By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Although there are some admitted problems with the state's economy, not everything is negative, the director of the Arkansas Department of Economic Development said Tuesday night.
Speaking at the annual Forrest City Area Chamber of Commerce banquet, Jim Pickens said, "There are a lot of good things going on," in Arkansas.
"I think there are a lot of things in Arkansas to be proud of," he continued. "We don't have a thing to get ashamed of. Sometimes we might get the idea that the grass is greener somewhere else."
He said that since the turn of this century, a lot of things have happened which have contributed to "a less than robust economy, due to no one's fault in this room."
He said that at the turn of the century, hardly anyone had ever heard of Osama bin Laden, al Qaida, the names of executives at Enron and other scandal-ridden corporations, but added that these things together had an impact on the economy of the country, and of Arkansas. However, he said there are still good things going on in the state.
"There are five Fortune 500 companies that were born, bred and raised, and continue to be in Arkansas," he said. "That is more Fortune 500 companies, per capita, than California."
Pickens said efforts will continue to improve the state's economy, and mentioned the role of Rep. Danny Ferguson, D-Forrest City, who is also executive director of the local Chamber, in getting a proposed amendment on the November ballot to allow the Legislature to issue general obligation bonds to help recruit industry.
He said he used the acronym, PULL, to keep his mind focused on what needs to be done to insure economic development. PULL stands for "Partnerships, Unselfishness, Local initiative and Leadership."
He said the Forrest City area has all of those. "You've got a wealth of talent," he said.
Pickens also showed a film which highlighted Arkansas' diversity.
During the program, Rujay Burke, past Chamber president, was credited by Ferguson with having a difficult job, "the first full year after 9-11."
Burke said even though things were tough, a lot of hard work was done, and he presented Tiffany Billingsley, who worked with public relations for the Chamber during the year, with a special President's Choice award for her work.
Dr. Coy Grace, the new Chamber president, said he is impressed with the enthusiasm of the board members and expects great things for the coming year, including Forrest City's full participation in the A.C.E. program.
Also during the program, Tara Thomason gave a Power Point presentation on the Chamber's activities over the past year.
During the program, the St. Francis County Farm Family of the Year, the J.T. Jarrett and Sons Partnership, received recognition.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
The opening of two bids and the reading of two city ordinances dominated the discussion in a brief meeting of the Forrest City City Council Tuesday night.
A bid for a thermal imaging camera for the Forrest City Fire Department was opened with five companies throwing their names into the hat. The five companies who submitted bids were LEECO of Demascus, Pro Fire Equipment of Olive Branch, Miss., NAFCO of Decatur, Ala., Ferrara Fire Fighting Equipment of Holden, La. and ABATIX of Phoenix, Ariz. The apparent low bid of $9,545 was made by Ferrara. Fire Chief Dan Curtner was given the bids to decide which bid would best suit the needs of the department.
On another matter, ETC of Little Rock was the only company to submit its qualifications for engineering of the Southside pool project.
The first reading of an ordinance regarding the proposed Regional Airport was read. The ordinance, in part, forms the Delta Regional Airport Commission. The commission will consist of eight people, three members named by the mayors of Forrest City and Wynne respectively, and one member each appointed by the judges of St. Francis and Cross counties.
After the reading, Councilman Roger Breeding asked if the ordinance could be read a second time. A short discussion about if the reading was necessary at that time began. It was agreed that the second reading would be held at the next meeting.
Another ordinance was the second reading regarding a rezoning and variance request on the property of 727 East Garland. The request was brought forth by Kevin Lewey, representing Anna Marie Jones Hunter and Paulette Anderson, and was to rezone the property from a R-2 to a C-2 zone, as well as a variance request on the 20-foot landscape buffer. The council read the ordinance a third time and voted to approve the Planning Commission's suggestion for the rezoning and variance.
Councilman Cecil Twillie requested City Clerk Marie Todd give committee members guidelines of their duties. "I'd like a job description to be sent to the Expansion Committee," said Twillie. "We need to let them know what we are expecting them to do and what the extent of their responsibility is. It is hard for them to get to work if they don't know what they need to do."
Mayor Larry Bryant responded, " We gave them a general description of their duties when we meet with them. I don't see why we need to give them another." Despite Bryant's position on the matter, the council approved the request from Twillie.
Before closing, Bryant updated the council on the performance of the tornado warning system that was used on Monday due to the sighting of several funnel clouds over the city.
"The tornado warning system worked fine the other day," said Bryant. "We did find out that one of the drivers needs repairing, and we will have the company come out and fix it. It blew, but not as loud as it is supposed to. Everything else with the system ran smoothly."
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Over $18,000 was appropriated Tuesday night to cover the costs for a check mailed last week to Election Software and Systems in Omaha, Neb., for last May's primary elections.
By a 10-0 vote, justices approved the $18,730.45 appropriation which covered the expenses for the primary election. Questions arose last week when it was discovered that the payment had not been mailed after a check had been issued on May 1, to pay the bill, at the request of the budget committee.
