our realtors and housing people to get their acts together, (while the Federal Correctional Institution-Forrest City is hiring people for the medium-security phase) so that hopefully we will be able to promote and market Forrest City in a better light, so that more of those individuals who will be coming here to work at the prison in Forrest City, will also work in Forrest City."
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
As a Christmas break for the special Arkansas legislative session nears, the prospects of an agreement still seem slim, according to state Rep. Danny Ferguson.
"My instinct right now, is that we're not really close to passing anything," said Ferguson this morning. "To sum it up, we're hammering away. We'll be back Friday and all next week except for New Year's Day itself. But I don't have a handle on things right now. There's a fear by some members of a possible stalemate."
In a 58-41 vote Monday, the House passed a consolidation alternative while Huckabee's plan to merge school districts with fewer than 500 students languished in a House committee.
Ferguson said the House and Senate seem to be at loggerheads as of 11 a.m. today.
While the Senate-passed bill is stuck in the House Education Committee, apparently "there aren't enough votes in the Senate Education Committee to get the House-passed bill.
The House bill would give smaller school districts a chance to meet education standards before being consolidated.
Ferguson, who has said that some consolidation may be unavoidable, nonetheless said he voted for the House bill because he thought it was fair.
"I've gotten input from a lot of districts," he said. "And if you implement school reform immediately, a lot of districts won't even have the time to hire the teachers they're given the extra money for (before they are consolidated). A lot of districts feel they need to have at least until the 2005-06 school year under the new system."
Ferguson admitted that while this might be fair, it might not hold up in court.
"The downside is, Attorney General (Mike) Beebe did a presentation recently, in which he said any solution will have to be defensible. And the longer you shove back the date, the harder it's going to be to defend (consolidation) in court.
"In my mind, you struggle with what you think is fair, versus what you think will stand up to a court challenge. And those may not be the same things."
He repeated that the chairs of both the House and Senate revenue and taxation committees have said their committees will do nothing about raising funds until such time as they have some kind of price tag. He said a bill has been passed which requires that any education bill include a fiscal impact statement.
"The worst thing we could do is pass a school reform bill and a new funding formula bill, and then not turn around and raise the money," Ferguson said. "I think the courts would absolutely hammer us for that. And remember, the worst case-scenario would be to do nothing and have the courts take over the system."
In November of 2002, as a result of the so-called Lake View case, the state Supreme Court declared Arkansas' public school funding system unconstitutional.
The court gave the state 13 1/2 months to devise remedies that provide equal educational opportunities for all of Arkansas' nearly 450,000 school children. The deadline is Jan. 1.
Huckabee's plan is an effort to reduce the number of school districts to make education reforms more affordable, though legislative leaders view rewriting the funding formula as the most direct response to the court decision. Cost estimates for reforms range from $108 million to $847 million.
Christmas is only two days away and area government agencies are getting in their last days of work before the holiday.
Today was the last day for this week for citizens to handle any business at the St. Francis County Courthouse. Offices closed this afternoon, and the building will be closed for service Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Residents still have one more day this week if they need to transact any business with the city of Forrest City. City Hall will be closed on Thursday and Friday, but will be open during its regular business hours from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve, Wednesday.
State officials will be back at work on Friday, after taking off Wednesday and Thursday for the holiday, and federal workers will be off for Thursday and Friday while working on Wednesday. While some federal workers will get an extended weekend, carriers and workers with the United States Postal Service will be busy on both Christmas Eve and the day following Christmas.
People in the county who normally have garbage pick-up on Thursday will need to make sure to get their trash bins out one day early this week, as King Disposal trucks will make their county run on Wednesday. For those in Forrest City with Thursday pick-up, that extra wrapping paper and boxes can be dumped and taken to the curbside for pick-up on Friday.
Officials with King Disposal suggested that parents break down any boxes after the holiday to make them as compact as possible for disposal. J.D. Sharp with the Northeast Arkansas Recycling Company in Madison also suggested that people bring their cardboard boxes to NEARCO for disposal when the facility reopens on Monday.
The "official" holiday period as observed by the Arkansas State Police has been announced, but anyone driving should be warned that they can't go wild outside those dates.
According to Capt. Nathaniel Jackson, commander of ASP Troop D headquartered at Forrest City, "The Christmas holiday period will begin (at one second past midnight) on Wednesday, Dec. 24, and will continue until midnight on Sunday, Dec. 28."
In the same manner, the New Year's holiday will begin immediately after midnight on Wednesday, Dec. 31, and end at midnight on Sunday, Jan. 4.
"We're going to be out in full force," said Jackson.
However, the specific "official" dates are not the only emphasis. Arkansas is taking part in the national "You Drink. You Drive. You Lose" campaign.
"We're going to be working with other law enforcement agencies," said Jackson. "The national crackdown began Dec. 19 and continues through Jan. 4.
"There will be saturation points, and we will arrest those who choose to drink and drive," he said. "We recommend that if you're going to drive, you name a designated driver if you're going to be drinking, so you can have a safe way back home."
According to Col. Dan Melton, director of the ASP, no warnings will be issued.
"Our message is simple -- You Drink. You Drive. You Lose. Violators can lose their licenses, time from their jobs, and lose money in high fines and court costs as well as possibly face imprisonment for repeat offenses, assault and vehicular manslaughter.
"Refuse a blood alcohol concentration test and you can lose your license on the spot and have your car impounded. You'll be spending your money on bail and towing fees instead of holiday gifts."
The local board of the Emergency Food & Shelter Program will meet Monday, Dec. 29, to distribute funds recently made available to St. Francis County.
The county will receive $20,151. The meeting will be held at 1:30 p.m. in the quorum court meeting room of the courthouse.
The funds are to be used for area services that help with food and shelter for families in St. Francis County needing these services. Agencies that received funding for 2003 were the St. Francis County C.A.R.E. Center, the St. Francis County Food Pantry and the American Legion Goodfellows.
Members of the local board include representatives from the county judge's office, mayor's office, churches, organizations and citizens.
The St. Francis County Food Pantry is closed for the Christmas, and will re-open Jan. 2.
"We want to thank everyone who made it possible for us to give 521 Christmas boxes," said Catherine Freeman of the Pantry. "Merry Christmas to you all."
Members of the Palestine-Wheatley School Board agreed to terminate the contract of a non-traditional math and science teacher at Palestine-Wheatley High School in a called meeting Monday night.
According to PWSD Superintendent John Manning, the board agreed to terminate the contract of David Watts during the called session last night. Watts was serving the district under the two-year non-traditional licensure program and had been hired in August.
Manning did not give a reason for Watts' firing.