Another Forrest City Christmas Parade is in the books, and by all accounts it was a good one.
The weather was clear and chilly, but not as cold as last year.
"We had a wonderful night," said Mary Beth Doler of the Forrest City Area Chamber of Commerce, who was one of the parade organizers. "It was a wonderful turnout, we had a good crowd of spectators and lots of participants. The floats were wonderful."
There were no entries in the large commercial division this year, but that was made up for by area churches, which had more floats than usual.
Crowley's Ridge Technical Institute provided the Santa Claus float.
"We were also pleased to have the Pine Bluff High School band," Doler said. "We weren't sure they were going to make it, but at the last minute they did.
"And we were very honored that Mrs. (Lula) Clay accepted our offer to be grand marshal," she added.
Winners in the float competition were as follows:
Churches -- Good Hope Baptist Church, first; Southside Missionary Baptist Church, second; New Prospect Missionary Baptist Church, third.
Civic -- Forrest City Cub Scout Pack 224, first place; Boy Scout Troop 202, second place.
School -- C.R.D.C. Forrest City Head Start #2, first place.
Small Industrial/Commercial -- Highway 1 Auto Sales, first
place; First National Bank of Wynne, second place; Manley Printing,
third place.
Two West Virginia women were caught with over 100 pounds of marijuana inside their vehicle during a routine traffic stop on Interstate 40 Sunday morning.
Samantha Cail Basham, 24, of Dunbar, W.Va., and Kimberly Renea Cade, 30, of Charleston, W.Va., were arrested just after 7 a.m. when officers with Arkansas State Police Troop D in Forrest City found 110 pounds of marijuana in the trunk of their 1994 Chevrolet Lumina which was stopped for weaving near the 246 eastbound mile marker, just east of Forrest City.
According to the arrest report, the marijuana, which has an estimated street value of $110,000, was found inside garbage bags.
Cade, who was driving the vehicle, is charged with no driver's license, possession with intent, possession of a controlled substance, cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Troopers said in addition to the marijuana, Cade also had a small amount of cocaine in her possession.
Basham is charged with possession with intent.
Both women were scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon in St. Francis County District Court.
Two men were arrested Saturday in Widener with a pound of marijuana after their vehicle was pulled over for inattentive driving.
According to a report filed by the Widener Police Department, Patrick Davis, 30, Hughes and Essie Oliver, 23, Madison were traveling on Highway 50 at about 4:30 p.m. when Davis was pulled over for speeding. During a search of the vehicle, police found one pound of marijuana.
Davis is charged with inattentive driving and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Oliver is charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Both men were scheduled to appear in district court this afternoon.
A Forrest City man is claiming self defense in a shooting Sunday morning that left another man with a gunshot wound to his arm.
Tauris Williams, 28, 726 N. Izard, Apt. 7, Forrest City, was shot in the right arm during a confrontation with Sampson Cunningham, 24, 904 Driftwood, about 6:30 a.m.
Officers responding to the shooting found Cunningham standing outside his vehicle at the intersection of Izard and Fussell streets and arrested him without incident. Police recovered a 9 mm pistol and shell casings inside Cunningham's vehicle.
According to the police report, Cunningham told police he shot at Williams four times because Williams had pulled a gun on him.
Williams was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Forrest City where he was treated and released.
Cunningham is charged with first-degree battery. He was scheduled to be arraigned in St. Francis County District Court this afternoon.
A Forrest City teenager was arrested Saturday on charges that he called in bomb threats at two restaurants within the past month.
The 17-year-old was arrested at his home Saturday afternoon on a charge of communicating a false alarm. He was scheduled to meet with juvenile intake officers today.
The teen admitted to making two bomb threats on Nov. 15. The first was to McDonald's in Forrest City about 6:45 a.m., and the second call was made about 7:26 a.m. to a Burger King in Seven Hills, Ohio, according to police records.
The teenager told police he was on a telephone chat line where he talks with several people at the same time across the country when the calls were made. He admitted calling in the threat to the Forrest City McDonald's, and said he got the telephone number to the Ohio restaurant from a person he was talking to on the chat line. The juvenile also told police he made one more bomb threat phone call, but said he did not know that call's destination.
An East Arkansas Enterprise Community employee who was trying to catch up on some work Sunday morning found more than she had planned when she arrived at the company's headquarters on Airport Road.
Cassandral Lumpkin called the Forrest City Police Department just after 9 a.m. when she found the building's front glass door broken out. The door is located behind a security fence and no entry was apparently gained to the building, according to the police report.
After entering the building, police found several bullet holes, and several spent slugs scattered on the floor.
While speaking with residents in the area, one neighbor told police he heard about 30 rounds of gunfire between 8 and 9 p.m. Saturday, but police were apparently not notified.
The Christmas Bell Committee and the First National Bank Branch of Palestine are sponsoring the Community Bell Tree again this Christmas.
Each bell from the tree contains information about a child in need in the area. Bells can be picked up from the bank in Palestine by Wednesday, Dec. 8. those purchasing gifts are asked to wrap the gifts and place the bell on the package. All gifts should be returned to the bank by Wednesday, Dec. 15 by 12 p.m. Families receiving gifts will need to pick them up at the bank on Thursday, Dec. 16, by 3 p.m.
A 14-year old student at Lincoln Middle School is facing a disorderly conduct charge after striking a teacher Friday.
According to a report from the Forrest City Police Department, Moses Dawson, 53, of Forrest City, told officers that the student struck him several times in the face and head after being told to take his seat. Dawson was able to control the student and took him to the school's office and notified the police department.
The student was scheduled to appear before juvenile intake officers this morning.
The Forrest City City Council is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 7, at city hall.
Councilmen will consider amending an ordinance to allow for an increase in the city's water rates, along with amendments to an ordinance regarding the sale of water to other entities.