By TAMARA JOHNSON
Managing Editor
Students attending Forrest City High School this fall must be accompanied by a parent or guardian when registering for classes.
That change was one of two at the high school level to be offered for discussion by Forrest City School District Deputy Superintendent Alice Barnes as she spoke to the district's board during its regular monthly meeting Monday night.
Barnes said each student will be required to bring a parent or guardian to the school during the days designated for registration this fall.
Each child and parent will visit with a school official to review the requirements needed for graduation to make the best determination as to which courses the student should take during a particular school year "so we don't have kids making adult decisions. The students will not get a schedule until they and their parent or guardian sit face-to-face with a teacher," Barnes said.
Another change at the high school level affects students who leave school early for off-campus jobs.
Barnes said the district currently has about 150 students who leave campus early, which is down considerably from about two years ago when the district implemented its own policy regarding the work program. "It had really gotten very out of hand," she said. "Some got a job, but some would go home and sleep or just be out riding around."
The FCSD is implementing a new program, the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation's HBA/ProStart® School-to-Career Initiative. Barnes explained the program, saying it offers opportunities to students in the restaurant and lodging industries. "There will be a lot of work the students will be able to do," she said, adding that the new golf course and lodge planned for Village Creek State Park will also offer opportunities for students.
"Some students are not going to go to college. We are trying to prepare those who are not planning to go on to college as well as those who are," Barnes said.
Superintendent Lee Vent commented very little during the meeting on the recent ending to the record-breaking legislative session on education reform. "We're under that two-week period where the governor can veto or not veto any of the measures passed. It's one of those situations where it's almost too good to be true for us. We should thank our legislators for helping our school system out."
As for the junior high school construction project, Vent said district officials will soon "go through the final punch list before signing off on the building."
Six bids were submitted for the demolition of an old building on the Madison elementary campus.
W.L. Laws Contracting Inc., of Forrest City submitted the low bid of $18,200 to remove the structure, but because his bid was much lower than the high bidder (Worldwide Excavation Service of Conway at $144,055) the board agreed to allow Vent to discuss the bid with Laws to make sure both parties understand what is expected in the demolition process. The asbestos has already been removed from the structure.
Board member Henry Peacock suggested the building be demolished when students are not in class.
"Hopefully, this will not take place while there are children on campus. We won't be a real stickler in the time frame in the contract because of that," Vent said.
Before adjourning, the board approved renewing the school leaders errors and omissions liability insurance policy for which the premium has more than doubled over the past year.
The policy last year cost the district $8,186 with a $5,000 deductible. This year's premium is $16,712 with a $7,500 deductible.
Following an executive session, the board voted to extend Vent's contract for one year and to hire a new fourth grade teacher at Central and a technical assistant for Mustang 17.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
Ways to revitalize Hughes were addressed Monday night as Mayor Donnie Mooney updated council members on a meeting held in late January.
"Ed Snider (with Arkansas Business Consultants in Arkadelphia) came and talked to us about the Hughes revitalization project," said Mooney. At the meeting, several representatives from the surrounding area attended. "There are people who want to help. We had people from Forrest City and Widener all wanting to help.
"We are holding a community meeting on (Tuesday) Feb. 17, at 6 p.m., at the community center. At the meeting, we will discuss what the plan is. I invite everyone to come to the meeting and hear what we are planning."
Mooney had one issue that he said would help the revitalization effort. "One thing we can do tonight is to rename the former Compress location (it is located on Highway 79 in Hughes and already has all utilities) to the Hughes Industrial Park." Mooney said that the move would open up the area to industry in the city. The council voted unanimously to rename the area.
Help for the city in repairing one of the major concerns addressed in the January meeting was then presented by Mooney. "We got a letter from Dr. Tom Cole from the East Arkansas Enterprise Community on our sewer system, drainage system and roads," stated Mooney. "The cost is up from our last estimate of $1.6 million to $2.1 million. That is to upgrade all of it. We really need these things fixed, and they said that they can get started this coming summer. They have to work when the weather is better."
According to Mooney, the EAEC will help pay for the repairs, but the amount of help is still being worked out.
Before adjourning, the council heard an allegation by a citizen against a Hughes Police Officer. The citizen aired her complaint, in which she stated that her son was being harassed by the officer. She also stated that she had a petition containing 200 signatures supporting the removal of the officer. The council went into executive session to discuss the matter but no decision was made.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
A committee formed to study the salaries of Forrest City employees, with an eye toward bringing them in line with other cities of similar size, is almost through with its work.
