By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Teachers and students have gotten a full week of school under their belts, and for the most part, things are going well in the Forrest City District, according to Superintendent Lee Vent.
Vent also said some kids have been sent home, in keeping with a new school policy which states that parents must attend an orientation session.
"Things seem to be going great throughout the district," Vent said. "We've had about seven days of school now, and things seem to be progressing quite well. The teachers are on task, and the students seem to have come back from summer vacation, ready to learn. We're fully staffed and everything is in place."
Meanwhile, some students have been sent home because at least one of their parents or a guardian has not attended an orientation session.
In last year's special legislative session, Arkansas lawmakers passed Act 603. This act requires public schools to create a parental involvement plan, which encourages parents to become active in the education of their children.
The Forrest City School Board went a step further, requiring parents or guardians of all children in the district to attend an orientation session before the first day of school, which was Aug. 19.
The sessions began Aug. 4, and took place during morning, afternoon and evening hours. The first sessions took place at the Forrest City Junior High auditorium, and others took place at each school. Each session took about 15 minutes.
According to Vent, almost all students have had a parent to attend one of the meetings.
"We've had orientation for, I would say, 97 or 98 percent so far," said Vent.
Vent stated that true to the school district's word, children who have not had a parent in an orientation meeting have not been allowed to attend classes.
"They are being sent home, if their parents have not attended an orientation," said Vent. "But they are being given ample opportunity to attend a session."
He said additional orientation sessions are being offered, but said he wasn't sure of the schedule yet. He said all in all, the participation has been excellent.
"We are pleased with the overwhelming support in that effort," Vent said. "Very few kids have been sent home. Most of the parents understand that they will be attending the orientations."
The student population of the Forrest City District is estimated at just under 4,000.
A teenager who has been arrested four times over the past year on various felony charges is now headed to the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
Rodrick Williams, 17, began his string of felony arrests in May 2003 when he was arrested on charges of theft of property (auto), possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and no driver's license.
In August last year, he was charged with first-degree terroristic threatening, and in November, he pled guilty to that charge in St. Francis County Circuit Court and received three years probation.
In February this year, Williams was arrested for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver near certain facilities and possession of a controlled substance, marijuana.
Williams was sentenced to three years in the ADC on the drug charges stemming from his February arrest. Those original charges were merged into one count of possession of a controlled substance.
In addition to this three-year sentence, Williams also received another three-year ADC sentence for his May 2003 arrest after the no driver's license and theft of property charges were dismissed and the possession with intent charge was reduced to possession of a controlled substance.
His most recent arrest occurred in April this year when he was charged with second-degree battery, resisting arrest and fleeing after he attacked a police officer who was trying to arrest him on outstanding warrants. These charges were merged into one count of second-degree battery to which Williams was given a five-year suspended sentence which is expected to begin after his release from prison. He was also ordered to enroll in GED classes while in prison.
Officials with the Arkansas Air National Guard will pay Forrest City a visit Tuesday, in preparation for the naming of an AANG C-130 after the city.
According to AANG Chief Master Sgt. and Forrest City Postmaster Normal Gilchrest, officials with the AANG, the city of Forrest City, the Forrest City Area Chamber of Commerce and the Forrest City School District will meet Tuesday afternoon to begin formalizing plans for Oct. 2, dedication ceremony.
"The plan right now, is for several officials with the Air National Guard to be here Tuesday to meet with the mayor (Forrest City Mayor Larry S. Bryant); Randy Pearson (Chamber President) and Abbie Robinson (Forrest City High School Principal) at the Chamber of Commerce. The meeting will be to discuss plans for the event and to decide on the format," Gilchrest said.
"We're all going to meet and determine how many kids will be coming along and then figuring out the order of the day."
Earlier this month, Gilchrest said that one of the AANG's C-130 airplanes would be renamed as the Forrest City during the October ceremony. The tail section of the plane will bear the city's name and possibly a slogan. The plane will spend six to eight months named after Forrest City as part of a AANG program to recognize Arkansas communities and bring recognition of the Air National Guard to communities statewide.
Forrest City will be the fourth city in the state to receive the honor and the first outside of Central Arkansas. The other city's honored are Morrilton, Cabot and Searcy.
The East Arkansas Community College Department of Allied Health Sciences will host a visit from an Air Evac helicopter on the EACC campus.
The helicopter is scheduled to land on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2004 at 1 p.m. on the EACC ball field (use north entrance). The public is invited and encouraged to attend, according to an EACC press release.
This will be an opportunity for high school students and anyone interested in a career in EMT Paramedics to speak with emergency healthcare professionals and observe their equipment first-hand.
The Forrest City Fire Department and area ambulance services will also be in attendance to recruit second year Paramedic students who will be graduating in December. Students from area high school health education classes will also participate.
For more information, contact T.J. Simmermon, Director of EMT/Paramedic, (870) 633-4480, ext. 269.
An employee at Advance Auto Parts was robbed at gunpoint while closing the business on North Washington Saturday night.
The employee told police he was locking the doors about 9:20 p.m., when a black male approached him and asked if the store was still open.
The employee said he replied 'no,' and when he looked back at the suspect, he noticed a gun, at which time the suspect asked for the bank bag. The employee told police he threw the bag at the suspect who then fled behind the store.
According to the report, the store employee went back into the business and called police. He described the suspect as a black male, about five feet, six inches tall and weighing between 130 and 160 pounds. He was wearing dark clothing and had something wrapped around his head.
The employee told police the incident "happened so fast" that he could not remember much about it.
Forrest City Police were kept busy Friday with three apparently unrelated vehicle thefts, and an arrest was made after a chase in one incident.
In one report, Gail Shankle of 449 Old Military Road #20, reported the theft of her 1988 Oldsmobile with a handicapped placard. According to the report, Shankle said she left the vehicle in the parking lot at Harvest Foods, and it was gone when she returned.
Later in the day, a patrolman spotted the vehicle, turning into a drive at 1225 W. Broadway. The patrolman reported he tried to get the driver to stop the engine, but the driver took off, and there was a chase on Broadway.
The driver reportedly turned into Mu'Dea's at 1225 W. Broadway and then cut across the parking lot to Choctaw Street. The car was then driven between two houses, where it struck a fence.
The driver got out of the car and ran. Local residents told officers that the man had run to a vacant house. According to the report, when officers approached the house, the man began to walk away, but did not flee. Apprehended was Earnest Moore, 37, of 717 Lewis in Forrest City. He is charged with theft of property (auto), reckless driving and fleeing. He is also charged with criminal mischief for the damage to the fence.
In a possibly related incident, a car answering the description of the stolen automobile was involved in the theft of a jack stand from O'Reilly's at 901 W. Broadway.
Also on Friday, Glen Mason of 811 Oakland Street reported he returned home from work to find his 1987 GMC truck missing. He said the truck had been there when he came home for lunch. Police are investigating.
In another incident Friday, Nicholas Smith of 2012 Brown Street reported an Arctic Cat four-wheeler had been stolen. Smith reported the four-wheeler had been parked on the west side of his house, and was gone when he came home.