By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
More questions on the way for the St. Francis County Transportation Commission and SFC Transportation Mall Coordinator Frederick Freeman after officials with a local bank filed a complaint in St. Francis County Circuit Court seeking future payments to Freeman to satisfy debt.
According to the complaint from Forrest City Bank filed against Frederick Harold Freeman, Freeman Resources, Inc., and St. Francis County, Arkansas, acting through the St. Francis County Transportation Commission, a contract for services between Freeman Resources, Inc. and the SFCTC, was used to secure the payment of a loan in the amount of $10,805.84. In a letter to the county in dated Oct. 21, 2003, Forrest City Bank filed a request with St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco and the SFCTC asking that any payments for services to Freeman Resources, Inc. be made jointly to FRI and Forrest City Bank. According to Cisco the letter was then forwarded to transportation commission chairman Buzz Haven and commission treasurer Rausch Hodges.
"We were given a letter from Forrest City Bank in October of last year requesting that any future payments to Freeman Resources be made jointly with the bank. I took copies of the letter to both the commission chairman and the treasurer and left any actions up to them," Cisco said.
In April, a second letter was sent to the judge's office which read, "As security for this loan, St. Francis County consented to an Assignment of Contract of Services, whereby Frederick Freeman assigned rights to payment for the transportation mall project. Since this loan is now in default, we are insisting that all future payments, until such time as the loan is paid, be made to Forrest City Bank under the terms of the assignment."
While the bank states that there was an agreement between the commission and Forrest City Bank, Haven said no agreement was ever reached.
"There was a letter presented to the county several months ago and that letter was then forwarded to myself and the treasurer. I decided after reading the letter that it was a personal matter between Frederick and the officials at the bank and left everything up to Frederick. I didn't sign anything or agree to anything as chairman of the commission and it was my understanding that Mr. Freeman had talked with them and everything was taken care of," Haven said.
Hodges answered questions regarding the lawsuit similarly.
"I had a copy of the letter and I was unsure of what we were supposed to do with it or how exactly we were supposed to handle it. I knew that once funds were available to pay the contractors questions would be raised. Once those funds came in, I wanted to discuss this matter with Frederick. When the checks went out without me signing off on them, I didn't get an opportunity to sit down with Frederick and talk about this," Hodges said.
"After the checks were issued Frederic and I did get an opportunity to sit down and meet and he brought up some very valid points regarding the letter," he added.
According to Freeman the current lawsuit is another attempt to discredit him and his participation in the transportation mall project. He declined comment at the advice of his attorney on any litigation, but did say, "This complaint is bogus in that it is trying to tie the Transportation Commission in to something that is hould not be involved in. It is just another attempt to assassinate my character."
Eight of the 10 Arkansas Community of Excellence (ACE) components have now been completed, moving the city another step closer to receiving its ACE certification.
The latest completed components include Tourism, Workforce Development, Leadership and Community Beautification. In addition to the last four submissions, the community has also completed the required elements for Education, Healthcare, Established Business and Industry and Manufacturing and Development. The two components left to complete are Housing and Commercial Development.
Through research and planning the Tourism committee created a comprehensive strategic plan to develop tourism and hospitality as a sustainable industry in the St. Francis County area, according to ACE Coordinator Tiffany Billingsley. "Regional and local networking enabled the committee to develop and submit a grant proposal for funding to cover the costs of asset mapping of existing and potential resources and the development and implementation of a long-term marketing plan for tourism and hospitality.
The Workforce Development component involved a community-needs analysis, a comprehensive listing of current training providers and an action plan, Billingsley said. "The action plan is focused on providing future workers and employers with education and training needed in a changing environment. The committee's accomplishments include development of a local employer-lead workforce consortium, support for the new EastArk Secondary Career Center at East Arkansas Community College and ongoing support and encouragement for local education organizations to develop new vocational and technical programs in response to occupational needs.
The Forrest City ACE team requested that the Arkansas Department of Economic Development allow the community to develop a community leadership component to address local needs. ADED approved the request, and allowed the Forrest City Leadership team to develop the program outline and required elements for the Leadership component which will be spread statewide, Billingsley added.
Through the ACE process, the team conducted a survey of local organizations to determine what programs were available and identified development needs. Based on survey results, the team researched national leadership programs and proposed a comprehensive community leadership certificate program that is anticipated to start in the fall of 2004, according to Billingsley.
Recognizing that the visual appearance of a community is a significant indicator of its overall health and stability, Forrest City chose community beautification as a component to take on, Billingsley said. "A committee was formed to develop a long-term plan including annual beautification projects, city-wide clean up events and implementation and/or review of city ordinances having to do with beautification."
The beautification committee also helped to organize and solicit growers to participate in the local farmer's market and worked to educate the community, law enforcement and courts on ordinance enforcement.
Future plans include development of pocket parks throughout the community, and partnerships with local certified master gardeners, Billingsley reported.
