By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Palestine City Council members heard charges Tuesday night that water meters were not always being read before bills were being sent out.
The council also voted to pass a pair of resolutions so improvements can be made to the city hall parking lot and to help in relocating the city's water department.
Palestine water department customer Troy Meredith addressed the council on recent discrepancies in his water bill. According to Meredith, his bill has more than doubled over the last month from close to $60 to over $130.
Palestine Mayor Willetta Carroll questioned whether Meredith had increased his usage and also told Meredith that the previous homeowner and done extensive work which might have caused the problem. Meredith questioned whether his bill was being accurately read on a monthly basis.
"My bill says that I used 4,600 units of water last month, and using the same amount of water, over a 12-day period this month, I've used 200 units per day because I've been checking on a daily basis. I've had my house checked for leaks and none have been found. I've had the meter checked to make sure that it's working, and it works fine. The only way that this could have happened is if the meters have been estimated over a few months and then when it was finally read I was charged to catch the bill up," Meredith said.
City council member Terry Dover also complained about some possible bill estimations. "My bill was estimated three times over a 12-month period, and there's no excuse for not reading meters every month. We've got the people to do the job, and I can't see why we would ever have to estimate," he said.
According to Carroll, estimated charges are only used when weather keeps meter readers from completing their jobs.
Carroll said officials with the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development division had notified the city of changes that would need to made at the municipality's offices or the city would risk losing federal funding.
According to Carroll, USDA Rural Development told the city that the parking lot at city hall would have to be paved and made wheelchair accessible and the water department would have to be moved from its current location.
"Rural Development has demanded some changes be made and we have to comply with those. They sent us a resolution which needs to be passed which calls for the parking lot to be paved and made wheelchair accessible and also would call for two offices be built in the old fire department to house the water department, which is right now seriously deteriorating," Carroll said.
Council members passed the ordinance and agreed to allow the city to sell the water department property to help fund the work needed. According to Carroll, the city will be responsible for 25 percent of the $65,000, or $16,250 in funding needed for the improvements. Council members agreed to sell the property through the sealed bid process and also agreed to allow Carroll to accept or deny any bids.
Carroll also answered questions from Dover over a pothole near the entrance to a truckstop in Palestine. According to Carroll, the large pothole is the responsibility of the county to repair and not the city.
"When the state came in and paved that portion of the road, it was agreed that the state would do the paving work and the county would maintain it," Carroll said.
Responding to those comments this morning, St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco asserted that the property might be the responsibility of the city of Palestine which annexed the property . "I'm in the process of finding out who's responsible for the road, but I've never heard of a city annexing property and not annexing the road in front of it," Cisco said.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
An accident in Colt this morning sent five people, two of them children, to area hospitals.
According to the state police, a 1998 Dodge Intrepid being driven by Darla Worley, no age given, of Colt, was traveling east on Arkansas 306, and apparently pulled into the path of a 1986 Freightliner dumptruck driven by Stanley Myers, 50, of Forrest City.
The truck struck the car, and overturned, dumping its load of dirt on the highway. It also slid into an unoccupied pickup parked at the Circle N Exxon, doing some damage.
Worley was airlifted to the Med in Memphis. So was an adult passenger in the car, Frank Frymire, no age given, of Colt. Their condition was still being determined this morning.
A third passenger in the car, 4-year-old Rebecca Worley, was flown to LeBonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis, where she was listed in satisfactory condition.
The car's fourth passenger, Sadie Worley, 12, was reported in stable condition at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Forrest City.
Myers, the driver of the truck, was taken to Crossridge Hospital in Wynne. There was no information on his condition at press time.
Cpl. Kelvin Stewart of the Arkansas State Police worked the accident.
By SHANNON NICKS
T-H Staff Writer
The Forrest City Advertising and Promotions Commission on Tuesday afternoon was asked to support a project that would help local groups promote the Forrest City School District when exposing the positive aspects of the community.
Richard Findley and Mary Pearson, members of the Forrest City Area Chamber of Commerce's Recruitment & Retention Committee requested funding to cover the printing expenses of brochures that would publicize the FCSD and its programs, along with each individual campus in the district.
No action was taken on the matter which was tabled until the August meeting.
In other business, commissioners learned that an elevator will soon be installed at the St. Francis County Museum.
Brad Beavers, representing the museum, told commissioners that the Federal Highway Administration has approved the architectural contract, and the Arkansas State Highway & Transportation Department has given the architect the notice to proceed with the addition of an elevator at the museum. Since receiving the notice, the architect has met with representatives of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Department concerning the preliminary design, which has also now been approved.
The architect is currently working on the detailed plans and specifications so that they may be included in the final plan, according to Beavers, who added that final plans and specifications are expected to be ready for submission to the appropriate agencies by the end of this month.
Commissioners were also updated on the 20th annual Mightymite scheduled for July 19 in Forrest City. An estimated 140 people have registered to participate in this event.