By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
A decline in revenue forced the City of Wheatley to adopt its 2004 budget Thursday night without including any raises for city employees.
Mayor Larry Nash presented the budget to councilmen. "There are no raises indicated in this budget," said Nash. "We pay all of our salaries for the city employees out of the general fund. That fund is also our reserve fund. Our state and county tax revenue is down, our city water revenue is down and the county property tax revenue is down. It seems like every thing is down. With our budget so tight, I didn't add in any raises. I would like to add them in, but I can't suggest it."
Councilman Rodney Hicks offered his opinion. "On the topic of raises, they are an incentive to our employees. The cost of living is always going up. I know that the revenue is down, but I wish there was a way we could find the money to give them something."
"This is the first year that I can remember that I haven't recommended giving the employees a raise," said Nash. "But you (the city council) can pass a raise if you want. It is up to you. The problem is, if we pass it, and we get to the end of the year and we can't pay it, then what do we do?
"If you want to pass a raise, and if I were to suggest a raise for them, it would be a two or two-and-a-half percent raise. That is the most that we might be able to squeeze by with in the budget," Nash added.
The suggestion was made that maybe the council could give raises later in the year. "It would be nice to give them a raise now, but maybe later in the year when we know better how things are going we can give them one," Hicks said.
The council voted unanimously to adopt the budget, and table the issue of raises for employees.
In other business, city attorney Marshall Wright presented the council with a new state-mandated policy for the Wheatley Police Department.
"I have prepared a policy on biased law enforcement practices," said Wright. "It is based on policies from Little Rock, Forrest City and the Municipal League. The state legislature has mandated that every city in the state have a policy. We were supposed to have done this by Jan. 1, 2004. I heard about it late, and of course it will be late. It helps us if we are sued for discrimination. If someone comes into the office and asks to see our policy, we will have one. I suggest that the council pass the policy and look at it closer later. We can always amend it if necessary."
"What will happen if we don't pass the policy? What will the state do?" Councilman John Clifton asked.
"I don't know," said Nash. "If the state mandates it, they may come in and pull all of our state funding. I don't know that they will, but I think we need to pass it tonight and make amendments to it later if we think changes need to be made."
Despite Clifton's concerns, he and the other councilmen voted unanimously to adopt the policy.
Before adjourning, the council voted unanimously to accept a bid of $49,300 from Harold Hall Roofing, Inc. of Stuttgart to repair leaking roofs at the Wheatley Civic Center. Nash said the city has received $25,000 from the state to aid in the repairs, and the remaining costs would be take out of the city's share of county sales tax revenue.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
Sickness doesn't normally take a break, regardless of the time, but on weekends in Forrest City, one might be hard-pressed to get a prescription filled after local pharmacies close on Saturdays.
Forrest City has four pharmacies Super D, Wal-Mart, Fred's and Harvest Foods none of which are open on Sundays.
Only two of the four pharmacy managers would comment as to why their business is not open on Sunday, and both said the decision is a corporate one.
"It is a company directive," said Sonny Thompson, manager of the FC Harvest Foods pharmacy. "All Harvest Foods' pharmacies are closed on Sunday. We have to do what they (the company headquarters) tell us to do. They tell us when our hours are and what days we are open."
Van Cooper, manager of the Super D pharmacy, said his store has not always been closed on Sundays. "We were open on Sundays two or three years ago," said Cooper. "We are under new ownership now, and they tell us what our hours are."
Officials with the pharmacy departments of Wal-Mart and Fred's both said they preferred not to comment on the matter.
Tiffany Billingsley, marketing director with Baptist Memorial Hospital-Forrest City said the hospital has its own way of dealing with the pharmacies being closed on Sundays.
"We have a policy that we put in place because the local pharmacies are not open on Sunday and may close early," commented Billingsley. "If the doctor in the ER (emergency room) deems it necessary, a prescription can be filled at the hospital for up to 48 hours worth of the medicine. The policy is in place because we realize the problem people may have getting their medicine. We don't give out samples, but that amount of medicine should get someone through until they can get to a pharmacy that is open."
Two local physicians suggested their patients might be better served if the pharmacies were open on Sunday.
"They are doing a disservice to their patients (by not being open for business on Sundays)," stated Dr. Frank Schwartz through his front desk clerk.
Dr. George Conner III, added through his front desk that, "It would be nice if they were open on Sunday."
The annual Forrest City Area Chamber of Commerce banquet has been set for Thursday, Feb. 12, at the Forrest City Civic Center.
The dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m.
This year's guest speaker will be Walter C. Coleman III. He is associated with Coleman Dairy in Little Rock. He is also a National Football League official and a motivational speaker.
Coleman has been with Coleman Dairy since June of 1974. He was a football official for Arkansas high schools for 14 years, and was a Southland Athletic Conference official for five years. He served as a football official with the Southwest Conference for five years and was an official with NFL Europe for four years.
Since 1984, he has been an official with the National Football League. He has served as line judge or referee at several divisional and wild card playoff games. He was an alternate official for the 2000 Super Bowl.
