By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The newly formed Building and Improvement Committee of the St. Francis County Quorum Court met for the first time Tuesday, deciding to seek bids for paving a parking area near the courthouse.
The committee also agreed to construct a building at the NEARCO center for housing a new cardboard baler for the county.
Quorum court members Sam Armstrong, Regan Hill, Leodis Williams and Jack Crumbly discussed improvements needed at the courthouse and on county-owned property. According to Hill, the ever-increasing schedule of St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco and the need for a fresher viewpoint caused the need for the committee.
"This committee was created because, just like with a person's home, when you get accustomed to seeing something, the little things start to get by until someone comes to visit and you start to notice that you may need to touch up things here and there. Judge Cisco does a great job keeping things going around here, but with as much as he has on his plate, it's difficult for him to catch everything. That's where this committee will come in," Hill said.
Problems with traffic congestion at the courthouse was one of the primary issues discussed during the meeting. According to Cisco, parking at the courthouse is at a premium most days, and that increases when both district and circuit court are in session.
"Most of the time when you come up here it's difficult to find a parking spot, but then when we've got court going on it's almost impossible to find a spot. We've got the gravel lot (located at intersection of Forrest and Cross streets) but it really needs to be paved and lined off," Cisco said.
The committee members agreed to send the matter to the budget committee so that bids could be requested on the project. Hill also suggested seeking estimates from local contractors due to the size of the project.
"We can bid this thing out, but it's not really going to be a big project. If we could find a few local contractors that could give us estimates on it, then we could keep the money local and still get a good parking lot," Hill said.
Committee members also approved a request to seek the funding for a 60 x 90 foot building which would be located at NEARCO in Madison and would house a new baler for the facility. According to Cisco, the county recently received a grant for $60,000 for a baler for NEARCO, but the equipment can't be purchased until a building is available. Cisco told board members that the current building at NEARCO could house the building, but it would leave employees working in an open air building.
"Right now, we've got our guys working in a building that only has a roof over it, so when it's cold out or really windy, it's difficult for them to do anything. This new building would give them a place where the trucks can back into the building and the guys can unload in a closed in environment no matter what the weather is doing outside," Cisco said.
Cisco also agreed to speak with the county architect to see what could be done to the house owned by the county at 618 E. Cross St. to improve its exterior appearance.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Gov. Mike Huckabee's call for school consolidation -- namely, a reduction of 310 to between 107 and 116 districts -- drew a mixed reaction from the heads of St. Francis County's three school districts.
Huckabee made his consolidation proposal during his State of the State Speech Tuesday. It is one way being proposed to deal with a state Supreme Court decision in what is generally known as the Lake View case. The high court ruled that the state's public education system was unconstitutional.
The local reaction to Huckabee's speech was a mix of acceptance that some consolidation may be necessary, while wondering how it will be implemented and taking a wait-and-see attitude.
Lee Vent, superintendent of Forrest City Schools, first gave Huckabee high marks on his presentation.
"The governor's proposal, I think, was awfully bold," said Vent. "Certainly, it was timely and had very powerful rhetoric. And he presented the case well."
That said, he added, "The consolidated issue is something that's very tender in the minds of Arkansans, basically due to the nature of our state. People like to maintain their local schools."
Vent said the big drawback to consolidation, in some cases, will be the sheer size of some of the districts that will be created.
"They can crunch the numbers and see whether there would be some savings (from consolidation)," he said. "But one thing not brought out is something we (administrators) have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. And that's the logistical realities.
"By consolidating districts, are we going to be putting kids on buses before daybreak and letting them off after dark? Some districts will be very long and very wide."
He said the Forrest City district currently covers about 360 square miles, "and that's a major logistic challenge."
He said the question is a simple one. "Are we going to save money administratively, and have to spend that money on buses?"
The main thrust, he said, should be what's best for the students. And he said some consolidation may be unavoidable.
"Is consolidating schools going to allow us to provide a better curriculum and a better delivery system for that curriculum? If that is the case, so be it," said Vent. "The Arkansas Supreme Court did not mince words when they said what we must do in order to achieve adequacy and having an equitable system.