Meeting Monday, the so-called parity committee, made up of city council members Cecil Twillie, Louise Fields, Brent Ponder and John Gadberry, went line-by-line over every salary in the city. The committee was using a booklet from the Arkansas Municipal League for salary comparisons. However, committee members had also personally contacted some cities, such as Cabot, Mountain Home, Harrison and Blytheville.
One of the surprising outcomes of the meeting was that in many positions, Forrest City was already comparable or better.
Twillie, who chairs the committee, said he wasn't terribly surprised by this.
"I was not surprised," Twillie said "I thought we may have had a few little spots where we weren't in line, but we worked pretty hard seven, eight years ago to bring us in line."
During the meeting, it was also pointed out that some of the towns contacted are also considering a revamping of their salary systems.
The original city budget called for an across-the board, 3 percent salary increase. The parity committee began studying the salary structure. By the time the budget was finally passed on Jan. 29 to meet the required Feb. 1 deadline, the committee had made its recommendations for uniformed employees only. So rather than amend the budget piecemeal, the council adopted a budget using the 2003 figures, with no raises.
At that time, the parity committee said it could have all of its recommendations ready by the second meeting in February (Feb. 17). If all goes as planned, at the Feb. 17 meeting, the budget will be amended and all employees will get at least a 3 percent raise, retroactive to Jan. 1.
The committee ran into some minor problems Monday with positions that either have different names in other towns, or have more duties, or don't exist. For instance, pest control is contracted out in some towns. For the most part, however, there were comparable positions.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
With only a few months left on the current catering contract at the Forrest City Civic Center, members of the city's Civic Center Commission spent their monthly meeting discussing a pair of options for future catering at the facility.
Commission member Shirley Harvell, who served as chairperson in the absence of Delores Morelon, presented a plan which would allow open access to the kitchen at the building after renters and caterers sign a waiver of liability and pay a fee for kitchen usage.
According to Harvell, her plan would allow for open access to citizens, as well as bring in income on the kitchen that the city is not currently receiving.
"We've discussed the current use for an on-site caterer, and no one has presented us with information that shows the need for an on-site caterer. Under this plan, the person that rents the room and the caterer would have to sign off on a waiver which would clear the city and the commission from any liability involved with the kitchen. It would also establish fees for using the kitchen, which would allow the Civic Center to raise funds which might go as far as funding a full-time position for a Civic Center secretary," said Harvell.
Commission member Marcus Freeman also presented a plan for the facility. His plan would call for the continued use of an on-site caterer who would bid for the opportunity to service the building. Freeman's plan also allowed for more access to the kitchen for outside caterers.
"If we bid a contract out for an on-site caterer and allowed more access to the kitchen, this entire thing would be simpler to handle. I just don't see different people going into that kitchen without any kind of supervision. If we allowed access to the sterile environment supplied by the kitchen and allowed access to the ice machines, I think that would be fine. An on-site caterer might enhance our situation here because of the convenience that it provides to the citizens of Forrest City as well as to anyone else who might wish to rent the building," Freeman said.
Harvell argued that the past use of an on-site caterer had presented issues other than access to water and ice at the facility.
"The problems have not just been access to water and ice. In the past, outside caterers only had the little breezeway between the rooms in which to work and that presents a very unprofessional appearance. I know that we've lost some functions for that reason, and we have caterers who won't come to this building because of the way that they have to prepare for serving. In other places, there is a list of caterers that can be used in facilities. I'm not saying that we should allow people to have free range in the kitchen, but we don't need to have a designated person as on-site caterer. I'm not hearing or seeing that it's a benefit at all," Harvell said.
Under Harvell's plan, the kitchen would be used on a first come, first serve basis allowing for kitchen usage for only one caterer at a time. Freeman's plan would allow for more than one function to be served through the use of the on-site caterer. Harvell questioned if that was currently possible.
According to building manager Raymond Stewart, current caterer Jim Hitchcock has catered to more than one function at a time when needed.
"We have five rooms in this building which are available for rental. If each room is rented, an on-site caterer can provide meals to all of those rooms. If we go to an open kitchen then we have access for only one caterer at a time. This facility comes as a package, and I think the biggest benefit of an on-site caterer is the convenience provided," Freeman said.
According to Freeman, the on-site caterer would also be responsible for overseeing use of the kitchen when outside caterers are being used. Freeman also said that under his plan the on-site caterer would have to be available at least five days a week to answer any questions for potential renters and would possibly need access to an office at the Civic Center. Harvell questioned the cost effectiveness of such a plan and also mentioned problems that the commission had with the current contract.
