By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Representatives of the Kellogg Foundation were at Forrest City Junior High this morning, documenting progress made by Mid-South Middle Start in general, and the local junior high in particular.
"Mid-South Middle Start is a Kellogg initiative," said Ruthie Smith Stevenson, director of school improvement for Middle Start. "They are in the region, they wanted to visit one of the schools."
Mid-South Middle Start takes some schools in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana, working with the middle school or junior high level at each school.
Stevenson said Middle Start has three main goals, "that schools be academically excellent, developmentally responsible and socially equitable."
Involvement with Mid-South Middle Start began locally three years ago. A local committee was already meeting with the Kellogg Foundation, and Middle Start came on board in 2000. The first grant the school received was for $10,000, for the 2001-2002 school year. Since then there have been two, $8,000 grants, for a total of $26,000.
FCJHS Principal Billy Ferguson said there is more involved than money.
"What you don't see is, it's not the money so much," he said. "It's the support you've got, the research, and what they can provide. They provide other things than money directly."
It also includes having Dr. Mona Briggs as a "sort of resource provider, gofer, this that and the other," she laughed. "I facilitate the process, meet with teachers. When Billy needs something I try to get it. I observe in classrooms, I provide research articles and give examples of good books to put in the library. Name it, I pretty much try to do it."
The team from Kellogg is documenting the projects it has funded in this region. Karen Lake with the Kellogg Foundation said it has to do with an upcoming anniversary.
"Beginning in 2005, the Kellogg Foundation will be celebrating its 75th anniversary," she said. "And rather than putting the attention on us, what we want to do is put the attention back on the grantees we have funded over the past 25 years who have both created innovative projects and had a substantial impact on their community."
She said the Mid-South Middle Start program, of which FCJHS is part, "is showing great evidence of being able to make a difference in the Mid-South. So, we wanted to come here, talk to people, take a look at the project, and make sure we have materials we can share and really substantiate the work being done."
She continued, "I think teachers, schools and families are finding new ways of working together that are allowing them to teach children both intellectually and emotionally, and brining it all together so we end up with healthier students who do well in school and goes on to be productive citizens."
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
An investigation into finances for Manpower, Inc. which is the Title One Provider in the Eastern Arkansas Workforce Area has lead to nearly $130,000 in costs being questioned.
Officials with the Office of Financial Management Services of the Arkansas State Employment Security Department recently reviewed several items regarding a variety of allegations against Manpower, Inc.
One of the concerns centered around the role of Florine Bingham, who served as manager of the Forrest City One-Stop Center located at the Forrest City Employment Security Division. The questions focused on Bingham's employment as One-Stop manager while serving on the Workforce Investment Board of Eastern Arkansas. According to the report, Bingham was on the company's payroll and received benefits from the WIBEA funds while serving on the board. Her salary was deducted from funding that went to the Forrest City Area Chamber of Commerce, leaving the One-Stop Center paying for her benefits package.
The report also questioned whether the use of Bingham and Gary Slaughter of Wynne, who managed the West Memphis One-Stop Center, provided an inadequate "firewall" between the Workforce Investment Board due to Bingham's relationship with the board and the fact that Slaughter was an employee of the WIBEA while serving as center manager. Officials found that Slaughter's salary, combined with the $70,000 contract with the Chamber, a total of $117,250, were in question.
According to WIBEA executive director Sharon Williams, neither Bingham nor Slaughter are still employed as center mangers with One-Stop. Williams said this morning that the WIBEA has replied to the state's questions and requested a meeting.
"We've gone through the process of answering the questions that they had in a 15-page memo to the state. We're now awaiting a sit-down meeting with them so that we can come to a resolution on this. This is really a complicated matter, but we will get everything resolved," said Williams.
Chamber Executive Director Danny Ferguson did not return telephone calls this morning.
At a meeting of the Workforce board on Tuesday, St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco said that the concerns in the report were placed before the board.
"The meeting went fair, and there were several officials from Little Rock there to sit in and answer any questions. It was agreed that 11 of the elected officials in the counties covered by the WIBEA would meet with Wade Hardy (who serves as chairman of the WIBEA) and try to work on this before our next board meeting at the end of October," said Cisco.
Also attending Tuesday's meeting was Forrest City Mayor Larry Bryant. Bryant questioned board members on the number of employees placed in the Delta during the last several months.
"The meeting really went well, and I voiced the same concerns that I have had all the time, How many people are being placed in jobs in this area? I wanted to know how many jobs were being produced with the funds that are being spent in this area, and how many actual jobs were produced in the Delta under Manpower's tenure," said Bryant.
Mustang 17 has returned to the air for customers of Curtis Cable, according to Steve Murray, broadcasting teacher at Forrest City High School.
The Forrest City School District cable television station can be seen on channel 45 for cable customers in Caldwell, Colt, the Barrow Hill Road and Newcastle Road areas.
"This wouldn't have been possible without the help of Woodruff Electric Cooperative," Murray said. "For over a month, they have helped us change towers and install equipment. It has taken a lot of work, and I hope people will take the time to thank Billy Martin and the rest of the staff at Woodruff."
Murray said that electrical surges, probably caused by lightening, damaged transmission equipment used to get the Mustang 17 signal from Forrest City High School to the control room on Barrow Hill Road. The repeater system was previously mounted on the Arkansas State Police radio tower on Barrow Hill Road.
Woodruff removed the system from the state police tower.
"We didn't have any money to replace the damaged transmitters and receivers," Murray said, "but our superintendent, Mr. Lee Vent, helped us get the replacement equipment, and Grace Communications from Little Rock came and installed the system on three different occasions over the past three weeks this was through the assistance of Woodruff."
Mustang 17 is carried in Forrest City via a laser broadcast over fiber cable provided by East Arkansas Video, a project that was completed about five years ago. Within a year after that, Classic Cable, which serves Madison, Widener, Hughes and Horseshoe Lake, began carrying the station on Channel 42. Curtis Cable was added about two years ago, but electrical damaged interfered with the broadcast.
"We added surge suppressors through out-of-pocket expenses,
and the Woodruff tower has lightening arrestors. We hope all of
this helps solve the problems we've had. When one of the transmitters
or receivers goes out, it costs us $1,000 to replace, not counting
the labor to reinstall."
The ACE Beautification Committee, along with other Forrest City residents, will participate in the state-wide Keep Arkansas Beautiful Campaign on Saturday, Oct. 4, between 9 a.m. and noon.
The effort locally is being sponsored through the office of County Judge Carl Cisco, with Tracey Teal and Annie Washington serving as local coordinators.
Several groups have already volunteered to participate. Anyone else wishing to help with the cleanup should meet at the St. Francis County Courthouse at 9 a.m.
"The ACE Beautification Committee has been meeting the past several months to discuss ways to improve the overall appearance of Forrest City," said Steve Lawrence, chairman of the Beautification Component of the ACE Committee. "This event fits nicely into our agenda and major goal, which is to encourage greater community involvement in our city. The city does a good job, but we need to support their efforts by getting everybody to join in.
"This is not a one-day effort," Lawrence continued. "For all of us, as citizens of Forrest City, Clean-Up Day is an on-going job and it really makes a difference to visitors when they come into a city that is picked up and clean."