By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
A year-old request for clarification of the catering contract at the Forrest City Civic Center was again on the front burner as the Civic Center Commission held its quarterly meeting Monday afternoon.
Commissioners agreed to request from Mayor Larry Bryant, for the second time in writing, a clear decision in what sales tickets and receipts the board has the right to see from caterer Jim Hitchcock in regards to the Civic Center.
Board member Shirley Harvell again spearheaded the request, saying that the commission had never received an answer to an earlier letter.
"The minutes from a meeting held on April 29, 2002, show that the commission requested clarification on what this commission has the right to see in Mr. Hitchcock's quarterly reports, but we never received an answer from the mayor's office," Harvell said.
Commission chairman Delores Morelon questioned whether the clarification is needed at this time, with less than a year left on Hitchcock's contract with the city.
"I think that we are in a period where we need to be looking at drawing up a new contract that we find acceptable, and since Mr. Hitchcock's contract comes up in June of 2004, we need to stop beating a dead horse and move on in the best interest of the Civic Center," Morelon said.
Harvell argued that the current contract is still of interest to the group due to the amount of gross profits that were shown in Hitchcock's quarterly reports.
"According to the reports that Mr. Hitchcock has turned in, he's grossing between $80,000 and $90,000 a quarter, and even though that his gross, that's still a lot of money changing hands in one year's time, and that makes this viable," Harvell said. "It's also still a valid issue because we've been asked to consider raising the rent, and the mayor has told us of the high utility costs of the kitchen. The taxpayers are footing those bills, and not Mr. Hitchcock. All we're asking to see is what the contract will allow us to see."
In other business, commissioners agreed to request that two members, Ted Parker and Lois Walker, be removed from the commission due to absenteeism. Both board members have failed to attend the quarterly meetings of the commission since the April 29, 2002 meeting.
In April, commissioners voted to install nameplates for each of the Civic Center's rooms and to make improvements in the lobby.
Questions arose Monday when commissioners discovered that neither of the improvements had been made.
Civic Center manager Raymond Stewart told board members that their best course of action would be to discuss those changes directly with Bryant.
Morelon told the board that she would meet with the mayor to find out when, or if, the improvements will be made. Stewart also told board members that damages to the exterior of the building caused when a delivery driver hit an overhang at the front of the building should be repaired before the end of the summer and that clocks would be added to each room in the building.
Two Forrest City residents were among four people arrested last week on drug charges when police raided a residence in rural Lee County.
Ricky L. Steward, 44, and Mary Ellen Halbert, 39, both of Forrest City, were arrested when officials with the First Judicial District Task Force and the Lee County Sheriff's Department served a search warrant at the Marlin Lynn Reeves residence on Highway 259. During the investigation, police arrested Steward, Halbert, Reeves and a fourth suspect, Michelle L. Armstrong, 24, who also lived at the Reeves' residence, according to reports at the LCSD.
LCSD Chief Deputy Jack Oxner said the warrant was issued following a lengthy investigation into possible illegal drug activity at the residence. During the Thursday search, officers found illegal substances in the home, according to Oxner.
Oxner said Reeves is charged with possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to manufacture, simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, possession of ephedrine with intent to manufacture, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, manufacturing a controlled substance, methamphetamine; possession of a defaced firearm and possession of firearms by a certain person. His bond is set at $310,000, and he is currently being held in the Lee County Jail.
Steward, Halbert and Armstrong are charged with manufacturing a controlled substance, methamphetamine; simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to manufacture, possession of ephedrine with intent to manufacture and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, methamphetamine, according to Oxner.
Halbert and Armstrong are being held in the Monroe County Jail. Halbert's bond is set at $345,000, and Armstrong's bond is set at $305,000. Steward is currently free on a $100,000 bond.
A hearing on the charges is scheduled for Monday, July 28, in Lee County.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
A new police cruiser for the city of Madison was one of several pieces of good news delivered by Mayor James Brooks to council members Monday night.
Councilmen voted 5-to-1, with council member Annie Winfrey casting the lone dissenting vote, to approve a resolution to allow the city to receive $18,000 in funding from the USDARural Development Department to purchase a new police cruiser for the city.
Brooks also told council members that construction on the new community center should begin soon, and the mayor also updated the group on work by the Corps of Engineers at the city's oxidation ponds.
"The community center project is about to start taking shape because we've finally been able to close out all of the contracts, and now work can begin. The contractor has told me that he should begin work by the end of the week, which is right in line with what he has to do to meet the contract requirements. He had 14 days from when he signed the contract to begin. It's been eight days so far, but he has assured me that he will start this week.
"On the same day that we signed the contracts, the Corps came in and told us that they had finished their work on the oxidation ponds and everything down there is great. I spoke with the foreman for the project, and he told me that they had done about $800,000 in work, and there's no way the city could have paid for that to be done," Brooks said.
