By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
It was a slippery Christmas holiday, with lots of fender benders reported, and one fatality in the Troop D area of the Arkansas State Police.
According to the ASP report, the fatal accident occurred at around 7:35 a.m. on Dec. 24, on Interstate 55 near Turrell in Crittenden County.
According to Lt. Tommy Wicker with ASP Troop D, a vehicle slid off into the median. A second vehicle stopped to give assistance, and was struck by a third vehicle which had lost control. The vehicle which was struck then hit four people, killing Phillip Cameron, 19, of Indianapolis, Ind. Injured were Kayla Jefferson, 19, of Indianapolis, David Martin, 41, of Iowa City, Iowa and Graham Crok, 48, of Oak Grove, Mo.
The injured were transported to Memphis. There was no information on their condition this morning.
The official holiday period began for the State Police at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 23, and continued through Sunday, Dec. 26, ending at midnight.
Arrests were down over the weekend for the State Police in this area, with 15 speeding, only one DWI, 21 hazardous arrests and 13 non-hazardous.
Wicker said the numbers were low because, "About all we did was work accidents. We had very little time for enforcement, due to the weather."
While there weren't many arrests, the troop, which takes in St. Francis, Crittenden, Phillips, Lee, Cross, Woodruff, Monroe and Prairie counties, reported 262 officer-vehicle contacts as of 3 p.m. Sunday, which included 161 accidents.
Many of the accidents were minor, although 134 did involve property damage and 21 involved a personal injury of some type.
The driving situation got worse as the roads seemed to get better, according to Wicker.
"It got worse after the ice melted some and then froze back," he said. "People started getting, I guess, a little too confident. They'd get their speed up, hit a patch of ice and lose it. When it's solid ice, everybody goes slow, but once it starts melting and the highway gets a little cleared up, people start getting brave on the highway."
More locally, H.N. Green of the St. Francis County Sheriff's Department said the county experienced lots of accidents but not many serious ones.
"We had a lot of people slide off the road," Green said. "Nobody was hurt, no fatalities. They'd just slide off. I'm sure there was some damage, and some had to be pulled out. All in all, it wasn't too bad."
Numerous traffic accidents were reported in Forrest City due to the weather, with one involving injury. The injury accident actually occurred on Wednesday, soon after the weather had started turning bad.
A vehicle driven by Charlie A. Williams, 31, of 213 SFC 214 slid on some ice when Williams was entering the Forrest City bypass from U.S. Highway 70 West, heading northbound. Williams reported to officers that he lost control of the vehicle and struck the guard rail head on.
A child, 7-year-old Hunter Williams, was treated and released at the scene. Charlie Williams and Crystal Williams were both transported to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Forrest City. There was no information on their conditions this morning.
Another wreck to which an ambulance was called ended up with the ambulance being involved in a minor accident.
The ambulance was dispatched to Highway 1, where Fredric Clay Smith, 29, of 341 W. Davis had lost control of his vehicle on the ice, causing the vehicle to roll over several times, ending up in a drainage ditch. Although an ambulance was summoned, Davis was uninjured.
The ambulance, driven by Kelly Parson, 29, of Palestine, was leaving the scene to return to the hospital, and traffic was being stopped to allow the ambulance to leave. A vehicle driven by Jason Key, 27, of Palestine, began sliding on the ice and struck the ambulance. About $600 damage was done to the Key vehicle, but none was reported on the ambulance. No citations were issued.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Colder weather created a busy time for the Forrest City Fire Department after the department received more than 20 calls this past holiday weekend.
According to FCFD Chief Dan Curtner, several factors played into an increase in calls for the department.
"With the temperature dropping, people just cranked up the heat and that caused problems in some places. We had some cases where people stuffed their fireplaces due to the cold and ran into problems with their chimneys, and we had other problems that we see when the temperature drops," said Curtner.
On Christmas day, a home owned by James Riddell at 822 N. Division received approximately $25,000 in damage after a fire started in the chimney.
Also on Saturday, a home in Madison was destroyed according to a report from the FCFD. According to the report, the home of Tiwanna Ewing was a total loss after catching fire during the early morning hours Saturday.
On Thursday, firefighters extinguished a fire at a building on Scott Street after several cotton bales stored in the building ignited. According to the report, the building located at 744 W. Scott St., received $18,000 in damages after the cotton bales caught fire. The cause of the fire was listed as a natural heat source.
This morning, firefighters were called to the Arden Ann Lodge after a fire in a bedroom which was caused by a cigarette. No estimate on damage was given.
According to Curtner, many of the fires this weekend were due to wiring problems.
"One of the problems that we saw this weekend was in houses that were built back in the 20's and 30's. The wiring has been in place for all of these years and people have gone in and put insulation over that wiring and now the insulation is just giving up. People think that insulation is flame retardant, and it is to a certain extent. Once that stuff has been inside of the walls for about 10 years, it loses its retardancy and any wiring problems can ignite it just like anything else," Curtner said.
For safety, Curtner said homeowners should be careful with fireplaces and space heaters and keep an eye out for any abnormal electrical happenings.
"People just need to be a little more careful when they start turning up the heat during periods like this. You have to make sure that you keep space heaters away from clothing and furniture and curtains, and you want to make sure that your chimney has been properly cleaned before you use it. In the older homes, homeowners need to pay attention to the wiring. It's your home and you know when something isn't working right. If that plug-in isn't working right or you're noticing other problems get someone on it," Curtner said.
