By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The Forrest City School Board on Monday approved budget expenditures for the 2004-2005 school year.
Within the overall budget were the teacher's salary fund at $13,664,361; operating expenses of $11,133,205; non-bonded debt of $158,880; bonded debt of $799,605; special education at $1,608.402, federal programs at $2,976,076; food service at $1,940,564; for an overall total of $32,281,093.
There was some discussion about teacher salary increases. Board Member Henry Peacock said he had understood the issue would be discussed during the summer, because he thought the state had appropriated money for teacher raises.
Superintendent Lee Vent said it wasn't that simple, and that the money would be coming piecemeal.
"We have to be careful what we put on contracts," he said, adding that Forrest City teachers have traditionally received raises before Christmas. "I cannot, and I will not, make a recommendation for a raise before the fall. . .I know other districts have (given raises already) and more power to them."
Although she wasn't on the agenda, Nevada Banks of the Forrest City Education Association asked to speak. She stated that school districts in Little Rock and Pulaski County have already negotiated raises.
"You know they are not stepping out there on faith," she said, adding that she believes the money is there.
No decision was made on salaries.
In other action, the board gave its consent to starting the process of selling the properties of Caldwell and Evans schools, neither of which is used by the school district anymore.
The largest property by far is the Evans School property, which covers an estimated 39 acres. A small portion of the land is leased by the St. Francis County Fair Association, and the St. Francis Area Developmental Center. The Caldwell School property covers an estimated seven acres. Both properties have school buildings on them.
Peacock asked if the school district could get an appraisal on the properties. Board Member Mallory Nimocks said he would like for there to be full discussions on the proposed sale.
The board also agreed to enter into a service agreement with Trane Mid-South, for the air conditioning system in the junior high. The cost is $16,762 for one year, and is to be renewed annually. The contract includes all labor, parts and materials necessary to perform preventive maintenance.
On another A/C matter, the board agreed to purchase a new air conditioning unit for the high school lecture hall for $13,250. The existing unit had gone down completely last week. Board members were told it was about 27 years old. The board went ahead and approved the purchase from Laws Heat and Air, because it was considered an emergency.
The board also accepted several bids for the coming school year, including: Clark Oil Company's bid on gasoline; the Interstate Brands Companies (Wonder/Hostess) bid on bread; and Turner Dairies' (M&M Distributing) bid on milk.
After an executive session, the board approved the following:
New Certified Employees -- Regina Carter, Special Ed., Stewart Elementary; Kathie Chapman, social studies, FCJH; Suzette Garcia, English, FCHS; Chris Kennon, assistant junior football, assistant junior girls' basketball, assistant girl's track coach, math 7; Chris McManners, head junior high girl's basketball coach; assistant junior high football coach, junior high; Robert Lee Mossman, P.E. head senior boys' baseball, assistant football coach, Lincoln Middle School; Jeanette White, gifted and talented, district.
Certified transfers -- Katie Jones, from social studies FCJHS to assistant principal, FCJHS; Rebecca Reeves, from Gifted/Talented to assistant principal, Lincoln Middle School; Cynthia Williams, from kindergarten at Stewart to assistant principal, Stewart; Reginald Murphy, from head baseball coach to track coach, FCHS.
Certified resignations -- Linda Luke, kindergarten, Forrest Hills; Sheila Thomas, French, FCHS; Sara Workman, Special Ed., Stewart.
New Classified Employees -- Jennifer Edmondson, instruction aide, ABC School; Margaret King, P.E. Aide, Stewart Elementary; Tachocka McClain, instruction aide, ABC School; Dianne Neisler, instruction aide teacher, ABC school; Alice Tousant, HIPPY home visitor, ABC School.
Classified resignations -- Julia Davis, cafeteria worker; Gary Pettigrew, bus driver.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Forrest City has received $35,000 to go toward the construction of a quarter-mile walking trail at South Side Park.
Mayor Larry Bryant said this morning he will travel to Little Rock Wednesday to meet Gov. Mike Huckabee, along with officials from 17 other cities. They will formally receive a total of $750,000 in Trails For Life outdoor recreation grants.
Bryant said the walking trail at South Side is "another piece of the puzzle, as we try to upgrade and renovate the park."
He said there are new backstops and dugouts at the park already. He said South Side is capable of having daytime baseball and softball tournaments. He said there are also plans to add another pavilion, and the improvements at South Side Pool are ongoing.
"Once we get it all together, we'll be all right," said Bryant. "We're trying to get all our parks up to speed so our citizens won't have to go anywhere for want of recreational activities."
He added that there is a new walking track at the Municipal Sports Complex, which measures a mile in circumference.
