Cara McCollum, a fifth grade student at Central Elementary in Forrest City, has received the 2002-2003 Nicholas Green Distinguished Student award for the state of Arkansas. The award is presented by the National Association for Gifted Children.
The award is named after Nicholas Green, a gifted student who, at age 7, was killed in a drive-by shooting in 1994, while vacationing with his family in Italy. His parents, Reg and Maggie Green, donated all of Nicholas' organs, and also donated the funds they had been saving for his college education to the NAGC to fund the annual awards.
Only one student in each state, who is in the third to sixth grade group, can receive the award, which shows special ability in academics, the arts or leadership. The award brings with it a $500 U.S. Savings Bond and a certificate of excellence form the NAGC.
McCollum was chosen for her devotion and help to animals. She started her own business and gave money to the local Humane Society and to the Heifer Project. She has spoken to civic groups, developed a pet calendar, pet pictures and dog treats to sell. She has written letters and promoted a Pooch Parade, formed P.A.L.S. (Pet Animal Lovers Society) and printed a monthly newsletter called Pooch Prints. She is considering a career as a veterinarian.
She was nominated by her Gifted/Talented teacher, Marna Gardner.
She is the daughter of Rick and Maureen McCollum.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Gov. Mike Huckabee's announcement Thursday that there will not be another special session until this fall was welcomed by Rep. Danny Ferguson.
"The governor did survey legislators within the last couple of weeks, and asked if they wanted to have a June or July special session," Ferguson said. "My response was that I'd prefer to wait."
Being a member of the Arkansas Legislature is not a full-time job, and it takes a lot of time from a member's profession and family, according to Ferguson.
"We had budget meetings starting last October, a regular session from January to April, and then came back for a special session," he said. "The legislators need to catch up on work and home life. I'm relieved that we're not coming back in June or July. I know it might make a bigger load in September, but that's my preference."
He said the regular session and the one special session called shortly afterwards were "pretty intense. And people in the Legislature sacrifice a lot of personal life. You come home on weekends, and it's not for rest. You come home and work, missing your child's ball games and parent-teacher conferences. I think it's time to give everybody a break."
According to an Associated Press story, legislation to create a liability insurance pool and set limits on civil damages in lawsuits against nursing homes was the biggest loser when the regular session ended with final action pending on hundreds of bills.
The bill had passed the House and Senate after weeks of discussions and changes, and needed only a House concurrence to a Senate amendment to be sent to the governor's desk.
Other bills that died with the session included one to require parental consent before a minor can have an abortion and another intended to protect poultry growers in contract negotiations.
Ferguson said that while education would be the main topic of the fall session, the governor would be calling the shots on what else might be included.
"It will strictly be the governor's call in a special session," he said. "Of course, the Legislature can add items with a super majority vote, but on a controversial issue, it's hard to meet that threshold."
According to the AP, lawmakers intentionally did not pass legislation proposing major education reforms, preferring to concentrate on the issue in a special session planned for this fall, after a special committee issues recommendations on what constitutes an adequate education in Arkansas and the cost of providing it.
Legislators expect to respond to a state Supreme Court decision last November that declared the state's public school funding formula unconstitutional.
The unanimous decision affirmed a lower court decision Arkansas distributes $1.7 billion in school aid unequally and that that, overall, school funding was inadequate.
The high court gave the Legislature until next Jan. 1 to institute remedies that provide adequate educational opportunities for all of the state's 450,000 public school students.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Several St. Francis and Cross County residents were honored Thursday, for their desire to better themselves through the Literacy Council of St. Francis County.
Students and instructors alike were honored and recognized at the Forrest City Civic Center last night for their achievements over the past year. Thursday's festivities celebrated the 15th annual ceremony for the council.
Forrest City Mayor Larry S. Bryant and St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco were both on-hand to assist last night's honorees before the crowd of close to 100.
"It's great to see this many people out here tonight. The crowd is growing for this event which means that the council is helping more and more people, and that's what a night like this is all about," said Bryant.
First Judicial District Judge L.T. Simes III was the featured speaker for the event and congratulated the audience on their work and their efforts to increase their knowledge.
"Because of what you all do and what this organization has done, many people have been helped, and that's the most important thing. You're helping people increase their education, and these are people who are seeking to better themselves. Your family program is also special because it helps these mommas go to school or to work. Many times we get things wrong in this country, but this is one of those times when we've gotten it right," Simes said.
Simes told the audience that in his line of work, many of the people that he has to sentence to prison have one thing in common they are high school dropouts.
"The one common thread amongst the people that come before me is that they, at some point, gave up on education and dropped out of school. I'm willing to say that 95 percent of the people that I sentence are in that position. You all have made the decision to reverse that and go back, and you should be honored for that," Simes said.
Special honors were given during the banquet to the Literacy Student and Tutor of the Year. Joyce Worley was presented the student of the year award, and Jackie Wisbrock, who has over 250 hours with the Literacy Council, was named Tutor of the Year. Wisbrock teaches reading and English as a second language.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The West Helena landfill took center stage Thursday during a meeting of the East Arkansas Regional Solid Waste Management District.
The landfill was granted a conditional certificate of need for Eaton-Moery Environmental Services Inc., the landfill operators, which will allow them to continue to operate if they meet specifications handed down from the EARSWMD. The conditional certificate of need was granted on the basis that a pending Consent Administrative Order be satisfactorily settled and that a lawsuit filed by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality be dropped within a period of 120 days from Thursday's board action.
According to a representative of EMS, the company is currently negotiating with the ADEQ which will allow them to meet those criteria.
EMS was also at the center of questions asked by West Helena Mayor Johnny Weaver. Weaver questioned the EARSWMD about the regulations governing dumping within the district. According to Weaver, a St. Francis County garbage contractor has recently bypassed the West Helena landfill and dumped in West Memphis.
Richard Spelic with EARSWMD told board members that the district had been allowing haulers to "make their own calls" due to conditions at the landfill.
"We've been down to the landfill and taken a look at the roads in and out of there, and they can be hazardous. There is no way that we can send someone from Jonesboro every time it rains to make that determination, so yes, we have been leaving it up to the contractors. If you have three-quarters of an inch of rain down there then you really do have some safety issues," Spelic said.
County judges from both St. Francis and Lee counties also commented on problems cited by area garbage carriers. According to St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco, earlier this month he instructed county hauler King Disposal to contact EARSWMD to get approval to bypass the landfill to dump at an alternate site.
"When we got all of that rain, our hauler called us and I told him to call you (EARSWMD) and get approval to dump in Crittenden County," Cisco said.
Weaver questioned whether approval was also granted to dump on clear days. "Even if it's a clear day and the hauler has to be pulled in by tractor or backhoe then it's unsafe and possibly costly for the company," said Lee County Judge Jim Keasler.
According to Keasler, the Lee County garbage carrier had voiced concerns over the conditions.
Members of the committee took no action on Weaver's complaint.