The department was also kept busy this weekend assisting local law enforcement agencies with accidents.
"With all of this ice and snow, we just really had a busy weekend. We answered several fire calls and probably as many accident assist calls," said Curtner.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Most main roads throughout Forrest City and St. Francis County have been cleared of much of the ice from last week's winter storm, but side streets and county roads should still be traveled with care.
According to Les McMillin with the Forrest City Public Works Department, primary roads in Forrest City were open across the city this morning but side streets were still treacherous in spots.
"Our main roads are pretty much clear with just a few spots that are still slick, but some of the side streets are pretty slick," said McMillin.
McMillin said city work crews spent much of the weekend working to clear the streets, working Wednesday night, Thursday and Thursday night, skeleton crews on Friday and some crews working to clear the streets on Christmas day.
"Overall, the guys came in and worked, and we were able to do as much as we could to keep the streets safe. Guys came in Wednesday night to start preparing for the storm and they worked Thursday and Thursday night. I came in and did what I could Friday, and we tried to give the guys some rest. Then, Saturday we had crews that came out and worked trying to get everything clear," McMillin said.
The winter storm has also forced the city to order more sand in case of storms later in the season. According to McMillin, the use of snowplows to clear the street was not effective due to all of the ice.
"We used quite a bid of sand over the weekend, and I've already had to reorder more. We've got that in here in case we have another storm. We had some left over, but it's better to make sure that we have plenty of sand than it is to run out. The fact that we had so much ice really made our snowplows ineffective because they just don't work well with the ice. We were really anticipating more snow than anything, but we ended up primarily with ice. I took one out Saturday to try to clear some of the roads but the ice just wouldn't let me do a whole lot," said McMillin.
McMillin also complemented area drivers for their patience over the weekend.
"All in all, I think people slowed down and took their time and did okay in the conditions. As long as you didn't try to take it too fast you were pretty much okay, and most of the people that I saw out were taking their time," he said.
Residents in rural areas are still slow and travel could remain that way until the ice has melted off, according to County Road Department Supervisor Sonny Hamilton. Hamilton said this morning that many county roads remain iced over after last week's storm.
"It's all still pretty well iced over. We have some of the main roads cleared, but most people that live in the rural areas realize that there's not a whole lot that you can do with those roads," Hamilton said.
Hamilton said that the road department is focusing its efforts on keeping falling tree limbs out of roadways and attempting to clear the most dangerous locations.
"We're mainly working to keep the roads clear of tree limbs and other debris and trying to clear up the rough spots. We haven't gotten a whole lot of complaints about the roads, and the people really have been pretty understanding," Hamilton said.
While city and county roads may still have some ice issues, according to Joe Vines with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, state maintained roadways should be cleared by the end of today. Vines said this morning that Interstate 40, along with the primary highways, were clear of ice.
"Our interstates and primary roads are clear and in good condition, and our secondary roads are 85-percent clear. Those secondary roads should be clear by the end of the day today," Vines said.
Highway Department crews have worked since Wednesday, according to Vines.
The Forrest City Planning Commission is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. Tuesday at city hall.
Commissioners will consider a 20-foot front setback variance for Southern Furniture at 4000 N. Washington along with a variance from 47 of the required 92 parking spaces at the new furniture store.
Forrest City police are looking for a man who walked out of a holding cell while he was waiting for his bond to be posted on Christmas Day after his arrest on a drunk driving charge.
William Hoskins, 62, of Kensett, was arrested about 3 p.m. after police followed his car to a local convenience store. Police first observed Hoskins' vehicle as he was driving south into Forrest City and stopped him for speeding.
Hoskins was arrested for reckless driving, disorderly conduct and second offense driving while intoxicated.
According to a report on file at the FC Police Department, Hoskins was able to open the door of the holding cell after which he walked out of the police station before being freed on bond.
The incident is currently under investigation, according to the report.
Two people were hurt while sledding Thursday evening in the Barrow Hill Road area.
According to a report on file at the St. Francis County Sheriff's Department, Katie Ramsey, 16, and La Don Ramsey, 26, were sliding down a hill on County Road 310 near Ridgecrest Country Club when the accident occurred about 7:48 p.m.
Deputies reported the two were riding on a plastic mat when the mat hit a hole causing both to be thrown off the mat and onto the hard icy surface. Katie Ramsey suffered an injury to her foot and La Don Ramsey injured her back, according to the report.
An ambulance from Baptist Memorial Hospital-Forrest City, along with the Forrest City Fire Department's Rescue Unit, was called to the scene. Both victims were taken to BMH-FC.
Shots were fired during an attempted aggravated robbery on Christmas Eve outside a Forrest City man's home on Cherry Street.
David Holmes, 39, 1019 Cherry St., told police he was walking toward his residence about 5 p.m. when a subject came out from behind a bush, placed a gun to his head demanded his money. Holmes said he was trying to take his necklace off when the subject grabbed the necklace the two men began to struggle.
According to the report on file at the Forrest City Police Department, the suspect fled on foot and fired two shots at Holmes as he was running behind his home.
The suspect, who failed to take any of Holmes' property, was wearing a gray jacket and a black ski mask.