By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
St. Francis County employees could see their salaries increase in April if members of the quorum court's budget committee are successful in making their recommendation to the entire court.
Budget Committee members voted four-to-one, with Justice Leodis Williams being the lone dissenting vote, on Tuesday to approve a measure which would give all full-time employees and elected officials an additional $30 per pay period. The move would also allow part-time employees an additional $15 per pay period.
The measure excluded a pay increase for the county's 11 justices of the peace.
According to Justice Regan Hill, the measure would pay each employee equally, which he said is the fairest way to hand out the raises.
"First off, I want to be fair to everyone, and the only way to do that is to give everyone the same amount. If you take our total of three percent, then the employees on the high end of the spectrum would receive about eight percent of the money being allocated for the raises. Those employees on the lower end of the salary scale would receive just over one percent of the money. This way, everyone receives basically the same amount," said Hill.
According to the formula presented by Hill, employees currently receiving $8 per hour for their work will see a raise of close to five percent while employees that are paid in the $13 per hour range will receive a raise of under three percent.
Budget committee members made the decision after reversing a move that Williams had sponsored which would have given the employees a three percent across-the-board raise with the exception of justices. The committee voted unanimously to approve the measure which would become effective April 1 if it is approved by the entire QC.
At least one justice voiced displeasure with the exclusion of the county's quorum court members in the salary talks. Justice Evans Seawood said justices should be included in any raise that the other elected officials receive.
"I'm serious about this. If the elected officials get a raise, then I want a raise. I'm elected just like they are, and if we're not going to do this right, then let's forget the raises. I have to pay filing fees just like the other elected officials do, and if they're going to get a raise, then we should too," said Seawood.
"Either the county can afford to give a raise or it can't. I don't care if the county goes broke. If anyone is getting a raise, then I want one too," he said.
Williams disagreed with Seawood. "As far as I'm concerned, we (quorum court justices) are being paid well for the job that we have to do. The other elected officials are here on a daily basis and are elected to do a job that is different from ours. I'm all for getting a raise when I can, but in this instance if we need to leave ourselves out then that's fine by me."
At last week's meeting of the county's personnel committee, justices also agreed to recommend that the county begin paying the entire bill for employee insurance. On Tuesday, budget committee chairman Henry Wilkinson suggested that the employees receive a raise but continue paying their insurance costs.
"Basically, if the county begins to pick up the cost of the employee insurance, it will equal a one-percent pay raise to each employee. I feel that we should just give a pay raise, but not adjust the insurance," Wilkinson said.
The raises will be voted on when the QC convenes for its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday.
In other business, the committee agreed to recommend the appropriation of $10,000 to the automation fund in the county's tax collection office. The funding will go to pay expenses and maintenance costs incurred during tax collections last year.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
A large capital campaign to build a Performing and Fine Arts Center at East Arkansas Community College is already under way.
Although there will be a big kickoff this fall, the organizing has been going on for some time, and organization is important when millions -- eight million, to be exact -- are being sought.
"In a capital campaign endeavor such as this, with a goal of $8 million, you don't just start calling people and asking for money," said Dr. Dale Morris, an EACC board member who also chairs the capital campaign.
"Foundations, philanthropic organizations, people who give -- they all want to know what they're giving to," he continued. "So you have to have certain documents, establish legitimacy. You have to have something that says, 'Here's what we're trying to build, here's what we're trying to do.' All those things have to be done, as opposed to just calling people."
He said that for the past several months, there has been an emphasis on developing the leadership of different committees, for different levels of giving, "all the way up to the millions, and then down to the folks who may want to donate $10. And we're in the process now of making a list of potential donors. I'm talking about large corporations, foundations and individuals themselves. You're looking at former residents who have gone on and done well, and who now want to give something back to the community. And there are people who may want to give money in honor or in memory of someone."
Morris said he had a lot to learn when he accepted chairmanship of the campaign.
"I've talked to the United Way (in previous drives) and I've sold brooms for the Lions Club and you've heard of bake sales and car washes," he says. "But when you sit down and think, 'What can I do for a million?' -- that's a different situation. It gets to a point where you almost need to know the answer before you ask the question."
He said Terry Crawford, director of development at EACC, "has done this before, in many different areas, and raising larger amounts than this. And he's the one who is helping us all at EACC, the committee and me."
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The Caldwell City Council on Tuesday granted a variance and approved building permits for a mobile home development in the Evans Road area.
Nine homes, including five mobile homes and four portable buildings, will be located on the land by J&B Rentals. The portable building designation refers to the type of movable building sometimes used for offices, but which in this time will be converted into living spaces.
The variance was needed because of the age of the mobile homes. Caldwell has what it calls a "5-year-old rule." This is a zoning regulation which states no mobile home over the age of 5 can be located within the city limits.
However, J&B Rentals provided photos of a renovated mobile home, and has also promised that every mobile home will be renovated inside and out, including vinyl siding.
The Caldwell Planning Commission had already given its okay to the project. The city council wanted to make sure that no individual mobile home would be rented until the renovation job is finished on that particular home.
The city will also allow J&B Rentals to construct 26-foot wide gravel roads for access to the property.
After the vote, Mayor Gary Hughes asked council members to help him keep an eye on that property, to make sure anyone moving in a trailer or mobile home comes before the council.
"Not everyone comes down here like J&B Rentals did," Hughes said.
On another matter, the council agreed to pay Planning Commission members $20 per meeting, effective Jan. 1 of this year.
In other action, the council agreed to purchase a new stove for the civic center's kitchen. Hughes said the stove is 30 years old and the oven is not working.
A man impersonating a police officer stole over $500 from truckers Tuesday after telling them he had to check their money to see if it was drug money.
The St. Francis County Sheriff's Department was notified about 3 p.m. Tuesday that a black male subject had shown a police badge to two different truckers parked at the Truckstops of America at Shell Lake and told both men that drugs had been found in the area and he needed to check their cash to see if it contained any traces of drugs.
One victim, John Mederrilla, 34, of California, told police the suspect, a black male in his early 30s, showed him a silver badge that was around his neck and said he wanted to make sure Mederrilla's money was not drug money. Mederrilla said he gave the suspect $460, $60 of which was his and $400 that belonged to the company for which he was driving. The victim said the suspect told him drug dogs were enroute to the TSA to check the scene before he drove off in a red sedan.
The other victim, Douglas C. Oleary, 58, of Dumas, told police he was sitting in his truck when he was approached by the suspect who also showed him a badge and told him that drugs had been found in an 18-wheeler parked near his truck. The victim told police the suspect asked him how much money he had, and after telling him he had $60 in cash, the suspect said he was going to let a drug dog check the money and for Oleary to stay in the truck.
Deputies said the suspect did not show or imply he had a weapon.
The Forrest City Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual banquet Thursday, Feb. 12, at the Forrest City Civic Center, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The guest speaker will be Walter C. Coleman III, who is an official with the National Football League. He recently refereed at the AFC Championship game. Coleman is associated with Coleman Dairy and is an Arkansas native.
Also during the evening, the Darrell Gore family of Palestine, St. Francis County's Farm Family of the Year, will be recognized.
There will also be reports by the outgoing and incoming presidents.