By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The annual Toys for Tots project in Forrest City has come a long way from the days in the old Jaycee Building.
That was the message given at the Forrest City Area Chamber of Commerce's First Thursday Luncheon yesterday.
Brad Beavers, one of the chief organizers and front man for the project, told how the U.S. Marines were looking for someone to run a Toys for Tots program in the area. The Jaycees did it first, and then it passed to Boy Scout Troop 122. Since then, the project has grown and grown.
"We take that whole courtroom upstairs (in the St. Francis County Courthouse) and turn it into a toy store," said Beavers.
Not only does the program help the kids who get the toys, it also helps those who work in Toys for Tots.
"The last five years or so, we've had anywhere from 60 to 100 kids, junior high age and up, who come and work with us, some of them for as much as 18 to 20 hours that day," he said.
Boy Scout troops 122 and 202 are a big part. And so is the Forrest City High School mock trial team.
"That is part of their program," said Beavers. "When you sign on to be on the mock trial team, you sign on for Toys for Tots."
He said the reason for that is twofold. First, it's because he and some of the other active members in Toys for Tots are also coaches for the mock trial team. Another reason is the support the team receives from the community.
"When the mock trial team is successful, we have only a month to get ready for a whole, brand new case for national competition. And we don't really have time to wash cars and have bake sales to raise money for the trip. So we tell people we need the money and need it yesterday. And the community has always responded.
"This is a way the mock trial team has chosen to give back to the community, for what the community has done for them," Beavers said.
The first year, all the toys were used, and some were in such bad shape that the organizers bought new toys out of their own pockets. The second year, there was a budget of $500. "We thought we were really shooting the moon," said Beavers.
Last year's budget was more than $9,000.
There are still used toys, said Beavers.
"Barbara Mills runs a junkyard for toys. She fixes and cleans them up."
There is also an effort to make sure the phrase, "Batteries Not Included" does not dampen any kid's Christmas spirit.
"Barbara Mills decreed several years ago that we will have batteries in every toy," said Beavers, "so that when we give them out, they work."
The children who actually receive the toys never see the room, and Beavers said many don't know about Toys For Tots.
"As far as I'm concerned, I never want a child to know, 'My toys came from Toys For Tots.' We tell parents not to bring the kids. We won't let the kids in the room. That's not the purpose of it."
The reaction of parents vary, from those who get tearful and want to hug people, to those who are less than appreciative, to some who are downright rude, particularly to the young people who are volunteering.
"One of the things I always tell the volunteers is that the people we're really doing this for, the kids, are not even in this room. And if they treat you like this, how do you think they treat their own children? It's not the kids' fault, so be extra special nice to those people."
Donations are going well this year, and letters have been sent out to those who have given in the past.
Beavers said an effort is made to make sure the toys go to those who really need them. Children are referred by the state Department of Human Services, the elementary schools, churches, and sometimes by someone known by one of the organizers.
However, Beavers said, "Our theory has always been, we'd
rather make a mistake and give toys to a dozen people who don't
need it, than chance missing that one person who really does."
A teacher suffered a broken shoulder while trying to break up a fight Thursday at the Forrest City Junior High School.
That fight was one of two in which officers with the Forrest City Police Department were called to the campus around noon.
Peter Shirley, 55, of Forrest City, told police he was attempting to break up a fight between two students when he was thrown against a vehicle, injuring his shoulder. He was taken by a private vehicle to the emergency room at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Forrest City where he was treated and released. According to the police report, Shirley told officers he would be seeing an orthopedic surgeon to determine the extent of his injury.
Shirley also reportedly told police he did not want to file charges against the students involved in the fight because he did not "believe he was intentionally injured by the students and that his being injured was an accident." However, the investigation is continuing, according to the police report.
The students, both age 14, were sent home by school officials for fighting.
In a separate incident, two juveniles were arrested after a fight in which one of them pushed a school counselor out of the doorway at the main office and ran into a classroom where he attacked another student. The students continued fighting, knocking over desks and chairs. According to a statement given to police by the counselor, the teacher and two other students were injured in the altercation.
Both juveniles were arrested. The 14-year-old juvenile is charged with disorderly conduct and disrupting campus activities. The 13-year-old juvenile is charged with disorderly conduct, disrupting campus activities and two counts of third-degree battery. Both are scheduled to meet with juvenile intake officers.
A caregiver with the St. Francis Area Developmental Center is facing a felony battery charge after a November incident allegedly left a mentally ill patient with marks across his chest.
