By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Two subjects -- a new security fence and the installation of navigational aids -- were discussed at Monday's meeting of the Forrest City Airport Commission.
At its last meeting, the commission conditionally accepted the low bid, from Capital Fence of Little Rock, for $165,925, to replace the airport's current perimeter fence and install security gates. The bid was turned over to engineer Dan Clinton for study.
At Monday's meeting, commission chairman Bill Hays showed a letter from the Federal Aviation Administration which concurs with the engineer's recommendation to accept the Capital Fence bid.
The discussion centered on a request by Capital Fence that it be allowed to tear down the existing fence entirely before starting on the new fence. Hays said he would be reluctant to allow that to happen to the fence along the road. However, he said he did not think it would cause a problem on the back side of the airport.
Commission member Homer Jacobs said that originally, the fence along the back side had not been for security as much as it was to keep cows from wandering onto the runway. He said cows aren't a factor in that area today.
In the end, it was the consensus of the commission that Capital Fence could tear out the back part of the fence, but leave the part of the fence facing the roadway until the company was ready to begin immediately on the new fence.
When the job is completed, there will be 11,900 feet of seven-foot chain link fence, 400 feet of six-foot chain link fence along with one 12-foot double swing gate and one 10-foot motorized cantilever gate with key pads.
There was also discussion of when the airport's runway should be closed for installation of a Runway End Identifier Light System, known as REILS, and a Precision Approach Path Indicator, known as PAPI.
The runway will have to be closed while the work is being done. Not only that, but official notification has to be given that the runway will be closed.
After some discussion, it was decided that since Monday is the slowest day of the week for Hutcherson Flying Service, which manages the airport, that the commission would seek to have Monday as the day for closing the runway.
Hays said there might be three days needed for closing, but they would not be in a row. Three Mondays might be feasible, he said.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
County residents in the area that is also occupied by Crow Creek Raceway will soon have a chance to tell a representative of the state Pollution Control and Ecology Commission why they believe the raceway should not be allowed to operate.
There will also be a review of a Department of Environmental Quality decision allowing the raceway to operate without a permit.
According to Georgette Blankenship, one of the area residents who is protesting against the raceway, which is located just off County Road 320, there will be a preliminary hearing by teleconference on Aug. 19. Both Blankenship and Drake Mann, attorney for the raceway, said this hearing will merely be to go over procedures and to decide how the case will be presented to the hearing officer.
There have been complaints of noise pollution from the raceway. There have also been complaints of people speeding up and down the road from Highway 284 to the raceway.
At issue is whether Crow Creek Raceway should be "grandfathered in." An Arkansas law states that before such a facility can be built, the consent of 75 percent of all landowners within a three-mile radius must be obtained, and further states that if landowner approval is given, a permit must be obtained from the Department of Environmental Quality. This is for all motor vehicle racetracks built after 1995.
"Essentially, the raceway's position is that a competitive racing facility existed on the property before 1995, and the raceway is therefore grandfathered in," said Drake.
He also said other parts of the statute will be examined.
"I am comfortable that one way or another, the department will not be enforcing this statute (concerning Crow Creek Raceway)," said Mann.
He said he believed the best route for area residents to follow would be to file a lawsuit claiming a nuisance, "which they can do at any time. But they can't just use the government to pursue their private complaints."
There is disagreement over when the raceway actually became an organized facility. Those objecting to the raceway say that although there was some three-wheeler and four-wheeler racing done at the site -- a drained lake -- it was not organized.
"When it was drained, everybody used it," said Blankenship. "And people rode dirt bikes, but there was never an organized race track out there. Arkansas Law states that if you have a motor racing facility, you have to have a permit if it was built after January 1995."
She said the raceway causes problems for a lot of people.
"We're not talking about the boonies here," said Blankenship. "We're talking about a highly populated area. People have built retirement homes out there."
