By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The winter weather that passed through the area overnight has found many Eastern Arkansans digging out of the snow and ice at home only to find hazardous conditions on area roadways.
According to Capt. Nathaniel Jackson, commander of Arkansas State Police Troop D, many interstate drivers found themselves in ditches and stranded in the median as they traveled this morning.
"We had a lot of people that ended up in some of the ditches and a lot of people in the median because they didn't slow down, but we're thankful that we didn't have any serious injuries. The roads are really iced over right now, and the highway department is out sanding them, but drivers still need to slow down and be cautious. We may have more of this headed our way, so hopefully, people will realize that the conditions are hazardous and react accordingly," Jackson said.
St. Francis County deputies also spent much of the morning assisting motorists who couldn't keep it under control on the icy roads.
According to St. Francis County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy H.N. Green, many of the county's roads are close to impassable.
"From county line to county line, we've had calls this morning about people in ditches and people that had lost control of their vehicles. The highways are really in bad shape from the ice and the roads are really slick. Drivers really need to take that into consideration before leaving their homes and be prepared for the road conditions," Green said.
Both Jackson and Green said that their respective agencies were asking motorists to stay home if at all possible.
Officials with the Forrest City Police Department were unavailable for comment.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Palestine-Wheatley School Board members and personnel were shocked Monday night when PWSD Superintendent Jimmy Allen announced his retirement after five years with the district.
Allen, whose retirement will become effective June 30, thanked board members for the opportunity to work in the PWSD and cited health issues and a desire to spend more time with his family in his letter of resignation.
"It is very bittersweet that at this time I feel I need to submit this letter of retirement. Bitter, because of the outstanding support and gains we have been able to make as a team to improve our school district, and sweet, because this retirement will allow me to concentrate on my health as well as have my family together in one household," Allen said in his letter.
Allen also said that he feels like he is leaving the district in good condition.
"We have made great strides in my time with here, and I'm proud to be able to say that this district has gone from being on the academic distress list with the state Department of Education to making significant gains and being removed from that list. We've also added a pre-school program that was needed in this area and with the help of the board and our district personnel, I feel that we've built a great district," he said.
Board members accepted Allen's resignation along with those of social studies teacher Harry Green and junior high football coach Dan Cockrell, who is going back to college to seek a master's degree in social studies.
In other business, board members accepted a proposal from a Little Rock financial institution which will send PWSD patrons to the polls later this year to vote on a possible millage increase. According to the proposal submitted by Scott Beardsley with Raney & Beardsley, Inc., voters will be given the option to transfer 13.1 debt service mills to Maintenance and Operations to meet the 25.0 mill requirement being enforced by the Arkansas Supreme Courts ruling in the Lake View funding case. The proposal will also refund $960,000 to bondholders from the 1998 bond issue and will include a request for a $300,000 Qualified Zone Academy Bond from the federal government.
"This is something that most school districts across the state are going to have to do before the year is over because of the Supreme Court decision. The court said that there had to be 25.0 mills in Maintenance and Operations and that the old formula was not legal," Beardsley said.
Beardsley also answered questions from board members regarding the options if voters turn down the issue.
"The Supreme Court has also said that if the voters choose not to place the mills on then the quorum court must do so. The difference is that if the quorum court does it, they will have to place an additional 13.0 mills on what you currently have, giving you 42.0 mills instead of just transferring the 13.0 to M&O," he said.
Board members were told that the issue would go before voters during the September school elections.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
A man who said he was once well-paid to get kids to smoke spoke against the tobacco industry Monday at a joint meeting of the Kiwanis, Rotary and Lions clubs of Forrest City.
The visit of Dave Goerlitz, best known as the main character in 42 "Winston Man" ads during the 1980s, was sponsored by the Hometown Health Network of St. Francis County and the Tobacco Prevention and Education Coalition of Forrest City.
"My job is to tell the young people of this country what I did that was so wrong, and share it with you, too," he said.
He showed slides of some of the ads in which he appeared.
He said he was told at the time that his job was to get kids hooked on smoking, because that is when most people begin smoking, in their early teens.
"It was my job to make it look good," he said. "I was paid $100,000 a year, 23 years ago, to be the Winston Man. That's good money," he admitted.
He said he himself was a heavy smoker, but began to change his attitude when his brother died from smoking, and then quit, himself. He said that soured his relationship with the tobacco industry.
He asked for a show of hands of everyone who knew someone who had died from lung cancer, heart disease or any of a number of maladies attributed to smoking.
"When everybody in the world, except the tobacco industry, knows that tobacco is the nation's number one cause of death, I think we need to discuss it," he said.
He said the cigarette industry spends billions of dollars on advertising.
"Do you know the tobacco companies spend only about 6 cents to make a pack of cigarettes?" he asked. "Did you know that the tobacco companies spend 18 cents per pack on advertising? They spend three times the amount of money to make it, on advertising. And they do a good job."
He said he testified before congress that he had been told point-blank, that his job was to get kids to start smoking. He said he was told in 1981 that "We don't smoke the stuff we just sell it...We reserve the right to smoke to the young, the poor, the black and the stupid."
He also said a "no smoking" section in a restaurant is like a "no chlorine" section in a swimming pool.
Goerlitz also spoke to students in Hughes and Forrest City during the day.
The jury in a medical malpractice lawsuit returned a verdict for the plaintiff Monday, but for a much smaller amount than had been asked.
Anita Billups had asked for $500,000 for the death of her infant son and $2 million for pain and suffering. The jury awarded her $50,000 and $200,000.
Defendants in the lawsuit were Baptist Memorial Hospital-Forrest City, John Hill, M.D. and Arkansas ECS, Inc.
The suit claimed that Billups' infant son, 13-day-old Stephon Earl Billups, was misdiagnosed by Hill in the emergency room at Baptist. The child died the next day.
The defense claimed that the ailment which killed the child was not recognizable in its early stages.
The jury voted 9-to-3 in favor of the award.
A Forrest City woman told police three men armed with a shotgun stole jewelry valued at more than $3,000 during a burglary at her home Sunday evening.
Coretta Anderson of 1860 Lindauer, Apt. 4, reported that she was at home about 8:30 p.m., when the front door to her apartment was kicked in and the three men entered. One man reportedly carried a shotgun.
She said she was dragged into her bedroom, where the men demanded money and threatened to kill her if she didn't give it to them. After she repeatedly told them that she had no money, the men allegedly made her undress and lie in the bathtub. The men then left.
According to the police report, six diamond rings and two diamond bracelets were stolen.