The Arkansas Community of Excellence (ACE) process was initiated in Forrest City on Jan. 23, 2003 at a special community forum held at the Civic Center. The community was invited to share their thoughts on the city's strengths and weaknesses. The community forum also gave attendees the opportunity to vote on what ACE components they valued as most important to Forrest City's future success. Following the forum, committees were set up to begin developing plans for each of the 10 components.
The Arkansas Community of Excellence (ACE) program is the cornerstone of the state's economic development partnerships with local communities. It is a proven, effective tool used by communities in self-analysis, organization and goal setting. ACE helps communities of all sizes prepare for economic growth and community development in order to improve the area's overall quality of life. To date 76 Arkansas communities including two counties and two regional partnerships have achieved ACE certification.
The ACE process focuses on planning. By helping communities recognize their assets and challenges, analyze alternatives, develop a plan and implement it, ACE enables communities to recognize opportunity and pursue business that offers economic prosperity. ACE also encourages communities to partner with other towns and state agencies to attain goals.
For more information, contact the Forrest City City Hall at 633-1315 or Billingsley at 261-0408.
Two wrecks involving alleged driving while intoxicated violations took place over the weekend with one of those resulting in injury.
The first accident occurred Saturday night at North Washington and Confederate streets. Officers were called to the scene of an accident involving a motorcycle and another vehicle.
The driver of the motorcycle was Chris Taffner, 43, of Fayetteville. There was a passenger on the motorcycle, Anita Wheeler, 44, also of Fayetteville. Wheeler was injured and taken to the Med in Memphis. There was no information on her condition this morning.
According to the report, an officer asked the driver of the vehicle, Barry Pendleton, 45, of 1013 S. Rosser, Forrest City, to take a breath test. After several tries, in which he allegedly did not perform the test properly, he registered .23 percent. Later at the police station, Pendleton again allegedly registered .23 percent.
Pendleton was arrested for his second DWI offense. He was also charged with failure to yield right of way and no proof of insurance.
The second accident occurred Sunday afternoon when police reported that a pickup truck had hit and damaged a sign on Highway 284. A witness gave a description of the vehicle and a location where it could be found, at 1085 Holiday Drive, Chapel Ridge Apartment 1322.
Officers went to the apartment and talked to Homero Barron, who advised them that his friend Omero Torres was the driver of the pickup.
Officers questioned Torres, 22, through an interpreter, and he submitted to a portable breath test, registering .24 percent. Later at the plice station, he registered .21 percent. Torres was arrested for DWI.
Several Marianna residents were arrested in St. Francis County over the weekend in two separate incidents -- one for an alleged kidnapping and stolen vehicle, and the rest for allegedly driving a stolen vehicle.
According to a report from the Marianna Police Department, early Saturday morning, Willie and Wendy Sparkman alleged that Gregory Scruggs, 27, of Marianna, entered their home through a broken window, armed with a butcher knife and a whiskey bottle. He demanded that they drive him around looking for someone, and when they refused, he reportedly struck them with the bottle, inflicting minor injuries.
They were allegedly forced into their car, and Wendy Sparkman was forced to drive around Marianna for 30 minutes while Willie Sparkman had a knife held to his throat in the back seat. They were later dropped off, and Scruggs allegedly took the car.
Later, a Forrest City policeman reported that a vehicle pulled him over, and the driver told him he had a blowout and needed his tire fixed. The officer said he advised him that it was too early for anyone to be open, but said he could go to the tire service center of his choice and wait. The officer later received a dispatch stating that the car was stolen, and found the vehicle at the Shell Superstop on Broadway.
Scruggs has been charged with two counts of kidnapping, residential burglary, two counts of aggravated assault, and is also wanted on warrants for battery.
In the second incident, the St. Francis County Sheriff's Department on Sunday received a report on a Pontiac stolen out of Marianna. A vehicle matching the description and having a matching license plate was stopped. Arrested were Torry L. Dukes, 23; Rodrick Jerome Williams, 22, Marquks K. Stone, 26; and Jessie Lee Davis Jr., 25, all of Marianna. They were all charged with theft by receiving over $2,500.
A full schedule of meetings is planned throughout St. Francis County, beginning this evening.
The Forrest City Public Library Board is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. at the library, and the Forrest City Civic Center Commission has a meeting set for 5 p.m. at the civic center.
The Forrest City School Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the administration building, and the Palestine-Wheatley School Board will meet at 6 p.m. in the Palestine-Wheatley Junior High School in Wheatley.
Two city councils will meet tonight. The Madison and Hughes city councils will each begin their meetings at 7 p.m. at each city's city hall.
On Tuesday, the Forrest City Advertising and Promotions Commission will meet at 2 p.m. at the Forrest City Area Chamber of Commerce office on North Izard. The Palestine and Caldwell city councils are each scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. at each city's city hall. The Hughes School Board will meet at 7:30 p.m. in the administration building.
On Thursday, the Forrest City City Council has scheduled a special meeting at 6 p.m. at city hall for councilmen to review a contract for a civic center caterer. The Colt City Council will meet at 6 p.m., and the Wheatley City Council will meet at 8 p.m. at city hall.