According to officials with the Forrest City Police Department, 39-year-old Eugene McKinney turned himself in to officials on Tuesday in connection with an incident which took place at a residential care facility near Victor Street. FCPD Det. Travis Hill said questions arose after officials at the facility found marks across the chest of a 19-year-old patient at the facility.
"It appears one of the caregivers was preparing the young man for a bath or a shower when they noticed the marks. They notified the director of the facility who then notified the supervisor. The facility supervisor conducted her own in-house investigation and during that investigation, McKinney told the supervisor that he accepted full responsibility for anything that happened because he was in charge at the time that it happened," Hill said.
According to Hill, McKinney has denied any wrongdoing to police officers, but Hill said McKinney had admitted to punishing the young man on Nov. 18 or Nov. 19.
"He has told us repeatedly that he didn't do anything, but what he basically told the supervisor at the Center is that on or around Nov. 18, or Nov. 19, the young man was being disobedient so he used a piece of wire to punish him," said Hill.
"We don't know yet what was used to whip the young man, but the marks are consistent with a piece of cord or maybe a small metal wire," Hill further stated.
Hill also said the second-degree battery charge was levied due to the victim's mental state. According to Hill, state law requires the felony charge due to the fact that the victim is mentally retarded and is not competent to care for himself.
McKinney is currently free on $25,000 bond and is scheduled to appear before District Judge Steve Routon on Thursday, Dec. 9, at 1:30 p.m. for arraignment. Second-degree battery is a Class D felony and carries a sentence of zero to six years in prison.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Chris Hicky has always been interested in making films. But recently, he got to make an extremely personal one.
"In the Moment with Deana Carter" will air tonight at 9 p.m. on CMT. It tells the story of country music star Carter's pregnancy, through sickness, tours and studio work. It was personal for Hicky because it is his child.
"CMT created a series called 'In the Moment' this year," said Hicky, a native of Forrest City. "This is the third episode. The first was on Julie Roberts and the second was on Gretchen Wilson. It's interesting in that Deana is an established artist and the first two are newcomers."
Hicky and Carter were already doing some filming, for a DVD release to go with her new album, when they were approached by CMT.
"CMT came to us and said they had an idea for a show, to follow Deana throughout her pregnancy," said Hicky. "And Deana said, 'Yes, as long as Chris gets to direct it. He's already closer to me than anybody, and it's a pretty intimate time. And he's already shooting me anyway.' They went for it."
So everywhere the couple went this year, Hicky had a camera.
"We've been shooting on the road, in doctor's offices, in the studio. It's been a big year for her. Not only did she have her first child, but she also produced her new album." (The new album, entitled "Story of my Life," is due out in March.)
Naturally, when there was so much shooting going on, not all of it got into the finished product.
"It's an hour show," he said. "But we shot about 90 hours of footage. We had to do some editing. We were part of the editing process. They edited the show and we had approval of the edit."
That meant, at times, that compromises had to be made.
"Like all reality television, they go for the cliffhanger commercial breaks. So they cut out a lot of the sweet, intimate moments we had through the year and went for the meat. So it's a little more dramatic than we were hoping for. We're happy with it, but whenever you let go of something you're risking your creative control."
Still, with editing approval, the couple was able to have some control.
That isn't to say that there wasn't any drama to highlight.
"It's an intimate look into the life of a recording artist on the road," said Hicky. "Deana had some problems with her pregnancy, like gestation diabetes. And that's highlighted in the show.
"She was touring at seven months pregnant, playing in front of huge crowds in Canada and all over North America. So it touches on a little bit of that, and then there was actual footage in the hospital with us, the day the baby was born."
There was a second unit camera crew that was with the couple some of the time, because Hicky was supposed to be in some of the scenes with Carter. That applied to the birth of the child, but there were complications.
"The plan was to have the camera in the delivery room for the entire delivery, and then, of course, to be very selective in how that was shown on TV. But due to some complications, the delivery turned into a C section," he said.
So, the filming in the hospital ended with us going through labor, and then catches back up to me coming out with the baby. My mom was there, and her mom was there and it was really neat."
The baby, now 12 weeks old, is named Gray Hayes Hicky.
Chris Hicky said he and Carter are proud of the child and are happy. He admits, however, that the show was a challenge.
"I tell you, on top of everything else, I constantly had a camera for everything we did. It was an extra challenge," he said. "It was hard for me to separate myself from director to loving partner-slash-parent. So that was an added stress factor. And she told me going into it. She said, 'You know this is going to add to it.' Of course, I was gung-ho about the chance to direct a show.