Late last year, the raceway voluntarily ceased operations until the permit issue is resolved.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
With noon Wednesday being the cutoff for candidates to declare their intentions to seek seats on area city councils, politicians poured into the St. Francis County Clerk's office on Monday.
A total of 13 filings for city positions were submitted yesterday at the courthouse, with most of those being for governing seats in Caldwell, Hughes and Madison.
In Caldwell, five incumbents filed for reelection. Frank Killingsworth filed for the Position 3 seat, Bob Mosley filed for the Position 2 seat and Grover Gunn filed for the Position 1 seat on the city council. Also, Thomas Hughes is seeking reelection as city marshall and Jenny Lindsey has filed to retain the clerk/treasurer/recorder position with the city.
Also in Caldwell, Barbara Posey will seek the Position 5 seat as a challenger.
Three people filed for positions in Hughes with two of those hoping for reelection to the city council. Rev. Malcolm Curne Sr., Ward 1, at-large and Rudolph Robinson, Ward 1, Position 2 have both filed to retain their seats on the Hughes City Council for another two years. James Garner filed his intention to challenge the position of Constable of Garland Township as a write-in candidate.
Two incumbents have filed in Madison. Christal Taylor will seek the Ward 2, Position 1 seat on the Madison City Council and Janice Whitaker has filed for reelection to the Ward 3, Position 2 seat.
In other cities, Ronnie A. Jarrett filed as a challenger for the Position 4 seat on the Colt City Council, and Janell H. French will be a challenger for the Ward 1, Position 2 seat in Palestine.
The filing period for seats on area school boards is also under way.
There was one board filing on Monday with Dorothy Robinson filing for a position on the Hughes School Board.
The deadline for city council position filings in Caldwell, Madison, Hughes, Colt and Palestine is tomorrow at noon. Those wanting to file for school board positions in the Forrest City, Hughes and Palestine-Wheatley school districts must file before 4:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 9. Filings for both may be done at the St. Francis County Clerk's office in the courthouse.
Required parental meetings in the Forrest City School District will begin Wednesday.
After the Arkansas Legislature passed a law requiring that public schools create a parental involvement plan, the school district decided to require all parents to attend. Parents must attend at least one meeting before a child will be allowed to attend class.
The meetings will begin at 8 a.m. in the auditorium of Forrest City Junior High. The sessions will last one hour, with the last session starting at 5 p.m. These are the only meetings at that specific location.
Other meetings will be held at all schools and are scheduled for Thursday, Aug 12, Friday, Aug. 13, Monday, Aug. 16 and Tuesday, Aug. 17. These meetings will begin at 10 a.m., with the last sessions beginning at 1 p.m. There will also be sessions Wednesday, Aug. 19 at all schools at 4, 5 and 6 p.m.
For more information, call 633-1485 or any school.
Several requests previously made to the Forrest City Planning commission will come before the City Council when it meets in regular session tonight at 7.
Two of the requests were recommended for passage, one denied.
Denny Jarrett's request for an eight-foot variance for a carport at 233 Virginia Circle was recommended. Bill and Jeanne Boschert's request for a conditional use permit to place a modular building at lot in the McCutchen addition was also approved.
The Planning Commission denied a request by Ricky and Alice Kellum and Thomas and Jennifer Hughes to rezone 1509 and 1527 N. Division from residential to commercial, but the request can still be brought before the city council.
There will also be third reading of an ordinance adopting a planning area boundary for the city.
LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- Arkansas' net revenue collections for July came in 5.4 percent above projections and 8.1 percent above collections for the same month a year ago, the state Department of Finance and Administration said Tuesday.
The new available general revenue collections totaled $287.9 million -- up from $21.6 million in July 2004. The figure was $14.9 million above this fiscal year's projections
In the month, individual income tax collections totaled $134.5 million -- up $7.2 million from last year, or 5.7 percent. The collections were $3.1 million over the forecast, or 2.4 percent.