By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The announcement of a new endowment and a donation in honor of a U.S. serviceman highlighted a reception at the St. Francis County Museum Thursday.
The reception was hosted jointly by the museum and the St. Francis County Community Foundation. The endowment is in memory of Nicole Bennett to benefit the Special Olympics. The donation, to the Education Foundation, was in honor of Gordon McCoy.
Anita Vandiver, with Arkansas Special Olympics, made the presentation for the Nicole Bennett Endowment for Special Olympics Arkansas, Area VIII. Bennett died as the result of an automobile accident in October.
Before her presentation, Buddy Billingsley, chairman of the Foundation, said everyone knew the work done by Nicole with Special Olympics, as well as by her parents, Joey and Terry Astin.
"You never know what to say when a tragedy occurs," he said. "There is no way to bring back a loved one. We're very fortunate that so many caring people throughout the state are honoring Nicole, who they lost."
Vandiver then told those present that Special Olympics of Arkansas was giving an endowment of $20,000 in memory of Bennett.
"This community has supported us so much," she said, "and this is a way for us to say thank you to the community and bring some good. Of course, the Astin family has been involved in Special Olympics for 20 years or more. They are a great part of our program, and we want this to continue."
In an emotional moment, Joey Astin then spoke, saying that Special Olympics is a "family thing."
"It's a family thing. Since 1985, I have been involved in Special Olympics, and since coming back to Forrest City, my entire family has been involved. Nicole has been a big part of that as well."
He said the word "volunteering" doesn't say it all.
"It's sometimes more than just volunteering," he said. "The entire family has made sacrifices. Nicole made hers as well, not only through volunteering but in times when I couldn't be there, she gave up her personal time, being with her friends, to come and help. And some of the folks here volunteered.
"So, I thank Special Olympics. I thank my family as well."
Billingsley commented that "We're really excited about the endowment. It's going to do a lot of good for Special Olympics."
A donation was also made in honor of Gordon McCoy, by his employer, First National Bank of Eastern Arkansas. McCoy is currently deployed in Iraq.
Kyle Davidson, an officer with the bank was there to make the presentation, which is going to the Education Endowment.
"Before he (McCoy) was deployed, he was very active in education and a school board member for the Forrest City School District," said Davidson.
McCoy was serving as school board president at the time of his deployment.
Davidson made the presentation to McCoy's wife, Pam, who said, "Thank everybody. He said to make sure we tell everybody he appreciates it."
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
A pair of ordinances that have been discussed for most of the year were finally adopted by the Colt City Council Thursday night.
Council members heard third reading of each ordinance and voted unanimously to pass both laws, one which will regulate transitory merchants in the city and the other which will amend an ordinance aimed at controlling grease produced at city restaurants.
After working for several months to make exceptions on what would be considered transitory merchants, council members agreed last night to the third reading of the ordinance which would allow merchants to purchase a three-day permit for $50, once per quarter. The punishment for violators will be a fine of not less than $25 or more than $500.
Discussion of the ordinance hit a snag earlier in the year after council members discovered that a roadside barbecue stand set up by a Colt man would be covered under the ordinance. After having heard second reading on the first ordinance, council members requested the change which exempts garage sales, prepared food, hay, farm products or vehicles.
Council members adopted an ordinance in April which requires all restaurants in the city to install grease traps in order to stop grease from being carried to the city's sewer system. After adoption of the ordinance, Colt Water Department manager Bobby Clarkson approached the council asking that the ordinance by amended to allow restaurants, which did not introduce substantial amounts of grease to the sewer system, to continue operation without the addition of a grease trap.
In other business, the council heard first reading of an ordinance to rezone 26.2 acres near RBX as commercial. The original request was for the property to be rezoned as industrial, but according to city attorney Steve Routon, after researching the issue, the request would call for the creation of a third zoning regulation, which was deemed unnecessary.
"I contacted several of the cities in the area and looked at Forrest City for examples. They only have two zones, residential and commercial. The commercial zones are pretty much all encompassing and can include anything from housing to manufacturing. That's why I wrote the ordinance to rezone the area from residential to commercial," Routon said.
The council also agreed Thursday to give the city's four full-time employees a 3-percent raise. Council members also passed the city's water and sewer budget for 2005 along with the city's general budget for next year.
After approving the general budget, council members agreed to a pay increase for Routon. According to Kerr, Routon had submitted the request prior to Thursday's meeting. The pay increase was not expected to affect the city's budget, according to Clarkson.
Clarkson also updated the council on construction of a new bay door at the Colt Fire Department. According to Clarkson, the building is complete and the fire department is now waiting on the concrete floor to be poured.
"Everything is pretty much complete as far as the building is concerned. We're still waiting on the floor, but the weather has been the hold up there. Once we get a big enough break from the rain to get everything leveled off, and we can get the floor poured, then we can install the doors," Clarkson said.
The council also agreed to a plan which will pay the city's volunteer firefighters retirement benefits.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Non-custodial parents now have one more way of making sure child support payments are made on time, with the advent of a new online service recently implemented by the Office of Child Support Enforcement.
The service, which can be reached through two sites, www.Arkansas.gov or www.childsupport.arkansas.gov, now allows non-custodial parents to make payments online, directly or through payroll deductions at any time day or night, according to Child Support Enforcement director Dan McDonald.
"This is just another way for absent parents and employers to make payments on child support. I don't think it will really affect people that come in to this office much in any way other than to be beneficial. It won't affect what we do here in this office, but it's a tool that can be used any time to make payments," said Carolyn Michael, manager at the Forrest City Child Support Enforcement Unit.
According to Michael, the program will work similarly to making online credit card payments. "We're hoping that we will be able to see an increase in payments to Little Rock because it's something that is familiar to a lot of people today. It will be just like making a payment on your Sears card because you don't feel like going through the hassle of putting the check in the mail. This program will allow you to use your credit card just like you do any other online purchase to make a payment and you or your employer can also keep up with your status via the website," Michael said.
According to a story from the Associated Press, the new system will allow parents to go to one of the websites, use a private password to log into an account and make child support payments with a Visa, MasterCard or Discover card or by use of an electronic check. After receiving the payment, the Office of Child Support Enforcement will transfer the money to the appropriate recipients.
The service will also allow custodial parents to instantly obtain information on the status of the most recent payment.
The only child support cases which will not be affected are those mandated by the court to go through the St. Francis County Circuit Clerk's Office.
"It's my understanding that this won't affect us one bit. Those parents that are court ordered to come through this office, come in and make a payment directly to the custodial parent but it is logged in our office in accordance with the judge's order," said Circuit Clerk Bettye Green.
The service was developed by the Office of Child Support Enforcement, a division of the state Department of Finance and Administration, and the Information Network of Arkansas.
The Forrest City School Board is scheduled to meet at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 13, in the administration building.
Board members will review the sale of the former Caldwell and Evans school buildings, facility use guidelines and personnel policy proposals for both certified and classified employees.
Under new business, the board will discuss the Arkansas audit report and the Arkansas school facilities assessment.