"A key thing that a lot of people don't understand is, (the Supreme Court) not only declared our funding formula unconstitutional, it declared the entire public education system unconstitutional."
He said he was pleased to see that the governor's proposal would allow K-8 schools to remain intact.
But certainly, regional high schools might be able to offer better curriculum offerings for the kids."
Jimmy Allen, superintendent of the Palestine-Wheatley School District, said first that his district is doing well in finances and test scores.
With that being the case, he said, "My question would be, in our case, where are they going to send us?"
He said he wouldn't want to be consolidated with a school system that was in academic or financial distress.
Allen said public education would have to become more accountable, "and that includes all of us."
He agreed that the consolidation issue is emotional, but also said accountability, safety and educational quality should be the main goals of any proposal.
"You should have a safe environment, and we know some districts are not very safe right now," he said. "Check how often the law is called to some campuses. You don't want to send your kids somewhere that's not safe. And you also have to perform academically, offer the case load and show the test scores."
Districts will also, probably have to meet mandated standards for teacher salaries, he said.
"Some districts are going to have to consolidate because they can't pay the teachers a certain salary or offer the courses. That will break some districts right there. But if you can meet your obligations, if you can perform, if you can be accountable, then you should be (allowed to stay unconsolidated)."
While agreeing that it would be emotional, Allen said, "Emotions shouldn't play a role if you can't perform. Who's going to draw the line? I don't know."
Dr. Randy Crowder, superintendent of the Hughes School District, said Huckabee only just made his proposals, and it's early yet.
"I'm going to try to attend as many meetings as I can, to get a feeling for it, to see what is going on," said Crowder. "Right now, it's kind of early to have an opinion on it, other than the fact that it's the governor's answer to the Lake View decision. I'm sure there will be other proposals from other folks, and I'm just going to look at them and make comparisons, and try to have an opinion after I see the various versions."
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The financial outlook for St. Francis County is brighter as it begins a new year, according to a report given by St. Francis County Treasurer Ann Harbin during a Tuesday meeting of the county's budget committee.
According to Harbin, the county general account began the year with a balance of $140,301.50 as opposed to $238,099.64 in 2002, but the 2002 figure was boosted by transfers from the county's trust fund. This year's balance also reflected over $220,000 in payments out of the general fund in December which paid the county's outstanding bills.
"We're in better shape this year than we've been in in awhile. We were able to carry over $140,000 without any transfers from the trust account, and we've also received our final settlement funds," Harbin said.
Harbin said the amount carried over in December would have been higher if the final tax settlement had been received and a transfer of $350,000 in local tax funds hadn't been made in December. Harbin cautioned justices that spending would still have to be kept tight because revenue would be in short supply until tax payments from utilities arrive in April.
In other business, justices agreed to a proposal from St. Francis County Sheriff Dave Parkman which will move all funds from district court warrant fees that the county receives during the next six months to his department, instead of the 25 percent the Sheriff's Department currently receives. According to Parkman, the funds will go into the department's radio fund.
Justices also agreed to send a proposal to build a new enclosed building at NEARCO, which will house a cardboard baler that the county is purchasing with a $60,000 grant. According to St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco, a grant for $10,000 for the building has been received, and more grant funding is currently being sought.
Justices also agreed to seek bids on paving the gravel parking lot at the intersection of Cross and Forrest streets.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The policy forbidding alcohol in the new civic center was both supported and opposed during Monday night's meeting of the Widener City Council.
No action was taken, but the ban may be up for a vote at the next meeting.
Between 25 and 30 people crowded into the town's small city hall, ironically making it almost necessary to adjourn across the street to the center which was the focus of the controversy.
In its November meeting, the council voted to ban alcohol at the recently-completed center, during a session in which rules and fees were heavily discussed. In December, Mayor Dot Halford informed the council that there had been some complaints over the alcohol ban and also over some of the rental and deposit fees. However, the city's attorney, Marshall Wright, could not attend the December meeting, and discussion was postponed
On Monday, the alcohol ban was the only item discussed. The discussion was fairly evenly divided, between those who wanted alcohol allowed, and those who wanted the ban to stand.
First to speak was Richard Denny, who opposes allowing alcohol in the center.
"As an ex-alcoholic, I do not want to see people suffer those same consequences," said Denny. "I just speak to you from my heart....I ask you please, vote no on (allowing alcohol)."
William Strong, on the other hand, said it could cost the city in lost fees if alcohol is banned.
"I'm saying, consider what you have. You have a community center. A community center means that whenever you have community functions, we all know that when you get a crowd of people together...if you declare alcohol banned, you're going to lose some money. I'm not saying get drunk..."
Larry White read some scriptures, including Proverbs 20:1. He was opposed to allowing alcohol. He said it can impair judgment.
"Sometimes people can drink one or two drinks and be fine," White said. "Some people, it affects them differently. If they continue to drink they forget how much they drink..."
He said there are places in town where there are already problems with alcohol misused in the home. He said concentrating those people in one spot could cause an even bigger problem. He reminded everyone that some years back, Widener voted not to allow alcohol sales in town.
Guy Watson, on the other hand, claimed there were no problems when alcohol was being sold in town.
"Did it inconvenience the city, any kind of way?" Watson said. "Looks to me, when the alcohol left, the city died. If you don't drink, don't worry about the person next to you...We're living in the past. Wine and beer is here to stay. If you don't drink then don't drink. The one that does drink, leave him alone."
Nadine Wilson said she was in favor of the alcohol ban.
"If you want to drink, you can just say we can't do that at Widener. Let's go somewhere else."
Virgil McKenzie said he would rather people drink close to home than go somewhere else and have to come a long way home.
Alderman Ronnie Barnett restated his opposition to allowing alcohol in the center. Halford suggested that the issue be tabled until the next meeting.
There was also some discussion on an earlier council decision to allow the local HIPPY group to use the center free once a month for a parent meeting. HIPPY stands for Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters. After the initial decision to allow the group to meet for free, Halford said the city attorney had cautioned her that it might open the door for many groups to claim they should meet for free.
That brought some complaints from the audience, with one unidentified person saying the reason she supported the center in the first place was so that groups like HIPPY would have a place to meet.
Wright said he was not for or against letting the group meet for free.
"I'm not giving an opinion one way or another," he said. "I'm not advocating one way or another. I'm just making the council aware of the legal issues."
There was no action on the HIPPY question.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
The January meeting of the Forrest City Advertising and Promotion Committee began with some confusion as to who were actually members of the board.
As the meeting was ready to be called to order, Chairman Kem Merrill had questions about new members Steve Hollowell and Louise Fields, who were recently appointed by Mayor Larry Bryant to represent the Forrest City City Council on the committee. Hollowell and Fields replaced Chris Oswalt and Cecil Twillie. Twillie also attended the meeting in the capacity of a voting member.
"My understanding is that the city council appoints two members from the city council, and the mayor suggests a person at large from the general public to serve on the committee," stated Merrill. " We have the person at large still with us, and with Cecil still on the council, the way I see it is that we only have to fill one slot, but we have two new council members with us here today."
Another issue that was unclear was the voting power. According to Fields, it was her understanding that neither she nor Hollowell were voting members.
"Both Chris and Cecil always voted," said Merrill. "We need to talk to the mayor and figure out these issues so that we can move on with our business." Merrill asked the three city council members to bring up the issue at the next city council meeting.
When the meeting was finally called to order, a topic concerning the St. Francis County Museum were presented.
An update on grant money, reported last month as on the way, was offered by Attorney Brad Beavers.
"In the 24 years I've practiced law, this is the most frustrating thing I have ever dealt with," began Beavers. "We sent in the first contract in 1999, which the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department said needed some changes. We made the changes, and they then said it was the wrong contract.
"Last November, they told me that the solution was to modify the contract," continued Beavers. "The contract was due back to us before the December meeting, and we have still not received the redraft. The state blames the federal guidelines for the delays. I think if we talk to our representatives at the national level maybe we can get this thing done."
Beavers was given authority to contact state and national representatives, as well as to begin drafting a letter that each member of the committee will sign regarding the problem.