"She was right. We went on the road this summer for a weekend. A long weekend. We made about eight flights, two or three bus rides, five or six shows. It was just insane travel. She was seven months pregnant and I'm a one-man filming crew with camera, lights and sound gear, on top the band and the tour bus. It was challenging, and there were moments when we were both kind of questioning if it was worth it -- were we putting too much pressure on a new relationship and a new family, to try to document this?"
He said her experience as a performing artist, who has been on the road a lot, helped keep things on an even keel. He said he learned ways to handle stress from her.
"She kind of kept us on the right path in terms of taking on too much," he said in tribute. "She has a good internal meter of when to say when. There are a lot of demands on her, from her record label to her manager to her family to her fans. I had a real eye-opening journey."
He continued, "You may think life on the road is the greatest, most glamorous thing, you hang out with superstars all the time. But it's really a grind. It's work.
"You're on the bus all night long, you get very little good sleep. You get up and you eat whatever. If there's a good restaurant you eat good food. If there's not, you eat whatever's there. You stay in hotels, motels, play shows and get back on the bus and do it again, day after day after day. It's not as glamorous as you might think."
He said Carter likes to say that one year on the road is like two or three years of normal life.
"I think women, particularly, will respond to the show. Any woman who has been through pregnancy will. And at the same time she was recording an album. She was in the studio right up to the end of the eighth month of her pregnancy, finishing her album," he said.
"And it might be good for fathers to see what's coming."
For Hicky, making movies is a lifelong dream.
"I was always, as a kid, making little movies and making my sister act in little plays and filming them with different old movie cameras that were laying around the house," he said. "And I was always writing scripts.
"I always knew I wanted to do something in the creative field. Whenever I went to a movie as a kid, I walked out with this awesome desire to do things and make people feel good. And always, in the back of my mind, I would tell stories. It wasn't until I got out of college and went to film school that I decided to go to Los Angeles and give it a shot.
"When Billy Bob Thornton made 'Slingblade,' it kind of inspired me," he said.
Hicky has made a short film, called "Blue Horses."
"It's based on a short story written by Tom Franklin, who's now writer in residence at Ole Miss," Hicky said.
Hicky said he was given a book of short stories by Franklin, and one of them, "Blue Horses," intrigued him.
"I was just kind of drawn to the story, and I needed to direct a short film. One of the first steps to becoming a director is to do a short film."
He got Franklin's permission to use his story, and went to work.
"From the time I read it until we finally finished the short film was about three years," Hicky said. "It took that long to raise the money, get the script ready, get it shot and edited. It's about 15 minutes long."
The story takes place in a rural area, in which two men are making a journey to find a friend. It turns out the friend is sick and dying, and he has asked the men to bring him a gun so he can end his suffering.
"So their struggle is to wonder whether they are doing the right thing or the wrong thing. Is it helping someone to end their agony, or should it be left to fate?
Hicky admits, "It's kind of a dark story. It turned out a little darker than I'd hoped. I found a lot of humor in it that didn't necessarily come across in the short film. It came out pretty dark."
The film was shot in Forrest City over a short period in the winter of 2002. A friend of Hicky's, Rob Lemke, played one of the characters.
The film has been shown at several film festivals around the country. Hicky said it has been well received, even if he didn't get it exactly the way he wanted it.
"The thing with short films is, they need to be sweet and to the point. My short film is begging to a feature length, because I'm trying to showcase my talents. So I kind of shot myself in the foot in terms of competing for honors. But what it did do is open up doors for me and got me signed with a management company."
The Oxford Film Festival, held in Oxford, Miss., was special, because his family got to come down and see his film in a theater.
"It's pretty awesome to sit in a darkened theater and see something you've created."
The body of a man found Wednesday in an abandoned house has been identified, according to the Forrest City Police Department.
The man has been identified as Larry Johnson, 54, with no known address.
Also, according to a medical examiner's report, Johnson died of natural causes. Johnson's body was found Wednesday in an old house on West Broadway. The house is known to be frequented by homeless people.
The Forrest City Christmas Parade will roll tonight promptly at 7.
This year's theme is "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year."
The parade will form up in the parking lot of Forrest City Junior High. After exiting the parking lot onto Victoria, the parade will make a right turn onto Division, and then a left turn onto Arkansas.
The parade will then make a right turn onto Washington (Ark. Highway 1), and proceed down Washington to Hill Street, where it will turn right, and then make another right onto Rosser. The parade will then proceed up Rosser, to disperse at the Union Planters parking lot.
The annual Breakfast with Santa, sponsored by Gamma Theta Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi, will be held Saturday in the basement of Graham Memorial Presbyterian Church.
The time will be from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m. Tickets are $5.