By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The St. Francis County Chapter of the NAACP has circulated a petition requesting a public hearing with school officials over perceived problems at Lincoln Middle School.
Among the allegations are uncalled-for transfers of teachers and the failure to promote a long-time employee to principal, Estella Shackelford.
At a public hearing Wednesday, which drew about 60 people, the issues were addressed.
After Bill Satterwhite, vice president of the local NAACP, opened the hearing, Marshall James, retired principal of Lincoln, spoke.
He said he was not in the decision making process on the transfers, so he could not address that. He did say, however, that teaching at the middle school level requires a special commitment.
He also said, "Forrest City is a great place to live and work...And I want to thank the many people who worked with us, for their support.
"I want to thank you not only for support, but also for being fair and professional enough that when there was a problem, you would come to me, the assistant principal, teachers, in order to communicate, in order to work together to make this school district the best place it could be," he said.
However, he then accused the local news media, particularly the Times-Herald, of treating Lincoln Middle School unfairly.
"I hope and pray that the group that continues to focus on negative things, continues to use innuendo, gossip and untruths on the editorial pages will stop doing so...Teachers at Lincoln were very disappointed that anyone would slander, attack or write an editorial with no proof. This is not fair to this community, the school board or the school district."
On the issue of Shackelford, he said that she has the credentials to do the job, and said he recommends her highly.
"Mrs. Shackelford is well qualified. She comes early and stays late. She is fair and consistent. Thirty years experience, six years as assistant principal," said James.
The school board, on a 3-3 vote, failed to approve another person, Sandra Nicks Mills, for the job, and has not voted on any other candidate.
Only one school board member, Henry Peacock, who was appointed to fill the seat held by Gordon McCoy while McCoy is deployed overseas with the National Guard, was present.
It was also mentioned that Superintendent Lee Vent and Assistant Superintendent Alice Barnes were not present.
Petition forms were made available at the meeting. The petition requests a public hearing with the administration and school board.
By TAMARA JOHNSON
Managing Editor
Citing privacy issues, Forrest City School District Superintendent Lee Vent said school administrators did not attend a meeting regarding leadership at Lincoln Middle School Wednesday because the proper venue for such discussions lies solely with the district's board of directors.
Vent said he is prohibited by law to discuss personnel issues in an open forum, and because an employee's name was on the agenda for the meeting, he felt administrators should not attend.
The meeting was called by the St. Francis County Chapter of the NAACP to address several concerns members of that organization have with LMS. The main point of contention is the replacement of Marshall James, who recently retired. At the June board meeting, Vent recommended Sandra Nicks Mills as the new principal, but her appointment was denied after the board vote ended in a tie. In a press release, the NAACP questioned why Estella Shackelford, vice principal at LMS, was not being promoted to principal.
"The proper venue for personnel issues to be discussed is with members of the Forrest City School Board, and not in public setting," Vent said. "I can't go to meetings where personnel is going to be discussed because we must comply with the right to privacy act. An employee's name was on this agenda, so therefore we cannot respond in an open forum."
The school board allows anyone who wants to share their concerns with the board to speak prior to the beginning of each school board meeting. Those wanting to address the board may sign up to speak at the meeting. Each person is then given three minutes in which to make their case to the board.
The next school board meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 19, in Vent's office.
As for LMS, Vent said, "right now, the principal situation is open for applications. Hopefully, we'll be able to make a recommendation" at the next board meeting.
By TAMARA JOHNSON
Managing Editor
Over 120 people visited job fairs in St. Francis and Cross counties on Wednesday to learn more about working for the federal government.
The Federal Correctional Institution-Forrest City hosted the events at the Forrest City Public Library, East Arkansas Community College, Cross County Library and the Wynne Chamber of Commerce to share information with potential employees to help staff the new 1,500-bed medium security facility set to open later this year.
Cathy Hicks, minimum-security camp administrator and prison spokesperson, said that although correctional officers are needed, support staff, such as teachers, medical personnel and case workers, will also be hired.
Correctional officers have a starting salary of $34,000 annually, and applicants can be no older than 36.
"As far as we're concerned, it was a total success. We had a lot of good candidates show up, and it looks really favorable for the institution," Hicks said.
