By TAMARA JOHNSON
Managing Editor
A middle school student was shot and killed as the he played soldier with his younger brother Wednesday evening at their home in rural St. Francis County.
The St. Francis County Sheriff's Department reported Kameron Green, 12, who lived at 4099 Hwy. 261 near Colt, was playing with his 10-year-old brother when the accidental shooting occurred about 5:30 p.m. Kameron Green was a student at Lincoln Middle School. His brother attends Caldwell Elementary School.
According to SFCSD Investigator Herbert Neighbors, the two were playing army men, and one of them had a toy rifle and the other one had a real gun. The real weapon was a 12-gauge pump shotgun that Neighbors said was "either loaded or the boy loaded it and discharged it."
The shotgun blast struck Kameron Green in the face, killing him instantly.
An eight-year-old boy was also at home at the time of the shooting, but was not injured, according to Neighbors.
Neighbors said the parents of the children were not at home at the time of the shooting. "The father had just left to go pick up his wife at work in Forrest City," the investigator said.
The investigation is continuing, according to Neighbors, who added that after the investigation is completed, the information will be turned over to the prosecutor's office for final review and recommendations.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
A budget cut and an increase in insurance premiums were major obstacles faced by the Forrest City Housing Authority board during its regular meeting Wednesday night.
Janet Duncan, FCHA director, told the members first of a 45 percent cut in the authority's budget. "We have received a letter from HUD (the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) stating that we have had a 45 percent cut to our operating budget," stated Duncan. "This is a huge cut. According HUD, they overspent in 2001 and 2002. They also say that they have had a shortfall of $250 million dollars. We immediately began to look for ways to cut the budget."
Duncan assured the members that even with the dramatic cut, no services will be cut.
"No one has lost their job or benefits, and no services will be cut. We are in the best position for this cut because of our reserves and we still have grant money. We are not the only ones getting cut. This is a problem for all housing authorities in the state, and many don't have the reserves to help them."
Next, Duncan presented a substantial increase in property insurance.
"There is a 45 percent increase this year in our property insurance," said Duncan. "We were paying $58,000, and it's going up to $84,000. It is possible that that increase could go down a little, but not very much. The increase is of course due to the events of 9/11/01."
Chairman Gazzola Vaccaro updated the council on a problem being experienced by a contractor who recently bid for a renovation project.
"The contractor says that he underbid for the renovation contract by $18,000," said Vaccaro. "He is asking us to amend the contract for us to carry that amount. I feel if we amend it to $10,000 on his end and $8,000 on our end, that would be fair. The office in Little Rock said it was OK to amend the contract as long as the amendment does not make the contract exceed the next lowest bid." The members approved to split the amount evenly with $9,000 covered by the authority and $9,000 to be covered by the contractor.
The final issue of the night was a tenant disputing an eviction notice. The appeal was denied after photos of the tenant's unit were shown and a signed notice to improve the living situation was shown. The deadline on the signed notice had expired.
The East Arkansas Community College Board of Trustees is scheduled to meet at 7 tonight in the college board room, weather permitting.
As of press time, no decision had been made on whether to go on with the meeting, because it was unknown what the weather was going to do. An announcement one way or the other is expected this afternoon
Agenda items include status reports on Phase II projects, election of officers, and reports on resignations and new hires, among other things.
The Palestine City Council met briefly Tuesday night with the adoption of a 2003 budget the main issue on the agenda.
Mayor Willetta Carroll presented the council with a proposed budget, but advised that at least one item was in for a possible change.
"The city insurance listed is based on the current insurance and not on the rates charged by the new company we are looking into," said Carroll.
"That amount will probably have to change. Of course we will amend the budget if we need to in other areas as well."
The council voted unanimously to adopt the 2003 budget.
In a related topic, Jeff Cagle with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, presented three plans for new insurance for the city.
"I tried to get together some plans that are as close to the costs of the existing plan as possible," Cagle told members. After the council reviewed the plans, the issue was tabled.
The council also voted unanimously to pay an additional $20 on the city workers compensation to cover the auxiliary firefighters if they are injured.