By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
St. Francis County is making an effort to collect past due fines for criminal offenses from over 300 individuals.
Circuit Court Judge Harvey Yates has set the date for cleaning up of past due fines for Monday, May 19. It is the last chance some of these people may have to pay their penalty or possibly serve jail time, according to officials at the St. Francis County Courthouse.
Chris Morledge, Deputy Prosecutor for St. Francis County, offered some background on the crackdown and how it came about. "When a defendant comes through for sentencing and they plead, generally they are given a fine plus court costs," said Morledge. "Generally, they are non-violent offenses, such as violation of the hot check law. They are sometimes other offenses that are given SIS (suspended imposition of sentence) or parole. When they sign their plea agreement, they are given a time frame to pay what they owe, which is generally 60 days, but that can depend on their ability to pay.
"After that period, the state has the authority to issue a petition for commitment, which is literally a commitment to the St. Francis County Jail. The first way to serve the notice is to have a sheriff's deputy serve them, a personal serving. The other way, the way we chose, is to run a public notice in the newspaper once a week for two consecutive weeks with all names of the individuals that have petitions ordered for them and when they are to appear."
Morledge added that extensions could be issued on the May 19 deadline, under certain circumstances, and any extensions will be determined by the court. However, those extensions will be rare.
Annie Washington, the fine collector for the county, commented that some cases go back several years. "The oldest fine I have on my list is from 1987. Many of the people have moved away from here, and when I talk to them, they say that they just forgot to pay. I check each case individually and try to make arrangements Swith them on payments. Some people have a hard time paying, and we try to work with them as much as we can."
Washington stated that an accurate amount of past due fines could not be determined since some fines had been paid on, but not paid in full, and the addition of newer fines that are not past due would create a misleading number.
Bette Green, SFC Circuit Court Clerk, said that since the first notice ran in the Times-Herald, her office has received many inquires. "Since April 29, we have had many people stop by the office or call to find out what they can do and seem willing to pay their fine. It is alarming how many unpaid fines are out there."
Green offered some thoughts on why so many fines are listed as past due. "With the current state of the economy, some people may have a hard time paying their fines, but it is ultimately the responsibility of the people to pay their fines or contact the Fine Collector to make arrangements to pay." She also stated that, in her opinion, when fines build up to this level, the court must address the issue.
Morledge offered his thoughts on the large amount of fines. "Annie is the first fine collector I can remember who has done an inventory on the fines. We have had collectors in the past that you wouldn't even know were here. She has done a great job working with something that she didn't cause."
Yates said many factors will determine what penalty for non-payment of fines an individual might receive. "It depends on a lot of things," said Yates. "Some of them are your ability to pay the fine and another is whether you have made an effort to pay the fine. Many times, people do not show up to the hearing. Those who do not show up will have an order of commitment issued for them, and when they are caught, the amount of the fine might be set as their bond so that the fine will be cleared."
According to St. Francis County Chief Jailer Doris Halbert, housing in the jail costs $28 per day per inmate. If just half of the estimated 300 defendants do not show up for their hearing on Monday, it will cost the SFC taxpayer $4,200 per day to house them. While in jail, they "earn" $10 per day towards their fine. According to Morledge, the average fine is $500, which means 50 days in jail. Minus the $10 they are credited towards their fine that could cost the county $2,700 per day. Morledge said that is not the goal of the special day set aside to collect fines.
"We don't want them in jail, we want their fine money.
Most of those who owe have the money or access to the money. We
want to clear them from our system and receive the fines that
they agreed to pay," Morledge said, also noting that the
state cannot force the payment of restitution. He said while payment
of restitution can be ordered on the original plea, it cannot
be collected on a petition of commitment.
By TAMARA JOHNSON
Managing Editor
A Forrest City man charged in the death of a friend during an alcohol-related accident last March has been ordered to perform community service.
Michael W. Smith, 24, 923 Cherry St., Forrest City, was arrested on March 28, 2002, on charges of careless prohibitive driving, driving while intoxicated, first offense and negligent homicide, after flipping his 1998 GMC Jimmy in a curve on Highway 284 about 10:30 p.m. Smith, and a passenger, Chris L. Leary, 20, were thrown from the truck which flipped over twice after Smith failed to negotiate the curve, according to court records.
Leary was pronounced dead at the scene, and Smith was treated and released at a local hospital.
Smith pled not guilty to the charges last May, but withdrew that plea during proceedings in St. Francis County Circuit Court on Wednesday when the charges of careless prohibitive driving and driving while intoxicated were merged into the negligent homicide charge.
Deputy Prosecutor Chris Morledge said the prosecutor's office had met with the victim's family and a representative of Mother's Against Drunk Driving to discuss "mitigating circumstances" in the case that led the state to recommend the sentence Smith received.
