By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
St. Francis County Quorum Court justices may have to dip into the county's trust account later this month in order to pay back county general and the county's road department after auditors found errors in the 2002 audit of county funds.
Auditors reported problems in the way money was handled with the county road account and the NEARCO account.
According to a letter from St. Francis County Treasurer Ann Harbin, a total transfer of $61,300 is necessary from county general with two payments, one of $12,500 and one of $3,200 going to the solid waste/NEARCO account and a payment of $45,600 going to the communication account in the sheriff's department. The letter also informed Budget Committee Chairman Henry Wilkinson that a payment of $25,000 was necessary from the road department to NEARCO.
During Tuesday's meeting of the quorum court budget committee, Wilkinson told justices that the only place the funds could currently come from is the county's trust account, which on Tuesday, stood at $450,187.25.
"At the end of last month, county general had a total of around $17,000 in it. The judge is currently trying to have some of these adjustments removed, but we're still more than likely going to have to dip into the trust account in order to pay these funds back," Wilkinson said.
According to a report from Harbin, the final county general balance for June was $17,438.47. Harbin said this morning that the general account today has a balance of approximately $40,000.
Cisco told justices last night that on the advice of County Attorney Fletcher Long, he would be contesting the two payments from the general account to Solid Waste/NEARCO and the $25,000 payment from the road department to NEARCO.
"Fletcher and I have talked, and I am going to Little Rock to speak with the Audit Division about some of the findings. I may be able to get some relief on the payments to NEARCO, but I'm pretty sure that the sheriff's communication funds will have to be paid back," Cisco said.
While Cisco and Harbin both agreed that the $45,600 would have to be paid back, Cisco agreed to check to see if any of the amount could be removed from the payback due to the purchase of a computer.
In other business, Cisco updated justices on the falling deficit in the road department. In May, Cisco presented the budget committee with a plan to balance the road department's budget, which was more than $400,000 in the red. According to the monthly balances reported by Harbin, the road department's fund stood at $338,713.77 at the end of June, which was a drop of $56,233.59 from the ending May balance of $394,947.36. The decrease could have been better, according to Cisco, if not for a state aid project which was scheduled before the new budget was implemented.
"While we did a good job of cutting into that figure, it would have been even better, but we had a paving project that we had already bid on that we had to pay a $10,000 match on. We're working on this and everything has been going well so far," Cisco said.
Harbin told justices that the balance had decreased in the past two weeks to just over $302,000.
Discussion of the possible use of the county's trust fund led to questions for Cisco on repairs to the roofs at the courthouse and county jail. Wilkinson questioned whether roofing efforts would be hurt by the use of money from the trust fund.
"Last year, we agreed not to dip into the trust fund unless it was necessary so that we could make sure that we had funds to replace the roof at both the jail and the courthouse. We have not replaced either roof, and while I understand that there is a plan in the works for the jail's roof, we need to know where we stand on the roof situation," Wilkinson said.
According to Cisco, the majority of the work needed currently is at the county jail. Cisco also told justices that patching work done on the courthouse had eliminated the majority of the problem leaks in the building. Circuit Clerk Bette Green agreed with Cisco that most of the problems had decreased after patching of the courthouse roof last fall and earlier this year. Justice Evans Seawood questioned the truth in their statements.
"I am sick and tired of hearing about this jailhouse and this courthouse roof. We paid $17,000 to patch the roof on the courthouse last year, and I don't care what anyone says, I still think it's leaking just as bad at this courthouse. Now, we're looking at spending another $12,000 to patch up the roof on the jail and I just don't understand it. This court passed an ordinance last year to pay for this, and if we don't follow the law then I might as well stop coming to the meetings," Seawood said.
Justice Leodis Williams who also serves on the building committee, spoke in favor of the move to attempt to patch the roof at the jail using a foam sealing process.
"At the time we first began discussing this, I was in favor of replacing both of the roofs, but if the money is not available, then we need to look at using the process. I am on the building committee, and I was sold on the sturdiness of the product last week. We will also be able to save the county some money and should get a good roof out of it," Williams said.