Staff members manning the four job fairs assisted interested individuals in applying online for jobs with the prison and provided them with information about some of the jobs available and the hiring process, according to Hicks.
Some current FCI-FC employees are expected to transfer to the medium facility once it opens, essentially creating job vacancies at the low and minimum facilities. Hicks said those attending Wednesday's events were also allowed to apply for positions at those institutions.
"We will probably have another job fair, but the date and time has not yet been determined," Hicks said. When we do, we will do as we did with this job fair and send out another press release."
Anyone interested in FCI-FC employment, but unable to attend a job fair, may apply online anytime at www.bop.gov, according to Hicks. "You can apply for up to five institutions at one time, but applicants should specify at which institution he or she wants to work. Just follow the prompts and you can apply right there."
All applications are handled through the Bureau of Prisons, and are not reviewed or graded locally, according to Hicks.
The medium-security facility is the third of four prison phases planned for the Forrest City site. The fourth, a high-security prison, has not yet been funded.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
An inadvertent click of a button and a change in auditing procedures may have led to a report from the Arkansas Legislative Joint Auditing Committee that found the Forrest City Mayor's Office and City Clerk/Treasurer's Office in noncompliance with state law and with inadequate internal control procedures being used.
According to the ALJAC report, Forrest City Mayor Larry S. Bryant was cited after a clerical error in the amended budget figures for the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant and expenditures were misprinted and presented to the city council for approval.
"The mayor did not prepare a budget for the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant and expenditures exceeded the budget for all funds combined by $1,118,660 due to a clerical error in the amended budget figures presented to the council for approval," the audit said.
According to Bryant, the wrong figures were entered into the report as it was being printed for review.
"This was just a case of someone hitting the wrong button. It was easily correctable and we took care of it," he said.
City Clerk Marie Todd said that the issues she was cited for were common for the 2002 year.
"The state has begun doing what they call a systems audit which checks the computer systems for accessibility. With us being a small office, we share a lot of responsibilities and we have to work on each other's computers from time to time. We've contacted our software provider, and they are working on ways to place more security features into our system," she said.
According to the report, "The clerk/treasurer's information system access security controls were inadequate and no formal documented and approved disaster recovery plan was in place. Weak access security controls could allow unauthorized changes to be made which could increase the risk of fraud, and the ability of the city to continue operations is greatly impaired without a disaster recovery plan in the event of a major business interruption," the audit said.
Todd also said measures have been taken to insure security in case of a disaster.
"We now have a more secure backup plan in place. We have to make sure that we have a backup plan in place in case we have a disaster, and we have to have a written plan of action in case something happens," Todd said. "We have made changes to our system and we are now doing a tape backup here in the office. Someone takes the backup information home each night in case something happens to the building. This is all something that began this year, and we're all learning as we go, just like everyone else in the state."
Forrest City Police Chief Clarence McNeary's office and District Court Clerk Neva Vance, were both found to be in compliance.
Three other St. Francis County municipalities also received audit reports recently.
In Palestine, the state found Mayor Willetta Carroll and the city's police department to be in compliance, but the offices of the recorder/treasurer and city court clerk to be in noncompliance.
Recorder/Treasurer Charles Maness was cited for several issues including: the cash receipt and disbursement journals for all funds not being properly maintained; for not properly maintaining a fixed asset listing; for not reconciling the general fund bank account for 2002 as required by state law and for failure to issue receipts for all items of revenue. City Clerk Darlene Walker was also cited for not issuing receipts for all items of revenue as required by state law.
In Colt, Treasurer Bobby Clarkson was cited for not maintaining adequate fixed asset records for 2002. Mayor Virgil Keeler, City Recorder Cheryl Neely and the city's police department were found to be in compliance.
In Madison, City Court Clerk Earnestein Broadway and Recorder/Treasurer Ennie Hardrick were cited for repeated errors.
According to the report, for the fourth consecutive year, Broadway failed to properly reconcile bank accounts as required by state law and failed to identify ending balances to receipts for court cases pending. Hardrick was cited for the failing, for the third straight year, to maintain an adequate fixed asset record. She was also found in noncompliance for not reconciling bank accounts as required by state law and for not issuing prenumbered receipts for certain funds.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
A filing period for several city council positions in St. Francis County will begin Thursday at the St. Francis County Clerk's office.
