Glynn H. Carpenter, president and chief executive officer of Woodruff Electric Cooperative Corp., will retire later this month after more than half a century of service to the state's electric cooperatives.
Carpenter, who has been with the local company since 1969, will retire from his post at the end of this month. According to a press release from Woodruff Electric, Billy C. Martin III, who currently serves as executive vice president for Woodruff, has been named Carpenter's successor.
"On behalf of the board of directors and members of Woodruff Electric Cooperative, I would like to thank Glynn Carpenter for his years of dedication and commitment to serving the cooperative," Jerry Brown, chairman of the board of directors said.
Carpenter, a 53-year veteran of the electric cooperative movement, began his career with Ashley-Chicot Electric Cooperative Corp., in 1950. After working for the southeast Arkansas cooperative for 11 years, he was named general manager of Rich Mountain Electric Cooperative, Inc., in Mena. He held that position for eight years. During his tenure, Carpenter has served on, and been elected to, numerous electric cooperative boards on the state and national level.
"I have experienced a career rich in friendships and professional and personal growth," Carpenter said. "However, I am looking forward to spending quite a bit of my time with my family, especially my three-year old granddaughter and my wife. When I joined the cooperative movement in 1950, I was immediately impressed with the dedication and commitment to the community that was instilled in cooperative employees and my successor. The staff at Woodruff Electric Cooperative continues to display these same traits," he added. Martin has worked for the cooperative since 1993 when he was hired as a consumer accounts clerk. Since 1993, he has been promoted to positions of increasing responsibilities that involved accounting, budgeting and strategic planning for Woodruff Electric Cooperative Corp., according to a press release.
"I am thrilled about the opportunity and humbled by the vote of confidence that the board of directors has given me," Martin said. "I am dedicated to meeting the needs of our membership and working to increase the quality of life for our members."
Martin and his wife Lisa have three children, Lauren, Alex and Chandler. His community involvement includes First Baptist Church of Forrest City, the Forrest City Lion's Club, the Forrest City Chamber of Commerce board of directors, as well as several other community organizations. He has an undergraduate degree from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro and a masters degree in business administration from Christian Brothers University in Memphis.
Woodruff Electric Cooperative has 83 employees. The cooperative serves residents in Cross, Lee, Monroe, Phillips, Prairie, St. Francis and Woodruff counties. The 18,611-member cooperative is based in Forrest City with district offices in Augusta, Moro and Walnut Corner.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Work to expand Arkansas Highway 1 to five lanes between Colt and Wynne began earlier this week with contractors working into the night to complete the first stages of the project.
Ray Woodruff, District Engineer with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department Headquarters in Wynne, said workers started Monday removing the top layer of asphalt on a section of Hwy. 1 in Cross County. Work progressed after dark at times as contractors attempted to avoid Thursday's wet weather while staying on schedule.
"They were just removing some of the old asphalt surface which needed to be replaced, and I think that they wanted to get everything evened out. They will be resurfacing that section before they begin work to expand the road," Woodruff said.
"This isn't the first time that we've had night work in the area," Woodruff said. "On the I-40 project near Shearerville to West Memphis, they did quite a bit of night work because there are certain stipulations in some of the contracts that provide for bonuses for early completion or penalties for late completion," he said.
According to Woodruff, the five lane project will be done in stages, with work on the bridges to be first, followed by the expansion of the roadway.
"The work really just started this week, and they're trying to get everything prepared. The project will be done in stages with the bridges being next in line. They will close the west side of the bridges first, leaving the eastern lanes open for traffic. Then, after that, they will start on the roadway. It will have two northbound and southbound lanes, plus an 11-foot median or turning lane," Woodruff said.
The three-year Hwy. 1 bypass project has been stalled somewhat due to recent wet weather, but work is presently being done on both the I-40 overpass and the railroad overpass in Forrest City, according to Woodruff. On the bright side, Woodruff said Forrest Citians could see the southern leg of the bypass open later this year, once the shoulders on the roadway are completed.
"The bypass is in kind of a stagnant stage right now due
to the rain that we've been getting, but work has been progressing
on the overpasses at I-40 and the railroad. There is still some
work to do on the shoulders on the southern end near Hwy. 70,
but it's foreseeable that we could open that leg once that work
is completed. There's still some dirt-work that has to be done,
and once it dries up, that project will be up and running full
steam again," Woodruff said.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The state representative who helped draft an economic development bill agreed Thursday afternoon that the bill is complicated, but he also said it contains a lot of needed provisions.
"It's a big, complicated bill," said Danny Ferguson, D-Forrest City, of House Bill 1179. "It's 28 pages long."
He said two years ago, the state Legislature hired a corporation to study the economic incentives being offered by Arkansas, and compare them with 14 other states in this region. He said that his bill, drafted along with officials of the state department of Economic Development, addresses some of the findings.
"One big thing that came out, we are establishing (in the proposed bill) four tiers of need, instead of simply stressed and non-stressed," he said.
The tiers are based on four factors -- poverty rate, unemployment rate, per capita income and population growth.
"So if a county has high poverty or a low employment rate, or is losing population, it can still get points," said Ferguson.
Higher tier counties would receive greater benefits.
Another provision of the bill is the consolidation of six existing incentives into the single bill. That includes Advantage Arkansas, InvestArk, Create Rebate, AEDA, Emerging Technology and Biotechnology.
"And one of the major changes in the proposal is the encouragement of regional economic achievement alliances," he continued.
"They would be comprised of four or more counties. The counties would get together and agree on a format and take it to a vote of the electorate to form regional economic alliances." He said one advantage of this arrangement would be that the entire alliance would get the full benefits of most needy county -- the highest tiered on the four-tier system.
"If one county is on tier four, all the counties would get tier four benefits," he said. "And the flipside is, all the counties would share in the property taxes of a business or industry that located within that region."
There are other features of the bill, he said. These include payroll-based incentives instead of the number of jobs. Also incentives would be separated into categories, such as job creation and investments.
A $10 million lawsuit has been filed against a Forrest City physician for allegedly misdiagnosing colon cancer in a patient over a three-year period.
The suit, filed by David Alsup and his wife, Vicki Alsup, against James T. Meredith, M.D., claims that David Alsup, who had been a patient of Meredith's since 1993, began complaining of pain and soreness, as well as blood in his stools, as early as April of 1999.
The suit alleges that David Alsup continued complaining during several visits, and that no gastrointestinal workup was prescribed until April of 2002. A colonoscopy performed on May 7, 2002, revealed that David Alsup had cancer.
Soon after, according to the lawsuit, surgery was performed, and it was discovered that the cancer, which originated in his colon, had spread to his liver.
The suit claims that the spread of the cancer was due to the cancer being undiagnosed and untreated. The suit claims that David Alsup has suffered pain, suffering and distress, loss of income and earning capacity, loss of life expectancy and medical expenses, among other things. Vicki Alsup claims damages for loss of consortium, loss of services, society, etc., of her source and other expenses.
The plaintiffs ask for $10 million and "all other relief to which they may be entitled."
A Colt man arrested Thursday for manufacturing methamphetamine reportedly told officers he was trying to make some extra money.
According to the Sheriff's Department report, a call came in from a citizen, reporting that someone was manufacturing methamphetamine in a shop just off County Road 351.
They staked out the shop, and a subject was seen approaching the shop at about 8:30 p.m. The man attempted to flee but was apprehended.
He was identified as Christopher Harris, 28, of Colt. After his capture he said he was trying to make extra money.