By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
A man who knows first-hand the dangers of smokeless tobacco shared his personal experience with students in the Palestine-Wheatley School District this week.
Rick Bender, a member of the Oral Health America's National Spit Tobacco Education Program, told students he began using the smokeless product as a child.
"At age 12, I began using spit tobacco," said Bender. "I call it spit tobacco because smokeless tobacco makes it sound harmless. Everyone thinks of cigarettes when the issue of the dangers of tobacco are brought up. Smoking is harmful, I always knew that.
"A company had a slogan 'have a pinch, not a puff', and I bought into it. I never wanted a cigarette. They make your breath stink. I thought spit tobacco was safer. I was wrong," Bender added.
Bender was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 26. In April of 1989, he underwent his first surgery to remove the cancer. During the next two years, he had two more surgical procedures that resulted in a loss of 33 percent of his tongue, 50 percent of his jaw, partial use of his right arm and he almost lost his life. He is still fighting the effects of his cancer.
Bender talked about the influences that caused him to begin his tobacco use.
"There were several things in my life that influenced me to use tobacco. Probably the biggest was the game of baseball. I played and saw many of my idols growing up using the stuff."
Since his last operation, Bender said he has dedicated his life to educating others about spit tobacco that, according to him, is widely thought of as a safe alternative to smoking. He has also worked with the office of the Surgeon General of the United States and Major League Baseball.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Using a scenario that they hope never comes true, emergency workers and the Forrest City School District suffered through a tornado drill Wednesday, made as realistic as they could get it.
Involved along with the schools were the Office of Emergency Services (Bill Dooley), 911 Coordinator Linda Threat, plus Baptist Memorial Hospital-Forrest City and the hospital's paramedics, Forrest City Police, the Forrest City Fire Department, and the St. Francis County Search and Rescue team.
"In case we do ever have some kind of catastrophe, we wanted to test ourselves to see how fast we could get mobilized," said Lisa Drake, R.N. director of health services for the school district and coordinator between the schools and the community resources.
The scenario was created ahead of time, and at 9 a.m., Dr. Alice Barnes, deputy superintendent of the district, faxed the scenarios to each school, as to what was happening at their campuses as the fictional tornado hit. The campus of Lincoln School was supposedly hit directly by the tornado, but every school was affected in some way.
"At Madison, the tornado went over them, so they did a drop and cover," said Drake.
Stewart Elementary was evacuated. Buses were mobilized, and all the children were taken to the Municipal Ball Park, which was considered a safe area.
At Forrest Hills, there were homes damaged in the area, and students also had to evacuate to one side of the building. Caldwell Elementary also had some damage, with the roof on one side of the building collapsing. The eighth grade building sustained damage and classes had to be rearranged.
"Central Elementary and the high school had a scenario in which the tornado derailed a train that had a chemical on it, and the chemical was leaking," said Drake. "So we had to lock down those two campuses. No kids would be allowed outside where they might breathe dangerous fumes until the Haz-Mat people identified the chemical."
All participants will have a meeting soon to go over the drill, view the tapes made by Mustang 17 and critique the overall performance.
"All the emergency agencies are going to view and critique what we as a school might have done differently, or what the fire department or anyone else might have done to make it better. It's in case we ever really have a crisis," Drake said.
While much of the drill was "organized chaos," as she put it, she said she was happy with the drill.
"I was really pleased," she said, adding that she was at Lincoln, where the fictional tornado did major damage and caused many injuries.
"We had all our children and victims accounted for within 27 minutes, and that's pretty good when there were 700 people involved."
Also tested was a student check-out system. It was designed to help any parents who happened came to the school to find their children as quickly and easily as possible.
"And our kids were so good," Drake said. "They just minded and listened. They took it seriously and weren't clowning."
Much of the action was taped by Mustang 17, and will be shown on cable TV. However, Drake said the tapes would also be used for the Emergency providers to provide documentation that they had taken part in a drill.
She had praise for everyone involved.
"I was just impressed with our kids and our teachers,
the cafeteria workers and custodians, and the emergency workers,"
she said.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
An effort to find people who are interested in teaching Arkansas students is being led by a new organization under the Arkansas Department of Education.
TeachArkansas will come to Forrest City High School on Tuesday, May 13, at 6 p.m. in the hopes of recruiting people from all walks of life to become a teacher in the state.
"Basically, we recruit teachers to teach across the state," said Jamie Goss, Recruitment Director of TeachArkansas. "We serve 13 areas in Eastern Arkansas, including St. Francis County, and 32 areas statewide. We are looking for current teachers, new teachers and people currently in other careers who would like to come to Arkansas.
"Some of the teachers are from out of state, but others are retired teachers or people with teaching degrees, but are not active. We help them get into programs to begin teaching. With people who do not have degrees in teaching, we help them get into the non-traditional licensee program. This program helps those with college degrees in other areas to receive the training they need to teach."
Goss commented on what those attending on Tuesday can expect to learn. "We will share information that we have and will provide people with applications for our programs. One of the best sources of information is our website, www.teacharkansas.org. You can apply online and find out more about our programs."
Several properties throughout St. Francis County are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and are being highlighted this week as part of Historic Preservation Week.
"The theme of the week is "Preserving the Spirit of Place," said Arkansas Historic Preservation Program Director Ken Grunewald. "We hope all of the people of Arkansas will take time to reflect on the importance of their local historic sites, especially those listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In St. Francis County, there are nine properties that have been identified for their historical value to the residents.
Four locations are in Forrest City. They are:
Stuart Springs, the 1905 park surrounds three springs that once provided the town's water, was placed on the register in 1977.
Mann House, located at 422 Forrest St., is a 1932 Charles L. Thompson Colonial Revival design. It was placed on the register in 1982.
Forrest City High School, now the district's administration building on Rosser Street, is a 1915 Classical Revival school building, and was placed on the register in 1992.
First United Methodist Church, 101 S. Izard St., a 1917 Classical Revival-style structure, was placed on the register in 1994.
Two properties located in Madison are on the register.
The St. Francis River Bridge on Highway 70, which spans across the St. Francis River, was a 1933 swing bridge, and was placed on the register in 1990.
The Scott Bond Family Plot, just south of Highway 70, contains remains of Scott Winfield Bond, a former slave who rose to social prominence and became a self-made millionaire. The plot was placed on the registry in 2002.
In Colt, the William Stone House at the intersection of Highway 306 and Ellis Lane, was placed on the register in 1992. The 1900 home is a Colonial Revival and features Folk Victorian details.
In Wheatley, the Smith House on Memphis Avenue is a 1919 Thompson Craftsman design, and was placed on the register in 1982.
The Blackfish Lake Ferry Site, a ferry crossing on the Memphis to Little Rock Road, was used during Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Creek removals of the 1830s. This site was placed on the registry in April of this year.