"If we do this, and we tie a person into this building for five days a week, then what about his outside business. We had an issue regarding the use of the kitchen to provide catering for outside functions and what guarantees will we have that another caterer wouldn't also cook food at this facility to take elsewhere?" Harvell questioned.
Freeman answered her by saying, "I don't want to drag old problems into our new contract issue. Once we come up with a contract, I'm sure that we will be able to hold the person with the contract more accountable than we could under the old contract which really wasn't a contract."
Harvell asked Freeman to submit a copy of a possible contract to commissioners at their March meeting for further discussion.
In other business, Harvell suggested that the city have architect Bob Beavers inspect cracks in the wall and floor in the Ferguson Room and a wall in the Conference Room to determine the structural soundness in those rooms.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
A request to close a street in Madison lead several residents to question city practices during the Madison City Council meeting Monday night.
Sandra and Amos Holland approached the city council with a request to close River Road in Madison, which they said is not listed as a street. According to Sandra Holland, the request follows several burglaries at their home and complaints of citizens driving through their yard to avoid holes in the city street.
"The road down there is in such bad condition that our water main, which is on our property, is now in the road. The water department has come over here and put a 50-gallon container in the middle of the road to keep people from running over the main because it has been damaged so many times. For people to drive down that road and avoid the holes they have to come into our yard, and we've had to replace our water faucet because it's been run over," said Holland.
Bill Cainge, who also lives in the area and has property near the road, spoke in favor of keeping the road open. "There are some problems with that road, and I've been broken into as well, but I put up security doors and haven't had any more problems. If you close this road, then you will be cutting off some access the residents have down there, and it could also pose fire hazard problems," Cainge said.
Council members agreed to ook at the problem before making a decision.
In other business, council members heard complaints from another citizen who also voiced concerns over the state of roads in the city. According to Barbara Malone, potholes throughout the city are causing problems for motorists.
"It's bad. I've got people that are about to run over my fence to keep from hitting mudholes because you can't even call them potholes anymore. I want to know what the city is going to do about this because it's a problem that we have all over this city. On my street, on the Holland's street, on every street and it doesn't seem to me that the city is doing anything about it," Malone said.
Council member Annie Winfrey responded. "We're all taxpayers, and we should expect more from the city. Something does have to be done. We need to find out where we can get the money to fix the streets. We need to demand that Cisco (St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco) fixes our streets like he does in other towns. As taxpayers we need to have a voice and make sure our voice is heard," Winfrey said.
According to Cisco the county has not paved any roads inside of municipalities in the county.
In other business, council members approved a $75 bonus for the city's volunteer firefighters. Last month, the council tabled the issue to see if more funds could be found in order to give the volunteers the bonus. Several firefighters attended the meeting, and assistant chief Bobby Hardrick spoke on behalf of the group.
"We've been getting some negative criticism lately, and I want to say that while criticism is good, we're getting too much negative criticism. What we do, we don't do for a stipend or for a bonus. We're getting out of our beds and two- and three- o'clock in the morning to go out and put our lives on the line. I believe that the life of a firefighter or a citizen is more important than any stipend that you all could give to us. We're just hoping that everyone understands and appreciates the fact they we're dedicated, and that we're going to be there no matter what the council decides," Hardrick said.
Madison Mayor James Brooks cautioned the council on their spending prior to the council's vote.
"I appreciate what the fire department gives to the community, but I hope you realize that by taking money from the court fund, you're taking money from the general account. I feel that they should get as much money as possible, but the money that goes into our court account generally comes right back out. We have to remember that we have 987 citizens who should benefit from every dollar brought in more than any employee or firefighter. If we spend everything that we bring in, then what happens if we have something unforeseen come up?" Brooks said.
Council members also approved stronger enforcement of the city's dog licensing ordinance.
According to Brooks, the council also upheld a decision to discipline two city employees by cutting their work hours. Brooks said the one-day per week suspension will be lifted on Friday of this week.
Two men arrested for hauling a lot more than just toys in a tractor-trailer headed for a North Carolina Wal-Mart store on Sunday had their bonds set at $2 million during an appearance in St. Francis County District Court Monday afternoon.
The pair, Hector Aguilar-Corona, 37, Tucson, Ariz., and Francisco Galvan, 36, Lynwood, Calif., were traveling on Interstate 40 near Forrest City when their 18-wheeler was stopped for speeding. A subsequent search of the trailer revealed 300 kilos, or 660 pounds, of cocaine mixed among boxes of toys. The drugs are valued at about $30 million
Aguilar-Corona is charged with permitting an unauthorized driver to drive and possession with intent. Galvan is charged with driving with a suspended license and possession with intent.