Circuit Court Judge Harvey Yates sentenced Smith to one year probation and ordered him to perform five hours of community service by speaking to area high school and junior high school students on the effects of consumption of alcohol and driving.
A negligent homicide charge, a Class D felony, carries a penalty
of up to six years in prison and/or a fine not to exceed $10,000,
and/or any such other probation or conditions as may be imposed
by law, according to court records.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
General funding for the St. Francis County Museum was addressed by the Forrest City Advertising and Promotions Commission on Tuesday afternoon.
The group questioned how the facility is funded after Museum Director Laura Mazzanti requested the group provide partial funding for the museum's new webpage.
"We have a new website, www.sfcmuseum.org, that has been running since the middle of March," said Mazzanti. "We have found that these days if you want to attract tourists, you need a webpage. I'm asking for $1,000 to help fund the site for a year. We are going to raise an additional $1,400 that we need for the total cost of the project, which is $2,400. This includes the set up for the site and all monthly payments."
Mazzanti then spoke of the tracking of visitors at the website. "From the 21st of March, when the site came online, until the end of the month, the site had 4,113 hits, or visitors. Of that number, 819 were what are called 'Unique Visitors', which means they found the site and stayed to look at the site. That is a good start."
When asked if the number of visitors to the museum had risen since the introduction of the website, Mazzanti said that she had no numbers to support that with her, but could present them after the meeting.
Member Bill Ellis then voiced concern in funding the project. "I'm not against funding the museum, but it is the St. Francis County Museum, not the Forrest City Museum. I would like to see where Forrest City is benefiting from the funding. I would like to see numbers that tell us that the money that we have spent has had an impact either way on the number of visitors who have come to the museum."
Chairman Kem Merrill said he felt that any impact should be viewed after a year. "I would like to fund this for a year and have a month-by-month comparison from this year to last year to see if the visitor numbers have risen."
The commission voted to surpass Mazzanti's request, funding
the project up to $2,500 for one year.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
Wrestling may make a return to Hughes in the near future, Don Bass, of PWA Wrestling, told members of the Hughes City Council this week.
Bass requested permission to rent the city's recreational center to host shows for the area.
"The success of our shows will not be overnight," said Bass. "It is something that builds up over time, and with word of mouth. Once people know that we perform here, the crowds we draw will grow.
"Our group works mainly in small towns where there might not be much else to do and that have a building which holds from 300 to 400 people. We would love to bring back wrestling to Hughes and help you by bringing in some money to the city." Bass was asked to provide contact names from other cities that the PWA has recently performed in so that they could get a better sense of their program. Bass agreed to provide the information before the next meeting.
Edward Watts, who also addressed the council in January, again discussed the city allowing his group, which he has yet to identify, to have access to a city building for use as a recreational facility. Watts also asked the city for a $25,000 grant to get his organization started. Following his presentation, Watts left the meeting.
City attorney Jerry Roberts gave his view on the situation. "As far as a grant for his recreation center, I don't believe it is legal for us to fund a non-profit organization. The City of Hughes doesn't have money to fund grants. There are certain things you can and cannot do with the taxpayers money. In my opinion, it leaves the city open for a lawsuit if we give him the grant he is asking for. It is not my decision, because I'm not on the council, but it is my feeling that we can't legally do it."
Councilman Rudolph Robinson showed support for Watts, but also agreed with Roberts. "I agree with what Mr. Watts is trying to do with the center, but I also agree with our city attorney that it might leave us open for a lawsuit. I would like us to have it drawn up on paper by our attorney exactly why we can't legally give him a grant. That way Mr. Watts will know for sure that we can't give him a grant and why we can't."
The council agreed and asked Roberts to bring legal proof to the next meeting and to invite Watts to attend. No decision was made on Watts' request for the use of a building.
Before adjourning, Mayor Donnie Mooney discussed two projects he would like to see started in the city.
"I would like to start a small library in Hughes," stated Mooney. "There is a small building that we own near the community center that I think would be perfect for one. I have been contacted by some citizens in town who say they could run it with volunteers. Another project is cleaning the old jail out and turning it into a historic site. It is my understanding that we can get money from small grants to fund the project. Hughes is going downhill and we need to do something different. There are people in this community who are willing to support us in these projects and to help make Hughes a cleaner place."
Drugs were found in a Cotton Plant man's possession when he was arrested for disorderly conduct Wednesday.
According to a Forrest City Police Department report, there was a 911 call stating that a woman was trying to get out of a moving vehicle. The vehicle eventually stopped in the parking lot of Baptist Memorial Hospital-Forrest City.
The officer on the scene reported a man and woman were in the vehicle, and the door was open. The man was allegedly screaming at the woman. The officer told the woman to get out of the car.
According to the report, the man, identified as Kevin Banks, 42, of Cotton Plant, was crying, screaming and cursing.
Banks was arrested for disorderly conduct, and then police found a total of 9.5 grams of methamphetamine on his person. He was also charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia.