By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
With Halloween tomorrow, area children and adults will be out collecting treats, and Forrest City Police Department Chief Clarence McNeary wants everyone to know the times which the city suggests for Trick-or-Treating.
"We are suggesting that children trick-or-treat between 5 and 7 p.m.," said McNeary. "That time is set for their safety and it also gives them a chance to get home from school, get changed into their costumes."
McNeary also stated that motorists should be careful Friday, and not just between 5 and 7 p.m. "Motorists should be alert and use extra care. A lot of people will be out before and after the hours the city suggests. Just keep a lookout and use caution. That also goes for trick-or-treaters. They need to be very careful when crossing streets. They need to stay visible."
Some other agencies have provided Halloween tips as well. The Red Cross has released some safety tips for parents to share with their trick-or-treaters.
* Plan the route for trick or treating and share it with your family. If possible, an adult should accompany children.
* Wear light-colored or reflective-type clothing so you are more visible (And remember to put reflective tape on bikes and skateboards too).
* Use face paint rather than masks or things that will impair vision.
* Cross the street only at corners.
* Look both ways before crossing the street to check for cars, trucks and other vehicles.
* Don't hide or cross the street between parked cars.
* Walk on sidewalks; not in the street.
* Keep away from open fires and candles (Keep in mind that costumes can be extremely flammable).
* Accept treats at the door and never go into a stranger's house.
* Be cautious of strangers and animals.
* Grown-ups should inspect treats before children eat them; don't eat candy if the package is already opened.
* Small, hard pieces of candy are a choking hazard for young children.
For information about training to respond to first aid and choking emergencies that may arise during trick-or-treating," call 1-866-GET-INFO, or visit www.redcross.org.
The office of the Attorney General Mike Beebe also offered some guidelines to help ensure a safe and happy Halloween:
* Wear a watch that can be read in the dark.
* Have someone in your group take a cell phone if possible.
* Keep homemade treats only if you are certain who prepared it.
* Cut open all fruit and inspect for foreign objects , like razor blades.
* Notify the police of any suspicious treats.
* Make sure you child knows what time to be home and that you expect him or her on time.
* Carry a flashlight.
* Allow your child to trick or treat only at homes of friends or neighbors you know personally.
A BB gun made to look similar to a real handgun is raising concerns with local law enforcement after two children have recently been caught in possession of the weapons.
Forrest City Police Department Criminal Investigation Division Lt. Dwight Duch said police are mainly concerned with the Walther BB pistol (inset) because its appearance is similar to that of a real handgun. "As you can tell by the photograph, there is no indication that this is a BB gun just by its looks," Duch said.
City ordinance No. 841 prohibits the discharge of any weapon in the Forrest City city limits. According to Duch, the law states, "it is unlawful for any person to discharge any pistol, air pistol, shotgun, BB gun, air rifle, pellet gun, other rifle or any firearm of any kind, within the city." People violating the ordinance can be fined not less than $10 and not more than $100, according to the law.
Although it is illegal to discharge any type of weapon inside the city limits, police still urge parents to supervise their children as they are learn to shoot any weapon. "If you have a BB gun for your kids, supervise them when they use the weapon, and lock it up when it's not being used," Duch said.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Something new in criminal justice will open in Forrest City next week -- a drug court, part of a pilot program being tried throughout the state.
When all are running, there will be 25 drug courts. If the program proves successful, eventually every county in the state could have its own drug court.
According to Circuit Court Judge Ben Story, who along with his regular duties will also serve as the drug court judge in St. Francis County, the program has three objectives.
The first is to assist non-violent offenders in changing their lifestyle. The second is to protect citizens from the effects of crime. The third, from a financial standpoint, is to reduce the jail and prison population.
The program will not take violent offenders. A good candidate for the program must also be in a position where the choices are the program, or incarceration in the state prison system.
"A first-time, simple possession offender would not be a candidate," he said, because those are rarely sent to prison.
The window is fairly narrow. A candidate must be charged with an offense that is somehow drug-related, but not violent.
"Perhaps it's a person charged with possession with intent to sell methamphetamine," he said. "Or perhaps it could be a person who has 25 hot check charges, and those hot check charges are the result of the need to support a drug habit.
"A typical candidate would be one who has gotten a suspended imposition of sentence and gets in criminal trouble again, facing a revocation of the suspended sentence," said Story.
There is some screening done before a person is accepted into the drug court system, according to Story. An attorney or public defender must first recommend the person for the program to the prosecuting attorney, who then investigates the defendant's background.
Eventually a team, made up of the judge, the prosecutor, public defender, counselor and supervisor/probation officer, meets and decides if the person is a good candidate.
Story said that if a defendant is accepted, that person first must plead guilty to the charges in drug court and receive a deferred sentence. He or she is then put into an intensive program lasting a minimum of 15 months. The program includes regular meetings with the judge and other officers and random drug testing. The participant must also show progress. A person who falters may spend a weekend in jail, or be dismissed from the program. That could mean a revocation hearing and a prison sentence.
"They have to work hard," said Story.
For the program participant, there are two incentives: First, the hope to eliminate drug dependence; and second, the opportunity to have the charges dismissed.
By TAMARA JOHNSON
Managing Editor
Five kilos of cocaine were found hidden inside a gas tank during a traffic stop Wednesday evening on Interstate 40, just east of Forrest City.
A trooper with Arkansas State Police Troop D in Forrest City stopped a Ford pickup, driven by Mike Martel III, 38, of Grand Prairie, Texas, about 5 p.m. near the 246 eastbound mile marker after observing the Ford and an unknown Chevrolet pickup traveling side-by-side for several miles, hindering the flow of traffic, according to the report. The Chevrolet truck was not stopped.
After issuing Martel a warning for left lane usage (impeding traffic), the trooper obtained consent to search the truck. After raising the bed mat, the trooper noticed the truck bed and gas tank had recently been removed, and called for backup from other troopers who helped search the truck. The cocaine was found wrapped in plastic inside one of two locked gas tanks. The drugs, according to ASP Capt. Nathaniel Jackson, have an estimated street value of $100,000.
Martel is charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and endangering the welfare of a minor. A female passenger and a five-year-old child were also in the vehicle. The female was not charged.
According to the report, Martel told police he was being paid $300 to take the drugs to a rest area on Interstate 55.
The St. Francis Community Development Corp. will conduct an Education Reform Workshop Thursday, Nov. 6, from 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the Forrest City Cyber Cafe, 500 S. Rosser.
The workshop will cover the following subjects: Education organizing as a way to change lives; quality of relationships -- how children and parents are treated; quality of teaching and relationships; and implications for education.
For parents who wish to bring their children, there will be activities. Refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Pakita Jones at 630-9131.
The fourth annual Haunted History Tours will begin at 7 tonight at the St. Francis County Museum.
Museum Director Laura Mazzanti said the event is an opportunity to bring some of the county's "spookier history" to life, as storytellers share tales about the county's past, "but with a scary twist." The stories this year will focus on the museum's home, the historic Rush-Gates House.
Admission for the event is 50 cents for children and $1 for adults. All proceeds will be applied to the museum.
St. Francis County residents who have been called for the current term of circuit court are reminded to call the circuit clerk's office Monday night for jury information.
SFC Circuit Court Clerk Bette Green said civil trials are set to begin on Tuesday, Nov. 4, in this term of court over which Circuit Court Judge Harvey Yates is to preside.
According to Green, some of the same jurors who were called for the August and September terms of court should call for information, along with residents who have just recently been notified of jury duty.
Jurors should call Green's office, toll-free, at 1-800-498-3529 or in Forrest City, 633-2035.
The annual Rice Tasting Luncheon, sponsored by the St. Francis County Farm Bureau Women's Committee, will be held Friday, Oct. 31 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., at the Family Life Center of First United Methodist Church in Forrest City. Admission is $5.
The annual Rice Cook-off will be held also, with the following categories of entries: Salads, vegetables, main dish, desserts to international cuisine and miscellaneous.
Dishes should be brought to First United Methodist between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Oct. 31. Winners will be announced at noon. There will be three winners in each division. There will be cash prizes.
Sales tax receipts for September have been published by the Arkansas Municipal League.
St. Francis County coffers received $140,736.82 from its sales tax. In addition, cities in the county received the following amounts from the county tax: Hughes, $27,893.38; Forrest City, $220,726.72; Wheatley, $5,557.76; Palestine, $11,070.70; Madison, $14,746; Caldwell, $6,947.20; Colt, $5,498.
In addition, the following amounts were reported from cities with their own sales taxes: Forrest City, $152,373.75; Hughes, $8,615.21; Madison, $1,935.77; Palestine, $6,369.12; Wheatley, $4,042.97.