"This was a bill that needed to be paid, and I was under the impression that it had been paid. The bill was so old that the company had threatened to stop printing ballots for the county and to halt maintenance," said budget committee chairman Henry Wilkinson.
Justice Evans Seawood, who approved of passing the measure, questioned why the bill was not paid when funds were appropriated for it in 2002.
"I know that we've got to pay this bill, but I've been on the election commission about getting everything straight for a year now, and I'm not letting this go. We're justices and we need to act as such. We appropriated the money to pay this bill last year, and it wasn't paid and we need to know why. I think someone is playing games, and they're playing games with this court," Seawood said.
In other business, justices approved an ordinance which appropriated $17,136.48 to the St. Francis County Assessor's Office. The funds will allow Assessor Craig Jones to hire a new employee to work with a program which will map out property in St. Francis County. The funding will also allow Jones to remove an employee from contract labor and transitioning that employee into a full-time position.
"I've had this lady working for me for two years, and she's been under contract labor the whole time. Because she's contract labor she doesn't receive any benefits nor any paid leave. She is a good employee, and I don't think that it would be right for me to create a new position which would be fulltime, but then leave her as contract labor," Jones told justices.
"I would like to thank the quorum court for the funds which will allow us to start a mapping program in St. Francis County. This program will revolutionize the way the assessor's office will do business in the future and will eventually, in some form, assist every taxpayer in this county. This court has in the past, and continues to, embrace progressive change for our county, and I appreciate their continued support for this office," he added.
Justices also approved an ordinance which will levy an additional $5 to each defendant who pleads guilty or nolo contendere in District Court. The funds will be used exclusively for maintenance operation and capitol expenditures at the St. Francis County Jail. County Attorney Fletcher Long Jr., told justices that he had questions regarding the ordinance, but did not oppose it.
"I have some reservations, and I don't know if the legislative branch of government should be telling the judicial branch how to levy fines against defendants. There may be some legal repercussions involved, but until the Arkansas Supreme Court decides otherwise, this is a legal move," Long said.
An act passed by the Arkansas Legislature earlier this year allowed the ordinance to be created.
By TAMARA JOHNSON
Managing Editor
An elderly Colt man accused of raping two young children is free on bond after a court order entered in St. Francis County Circuit Court on Tuesday changed the status of his bond.
John D. Easley, 72, was being held on a $25,000 cash bond in the St. Francis County Jail until his attorney, Randal Miller of Jonesboro, reached an agreement Tuesday with the First Judicial District Prosecutor's office to change Easley's bond from cash to $35,000 aggregate. The move basically means Easley was able to post the required 10 percent of his bond, or $3,500, through a bail bondsman and was released from jail until his next court appearance scheduled for August.
Easley was first arrested on Jan. 31 for the rape of a six-year-old boy, and his bond was set at $35,000 during an appearance in St. Francis County District Court. Easley posted that bond, and was freed on the original rape charge until his second rape arrest on Feb. 28 for the alleged rape of a five-year-old girl. At that time, he was freed on a $50,000 bond until an appearance in district court where his bond was changed to a $25,000 cash bond on March 3, and he had been held in the county jail since that time.
The St. Francis County Sheriff's Department reported that Easley was a family acquaintance of both victims.
The court order also requires the suspect to relocate to Pulaski County and to cease contact with the victims and their families.
Deputy Prosecutor Chris Morledge, who signed the order along with Miller and Circuit Court Judge Harvey Yates, said of Easley, "Constitutionally, he is entitled to a bond."
However, the mother of the girl victim, who is upset by the move, said both families were subpoenaed to appear in court Tuesday, but when they arrived at the courthouse, learned the case had been continued until August.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Voters in Palestine and Wheatley cast ballots Tuesday, which will transfer 13.1 debt service mills to Maintenance and Operations to meet the 25.0 mill requirement being enforced by the Arkansas Supreme Court's ruling in the Lake View funding case.
St. Francis County and Monroe County voters passed the measure by a 50-to-21 margin yesterday after some confusion at the beginning of the process.
According to St. Francis County Election Commissioner Bettye Proctor, questions arose over the voter roster when the names of some Monroe County citizens who live in the school district could not be found in the election books. According to Proctor, the voters from Monroe County have voted in school elections for several years, and after a short delay, corrections were made and the election ran smoothly.
St. Francis County Clerk Elizabeth Smith said this morning that Monroe County should have been contacted regarding the election so that books could have been properly formulated and so that voters in that area could have voted during early voting.
"I really think that both the school district and the election commission share fault in this because Monroe County should have been notified. There's no way that I can know who is or isn't a registered voter in Monroe County because I don't have the records for that county," Smith said.
According to Monroe County Clerk Janet Tweedle, there were no ballots in Monroe County because her office was never notified of the special election.
"I had no idea that an election was being held because they never came and got the binder for those voters who live in the Palestine Wheatley School District. I didn't know anything about the election until this morning when I received a call from the St. Francis County Clerk's office inquiring about our election results which we didn't have because we didn't hold an election," Tweedle said.