By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The St. Francis County Emergency Food and Shelter Program distributed over $19,000 to three local agencies Tuesday.
In a meeting held at the St. Francis County Courthouse, board members agreed to split the $19,081, which was a $4,977 cut from last year, using the same percentages for 2003 that they used for 2002. The St. Francis County Food Pantry, the Forrest City CARE Center and the American Legion Goodfellows all received funding from the board for the new year.
The Food Pantry and the CARE Center each received $7,919 this year, and the Goodfellows received $3,243.
Last year, the CARE Center and Food Pantry each received $10,000 with the Goodfellows receiving $4,058.
The CARE Center may also receive additional funding from State Set Aside money, but according to board chairman Martha Couchman that funding is not guaranteed.
"The State Set Aside program suffered a 56-percent cut in funding for 2003, and that is really going to hurt us, because if we get anything it won't be much," Couchman said.
St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco recommended that any additional funding go to the CARE Center to pay for meals for indigent people traveling through the area.
"We get a lot of people that come up here traveling through that have one problem or another, and we always send them to the CARE Center, and I think they have a program set up for that, so since the amount will probably be small, that might be the best place to use it," Cisco said.
The board agreed that any State Set Aside funds would go to the CARE Center to be used for indigent care.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Officers with Troop D of the Arkansas State Police in Forrest City had busy holidays, with arrest totals for Christmas and New Year's combined reaching almost 300 for speeding and more than 40 for DWI.
However, although officers investigated 27 accidents over both holidays -- two of them alcohol related -- the Christmas and New Year's periods were completed without any fatalities in the troop's area. Troop D takes in Crittenden, Phillips, Lee, St. Francis, Cross, Woodruff, Monroe and Prairie counties.
The New Year's period officially began for the State Police at 6 p.m. Dec. 30 and continued through 11:59 p.m. on New Year's Day.
During that time, there were 41 speeding arrests, 12 DWI arrests, 21 safety belt violations, six child restraint violations, 15 other hazardous violations and 32 criminal arrests.
Troopers worked eight accidents over New Year's, one of them alcohol-related. The other alcohol-related accident was one of the 19 worked over the Christmas holiday, which was for a longer time period. The official Christmas period began Dec. 20 at 6 p.m. and continued until 11:59 p.m. Christmas Day.
Troopers made a lot of stops during the Christmas period. There were 253 people cited for speeding, and 31 arrests for DWI or DUI.
There were 64 safety belt violations.
Fifty-eight drivers were cited for other hazardous violations, such as running stop signs, following too close or reckless driving.