"It is paved now," said Bryant. "It was a partnership between Forrest City and the East Arkansas Enterprise Community. Since we have people from all areas using our track, they (the EAEC) bought into it and helped fund about half the cost. That way, you can have it open to anybody. You can live in Palestine and use it, you can live in Caldwell, Wheatley, Madison, Widener -- you come to Forrest City and you can use our walking track."
He said there are future plans for some lights. Also he said plans call for the trail to be marked at intervals so people can stop and turn around and walk only a half or quarter mile.
He said there are also plans to put up another small pavilion near the fishing hole at the complex.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
The Forrest City Public Library Board learned Monday that a plan to purchase a new copier for the facility using money raised through the sale of CDs would not be legal.
In July, FCPL co-director Sarah Jumper told board members of 230 CDs from various recording artists that the facility had been given has part of an anti-trust settlement. It was agreed that the sale of the CDs, which began on Monday, Aug. 2, would go towards the purchase of a copier if the state assistant attorney general Bradford Phelp found it to be legal.
"The state said it would be all right to sell the CDs, but we would have to use the money to fund music programs," said Jumper. "We would have to purchase more music or begin a music program. We can't use it to purchase a copier. I was thinking that we could bring in some musicians from the area to perform at the library. Maybe we could have a back-to-school storytime and have someone perform."
The CDs are on sale during normal library hours at $5 each.
Board member Brad Beavers offered an update on the new parking lot, which is located across Davis Street from the library.
"The Forrest City Street Department has been working to level the land over there," stated Beavers. "The next step will be for M&T Paving to do the gravel and paving. The deal is that M&T will do the work for whatever rate they are currently doing the city paving because we are under the city contract. Although we are under the city contract, we are paying for the work. I do want to thank the mayor and the city for all of their help to get us to this point."
In other news, Jumper told the board that arrangements were ready to be made for the stripping and refinishing of the library floors. "We did get approval from the federal prison to use prisoner labor to strip our floors," commented Jumper. "We are going to use the equipment that the (St. Francis Area) developmental center has. The prison is requiring that all of us that will be around the prisoners attend an orientation class. We will also have to close the library down while the work is completed. I wanted to get your approval to use the prisoners."
The members voted unanimously to accept the offer of prisoner labor. They also requested that there be plenty of notice before the work would be done so that the closing of the library could be publicized.
Before adjourning, board members called an executive session on a personnel matter. While no action was taken, the members did vote unanimously to name Jumper acting director in charge, pending a review of job assignments.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
A couple of items pushed back from last month, and questions from a council member who did not attend that meeting of the Madison City Council, highlighted the group's monthly meeting on Monday.
At the recommendation of city inspector Larry Knowlton, council members voted against closing a portion of Anderson Street in Madison. Last month, Knowlton and council members agreed to inspect a section of Anderson Street at the request of Onxie Anderson. In a letter to Anderson, Madison Mayor James Brooks and city council members, Knowlton said that it was not his feeling that the street needed to be closed. He did, however, suggest that repairs to the road be made.
The council agreed to make the necessary repairs.
Council members also heard from Madison citizen Shirley Blount during the meeting. At the July meeting, Blount accused Madison Police Officer Jonathon Parks of using excessive force while writing her a citation in June. Blount appeared before the council again Monday after council members voted last month to table the issue. On Monday, council members took no action against Parks, which upset Blount.
"I feel my civil rights have been violated and that ya'll ain't doing nothing about it," Blount said. "I don't want to hear that I didn't bring any witnesses, because my word should be just as good as Officer Parks' word. If I feel strongly enough to come to you, then I can take this matter further."
In other business, alderman Ocie Williams questioned council members on several decisions made at the last meeting of the council. Williams first asked council members why they had voted to reject a proposal to allow a halfway house in Madison.
"I just don't understand why you all made the decision not to let them come in. We have got to get some businesses coming in here and that would have at least been something," Williams said.
Council member Christal Taylor answered Williams. "This really would not have been something for Madison. They were not going to bring many jobs to Madison because he (Rev. Leon Pettus) told us that he would be bringing 10 to 12 people with him when he opened up," Taylor said.
Sandra Smith, who also serves on the city council, argued that bringing the halfway house to Madison would be adding an element that citizens really didn't want.
"This halfway house would have brought people into our community that we didn't know anything about or anything about the crimes that they'd committed. The folks that he was going to bring in weren't just people from this area, but people from across the state and some from out of state. We have enough problems here without bringing in more problems," Smith said.
Williams also questioned the need for the creation of the assistant city inspector position which was approved by the council in July. According to Knowlton, the position was necessary in an attempt to make sure that an inspector would be available at all times, if needed.
"Mr. Williams, we both work full-time jobs, and when Mr. Anderson was named as the flood inspector (Stanley Anderson) I saw an opportunity to use his experience as a licensed plumber. Because he is licensed, he can do many of the inspections that I am authorized to do, and it will cut down on the number of people that say they can't get in contact with an inspector. It will also help cut back on the number of things being done on work sites that are illegal. If they have to look out for two different trucks, then it's a little harder for them to try to get by, because once they've done the work or installed pipes, it's close to impossible to get them back out to redo the work," Knowlton said.