He is currently also a board member of the Greater Little Rock YMCA; chairman of the board of the Greater Ozarks-Arkansas Region American Red Cross Blood services; and a board member of the Little Rock Boys & Girls Club. He is a past board member of the Milk Industry Foundation of Washington, D.C.; a recipient of the Young Executive Award from the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce in 1987; past chairman of the Arkansas area Council of Boys & Girls Clubs of America; has been named a George F. Hixson Fellow by Kiwanis International; is past president of the Downtown Little Rock Kiwanis Club; past president of the Arkansas Dairy Products Association; and past president, Major Sports Association of the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce.
Also during the evening, the Darrell Gore family of Palestine, St. Francis County's Farm Family of the Year, will be honored.
Tickets are $15 for individuals. Corporate sponsorships are available for $200 -- including eight tickets, a sponsor's table and listing in the program.
Tickets may be purchased by calling Sheila Lieblong or Mary Beth Doler at the Chamber office, 633-1651. The deadline for reservations is Wednesday, Feb. 4.
Counseling Services of Eastern Arkansas will have an open house at its new facility at 4451 N. Washington in Forrest City, on Thursday, Jan. 22.
The hours will be from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m., and will include a ribbon cutting at 3:30 p.m.
The public event will include refreshments and tours of the building.
"There will be staff on hand, so people can ask questions about services," said Tara Thomason, director of marketing and education for CSEA. "There will also be printed information on hand about mental illness and the services we provide."
Besides the Forrest City facility, CSEA, a private, non profit organization, has clinics in five other counties, including Crittenden (West Memphis), Cross (Wynne), Lee (Marianna), Monroe (Brinkley) and Phillips (Helena) counties.
In 1963, the Community Mental Health Center Act was passed, providing funding to improve mental health services across the country. At first, it was decided to build hospitals in the four corners of the state and one (George W. Jackson) was built in Jonesboro. However, this concept proved to be expensive, and the Mental Health Authority divided the state into 13 regions, with each having its own mental health center. Today there are 15 community mental health centers.
East Arkansas Regional Mental Health Center, established in 1970, was the original provider for this area. In 1994, the leadership was changed and was renamed Behavioral Health Services. There was another transition in 1998 and the organization received its present name, Counseling Services of Eastern Arkansas.
CSEA is certified by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, and as a community mental health center, it provides mental health care to those who are unable to pay for those services in the private sector.
CSEA is governed by a volunteer board of directors, made up of two representatives from each of the six counties.
"One in four Americans at some part of their lifetime will be affected by mental illness," said Thomason. "It affects everyone. We want everyone to understand that there should not be a stigma attached to mental illness. We want peopleto be encouraged, to know that there is help and there is hope."
Anyone wanting more information about the open house or about mental health in general may call toll free 866-808 CSEA (2732), or visit the CSEA website at www.cosea.org
East Arkansas Community College and the American Red Cross will host a blood drive on Friday, Jan. 30, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the EACC Nursing Department Lab in Classroom Building 4, Room 102.
The Red Cross states that a local shortage of blood and platelets of all types is possible unless an immediate outpouring of donations are received from the general public.
According to a press release, less than a half day supply of blood and platelets is on-hand to provide the 70 hospitals that serve the Greater Ozarks-Arkansas region, which provides blood products to hospitals in Arkansas, western Tennessee, and southwestern Missouri.
Participants in the blood drive will receive T-shirts and refreshments. Donors are required to provide a government issued photo identification card. For more information, contact Melvin Tinsley at (870) 633-4480 ext. 304.
An insurance salesman was robbed as he was leaving a home on Midway Street Thursday afternoon.
The Forrest City Police Department reported Bill Kelly, 46, 1632 Margaret Dr., Forrest City, had just left a home at 137 Midway about 4:30 p.m. when he was approached by a black male asking for a cigarette. After Kelly told the suspect he didn't have a cigarette, the man allegedly attempted to grab Kelly's money bag, and when he refused to give it to him, the suspect allegedly hit Kelly several times in the chest before taking the bag. The suspect then fled to nearby railroad tracks and ran south.
Police describe the suspect as a black male about five feet, nine inches tall and weighing about 170 pounds. The suspect was wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and a stocking cap.
Officers recovered Kelly's bag behind a residence on B Street. The insurance papers were still in the bag, but over $200 in cash was missing, according to the police report.
A natural gas main was broken briefly Thursday after being struck by a truck on North Washington.
According to the Forrest City Police Department report, the accident occurred around 4:30 p.m., at 831 Washington when Daniel D. Winters, 31, a truck driver from Slidell, La., was attempting to make a delivery of furniture from Columbia, Miss.
In the report, Winters stated that he was trying to negotiate a driveway and couldn't get around a tree, and as he was backing up, the truck struck the gas main.
The report stated that a maintenance crew from CenterPoint
Energy was contacted to fix the leak. The estimated damage to
the main was $10,000. No damage was reported on the truck.