The period will be held Thursday, July 15, through Wednesday, Aug. 4, for city council members in Caldwell, Madison, Hughes, Colt and Palestine. County Clerk Elizabeth Smith says that those filing need to bring several things with them to her office.
"We need your petitions and a statement of financial interest if you have not already filed one this year," said Smith. "Also, you need to use a physical address when filing." The election for these positions will be held at the general election on Nov. 2.
Smith also reminds those who are planning to run for school board positions in all three districts that the filing period ends in August. "The period opened on June 23, and we have not had anyone, incumbent or challenger, file for any of the positions," stated Smith. "The election is Sept. 21, and the deadline for filing is Monday, Aug. 9, at 4:30 p.m."
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
An effort to prevent smoking and tobacco use among youth in St. Francis, Lee, Monroe and Cross counties will continue for another year thanks to funding from the state tobacco settlement fund.
The East Arkansas Enterprise Community (EAEC) held a press conference on Wednesday to announce that $60,000 has been awarded to their Breathe Easy and Stamp Out Smoking (SOS) campaign for the second year.
Several local dignitaries including Forrest City Mayor Larry Bryant, SFC Judge Carl Cisco and State Senator Steve Higginbotham joined members of the EAEC board to announce the award at the SFC Courthouse.
Charlene Sykes, a member of the EAEC board spoke about the program and its goals. "One of our main goals is to reduce child use of tobacco," said Sykes.
According to statistics given by Sykes, 200 Arkansas children start smoking each week. She also stated that 17 percent of those children are beginning before age 11.
"Let us continue to have an aggressive plan to get both children and adults to stop smoking and not to start," she said.
Presenting the check was Dr. George Blevins, with the Minority Initiative Sub-Recipient Grant Office of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. He spoke about the accomplishments the group has achieved in the past year.
"It is so good to see the work you are doing here," said Blevins. "I am personally impressed by the progress you have made. Many people don't know that second hand smoking is more dangerous than the smoke the smoker is inhaling. You are getting that information out there to the public and especially the children in the area. I am very pleased to present this check for $60,000 to you so that you can continue your efforts to prevent tobacco use."
Cisco praised the EAEC, and stated that parents also have a great influence on their children when it comes to smoking.
"I would like to compliment the EAEC on the job that they have done," stated Cisco. "Your efforts are important, but it is also important that parents back up the message, they can have a great influence. My mother told me when I was young, 'If I catch you smoking, and I don't care if you are 21, I will kill you.' And I believed her because I knew her," joked Cisco. "But I love her for that because I never started (smoking) and I'm sure that it has saved me from many health problems throughout the years."
Arlene Freeman, coordinator of the EAEC, ended the event by thanking the participants in the programs and the partners of the organization.
"We are very proud of each of our partners and what you do helps in our efforts to prevent children from using tobacco," said Freeman. "Many of you have been able to make it out today and I want you to know that we appreciate your help and support. Thank you to each and everyone of you for making our program a continued success."
The 10th annual Bikers for Babies for the March of Dimes will welcome a new starting point for its September event when area motorcycle enthusiasts start from the Forrest City Wal-Mart Supercenter.
According to a press release from the March of Dimes, registration for the event will begin on Sunday, Sept. 12, at 7 a.m. and end at 8 a.m. The ride is expected to begin at 8 a.m. with riders leaving for Toad Suck Park near Conway.
More than 3,500 bikers are expected to participate in the event which will benefit the Arkansas Chapter of the March of Dimes. Riders will also leave from locations in Jonesboro, Hope, Little Rock, Searcy, Pine Bluff, Batesville, Helena, El Paso, Pocahontas, Mountain Home, Ashdown, Prescott, Hot Springs, Mt. View, Newport, Stuttgart, Paragould, Trumann, Sheridan, Malvern and El Dorado. At the park, events including a picnic and awards ceremony will be held with music provided by the Swinging Johnsons.
The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education and advocacy.