Mayor Brooks told council members that the city's police department would be taking a stronger stance when it comes to criminals with overdue due fines owed to the city. According to Brooks, the move is necessary because many people are refusing to pay their fines because they feel nothing will happen.
"Right now, we're having trouble collecting fines, so we're going to be tightening up on our enforcement through arrests and incarceration. People don't think that we're going to bring them in and they're saying that the city doesn't want to pay to hold them in jail so they're not worried about paying their fines. We've got to do something, so you all can expect some phone calls complaining because we're going to crack down," Brooks said.
City of Madison office manager Earnestein Broadway received a $50 per week raise from the council Monday night by a 5-to-1 margin. Council members voted against the same measure last month, but reconsidered after having time to research Broadway's duties and responsibilities.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
The Palestine-Wheatley School Board had several items on their agenda, but took care of them in very short order on Monday night.
Superintendent John Manning began with a request to approve a proposed $500 stipend for parent facilitators. "At our last board meeting, we discussed parent facilitators," said Manning. "The facilitators would begin on July of next year, unless the personnel policy committee accepts our recommendation to have them start work sooner."
Last month, Manning stated that a parent facilitator would be at each campus to maintain contact with parents and answer their questions. Manning requested the $500 to compensate the facilitators, which are district employees, for their time. The board voted unanimously to approve the proposal.
Bids were heard for the milk and bread services for the district. At Manning's recommendation, board members voted to continue using Turner Dairies for milk and Interstate Brands Company for bread.
The fuel bid had two bids offered, but one was said to be invalid. "We have a bid from Clark Oil and a bid from Magnus," stated Manning. "The bid from Magnus is invalid because they can only deliver a larger amount of fuel than what we need." The board agreed and voted to continue to use Clark Oil. Additionally, the board decided to continue using the Dwight Jones Agency to provide student insurance.
Manning then offered two teachers who have requested to be released from their contracts. According to Manning, Kathie Chapman, a teacher at the high school and junior high school campuses, and Alisha Hallun who taught at the elementary campus, both had requested that the board release them from their contracts. Board members approved the move unanimously.
Manning then recommended a replacement for Hallun. "I would like to suggest to the board that we hire Raine Farris to replace Hallun on the elementary campus." The suggestion was unanimously passed.
One final request was made of the board by Manning. "We have had several reassignments in the district, including staff, and I would request that the board give their approval of these changes. The changes are necessary, and I believe will benefit the district."
Members Rodney Hicks, John Henry Parker, Randle Holman and Dow Lee voted to approve the changes. Board member Dorothy Smith abstained from the vote.
At least one school board seat in each of the county's three school districts will be up for grabs during the annual school election set for Sept. 21.
In Forrest City, Henry Peacock, who was named a temporary replacement to the school board for Gordon McCoy, who was called to serve with the National Guard in Iraq, is seeking election to the Position 4 seat. Peacock is being opposed by Rausch Hodges.
McCoy, who was president of the board before he was called to National Guard duty, did not file for reelection.
FCSD board member Ronald Williams is running unopposed for the Position 3 seat on the board.
Donald Story is challenging Donald Cagle for the Zone 4 seat on the Palestine-Wheatley School Board. That position is currently held by Ronnie Crider. Incumbent John Parker is unopposed in his reelection bid to the Zone 6 seat.
Two contested races have developed for seats on the Hughes School Board.
The Position 6 seat is being sought by Kuhron Meurrier and Irene Combs. Melinda Patrick, the Pos. 6 incumbent, did not file for reelection.
For the Zone 5 seat, incumbent Jimmy Bain is being challenged for his seat by Dorothy Weems.
The American Cancer Society is searching the Delta for licensed cosmotologists who would like to take part in the Look Good...Feel Better program for women who are actively undergoing cancer treatment.
According to Sherrie Mitchell, community program representative for Northeast Arkansas, the ACS is looking for cosmotologists to participate in the program which teaches beauty techniques, skin care, makeup and nail care to area cancer patients.
"We had a couple of ladies in the area who were working with us, but they had to step down, and we haven't been able to replace them yet," Mitchell said.
While the ACS is looking for cosmotologists to teach the classes, they are also looking for participants in the program.
On Saturday, Aug. 21, the program will be featured during the Second Annual St. Francis County Cancer Expo which will be held at the Forrest City Civic Center from 10 a.m. to noon. A second seminar will be held on Monday, Oct. 4, from 10 a.m. to noon at Baptist Memorial Hospital in the inservice education room.
For registration or for more information call (870)261-0420.