A heated argument erupted between Brooks and Winfrey after Brooks informed council members that an additional $1,650 in work would have to be done to the city's new shop once electricity is working at the building. According to Brooks the funding for the work will come from the $20,000 allocated to pay for the building and was taken from the amount that was to be paid to the original contractor.
The argument actually started when Winfrey questioned Brooks over why the contractor didn't finish all of the work and where the funding for the new work would come from since the council had not allocated funds for the additional work.
"I don't like that the contractor didn't finish the job that he started. The city is going to be spending funds that we didn't approve, and it's just the same old stuff. I'm on this council to look out for the citizens of Madison, and I don't see that being done," Winfrey said.
"The contractor did not install all of the lighting in the building, but has wired a ground box and the essentials. Mr. Knowlton (contractor Larry Knowlton) has agreed to come in and finish the work for the amount that I told you. That amount was taken from the $19,998 that we paid to the contractor who built the building," Brooks responded. "I don't know why it matters to you anyway. You vote against everything that is put before you. You voted against the community center. If we check the minutes, you probably voted against the building in the first place, and you even voted against a new police car tonight. You just want to see your name in the newspaper every month, so don't sit here now and say that you're concerned for the citizens of Madison when you never have any positive input about anything this council does."
In other news, Brooks told councilmen that the city is currently seeking new insurance for city employees because their current plan with the municipal league is being canceled due to lack of participation from city workers.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The Widener City Council on Monday adopted an ordinance to control "inattentive, careless or imprudent" driving inside town.
Before passage there was some discussion on just what the ordinance would do. Alderman Ronnie Barnett asked, "What kind of emergency has arisen that we need this?"
Police Chief Shelly Bieber answered that the town is following suit behind Palestine, Cherry Valley and some other towns.
"It will be a city ordinance," said Bieber. "You won't pay any state court costs."
He said a violation of the city ordinance also would not go on a person's state driving record.
City Attorney Marshall Wright told the council that serious offenses will still be treated seriously, such as speeding 20 miles over the speed limit or DWI. However, lesser offenses can be covered under the city law.
"This is not a license for the city to write more tickets," said Wright. "This really helps the city."
The new law carries a fine of not more than $150. The ordinance had an emergency clause, making it effective immediately.
The council also passed two resolutions required by the Arkansas Department of Economic Development, which provided a grant to help build the town's community center. One was a fair housing resolution, promising furtherance of fair housing practices. The other was an anti-displacement resolution. It states that the city will provide relocation assistance to low or moderate income households displaced by demolition or conversion of their home to another use.
Mayor Dot Halford also announced that there will be a town meeting, also required by the Department of Economic Development, concerning the community center, on July 24, at 6 p.m.
On another matter, Halford also asked citizens to report if they are having problems with their water pressure. She said there have been some water problems, and said efforts to find leaks have been unsuccessful.
An England man was killed when his 18-wheeler struck a bridge railing and burst into flames Monday afternoon on Interstate 40 near Forrest City.
Corey M. Jackson, 26, was driving the 1997 Freightliner tractor-trailer westbound on I-40 near the 254 mile marker about 4:45 p.m., when he is believed to have driven onto the north shoulder of the interstate where he struck the bridge, causing the tractor to become engulfed in flames.
It was unknown if Jackson was wearing a seat belt, according to a report on file at Arkansas State Police Troop D headquarters in Forrest City.
Also on Monday, A woman died in a traffic crash late Monday night in Jonesboro after a collision with a tractor-trailer, Arkansas State Police said.
Quyen Nguyen, 26, of Blytheville, died in the 11:45 p.m. accident on U.S. 63, state police said. An accident report said Nguyen's northbound vehicle went out of control, crossed the median and flipped. Then, it was hit by a tractor-trailer driven by Charles McClure, 44, of Palmdale, California. McClure and a passenger were hurt, police said.
A Piggott man was killed when the truck he was riding in struck another truck that had launched airborne off of railroad tracks, state police said.
Jerry Dodd, 39, of Knobel, was traveling eastbound on Arkansas 280 when he hit a railroad crossing, went airborne, and was struck in the right side by another truck traveling northbound on Arkansas 90, according to a state police report.
William B. Thrasher, 69, a passenger in the northbound truck driven by Robert Wagster, 63, of Piggott, was killed. Both Dodd and Wagster were injured and transported to hospitals.
The St. Francis County Food Pantry is in need of donations as usual, but something else is also needed -- used grocery bags.
"Anyone who has some grocery bags -- paper or plastic -- we can sure use them," said Katherine Freeman of the Pantry. "If you can't deliver them, give us a call and we'll pick them up."
The number is 630-1823.