"I don't know if any of you have been over to the jail, but I stay over there at that jail religiously and it's embarrassing the condition the roof and ceiling are in. I just know that we've got to do something," Seawood said.
Cisco told budget committee members that he would present an estimate from Innovative Sealants on the repairs to large area of the roof at the jail during next week's meeting of the quorum court.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The "Bad Cop Bandit" struck again Tuesday, only one day after being identified, but his time on the run is apparently over after being arrested Tuesday night in Little Rock.
St. Francis County Sheriff's Department Investigator Herbert Neighbors, said Curtis L. Murdock, 41, of Malvern, robbed a Wisconsin couple about 10:30 a.m., yesterday, at the Super 8 motel in Shell Lake. Murdock was seen knocking on several doors at the motel before Hugo Werth, of Appleton, Wisc., who was traveling with his wife Cindy, from Houston, Texas, opened the door. At that time Murdock told the couple that he was a narcotics officer who had made an arrest earlier in the day and that he needed to check the couple's money for narcotics residue, according to Neighbors.
"He followed his same basic pattern on this one. He knocked on the door and showed them an I.D., and when they let him in the room he told them that he was a narcotics investigator and that there had been a large drug bust on the back side of the motel at around 4 a.m. He then told them that he needed to check their money for drug residue and had them lay out their cash on the bed, after which he gathered it up and used a walkie talkie to tell someone to bring the drug dog around. At that time he left the room and the area with approximately $540," Neighbors said.
Murdock, along with an accomplice, then left the area in a gray van. Early reports placed Murdock in a white Lincoln Towncar, and Neighbors said that was due to reports from prior robberies.
"This time he changed vehicles on us. In most of the other robberies, he had used a white Lincoln and that's what we were looking for. This time he used a van which witnesses said looked like it was covered in primer. He did have an accomplice with him who was driving the van," Neighbors said.
According to a report from the SFCSD, Murdock was arrested just after 6 o'clock last night in Little Rock and charged with six counts of criminal impersonation of a police officer and six counts of robbery.
Neighbors said that Murdock was apprehended after reporting to his probation officer under the guise of surprise drug test. When he arrived, he was taken into custody and turned over to St. Francis County officials. Murdock was on probation for fraudulent use of a credit card.
He is being held in the St. Francis County Jail on $100,000 aggregate bond and was scheduled to appear in St. Francis County District Court this afternoon.
On Monday, Murdock's name, along with a photograph, were released to the press. Tuesday's incident was the seventh such robbery since December of 2003.
According to Neighbors, in Arkansas, similar robberies had occurred at truckstops and motels in Marion, West Memphis, Lonoke and Jacksonville, in which the descriptions of the perpetrator are the same. He is also suspected in a similar robbery in Waverly, Tenn., just north of Nashville.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
Two new policies are now in effect at the Forrest City Public Library regarding the copier used for both public and in-house printing.
The library board meet on Tuesday afternoon and passed the policies after co-director Sarah Jumper told the board that she felt a new copier was needed for the library.
"I think we should look at getting a new copier," said Jumper. "When we were having the summer reading program, we had some things for which we needed to print large amounts of copies and it didn't do well."
Board member Brad Beavers stated that while he was not opposed to the purchase of a new copier for the facility, he offered an alternative way for the library staff to copy pages in mass. "I would like to see us authorize you to take large printing projects to a local print shop."
Beavers also added that he would like to see an increase in the amount that the public pays per sheet for copied materials. "We currently charge 10 cents per copy (for both copier copies and printed material from computers)," continued Beavers. "That is really cheap. I would suggest that we increase the rate to 20 cents. That is still cheap compared to what most other places are charging now, but it will get some of that cost back."
The board agreed to give the authority to the staff to outsource major printing projects and to increase the per copy rate.
The subject of a national compact disc settlement was then presented by Jumper. The idea lead to a possible answer to the request of a new copier.
"We have received 230 CDs as part of the settlement. I would like to keep a few of them, mostly children's CDs, but we don't have a facility for people to listen to them," said Jumper. "What I thought was that we could sell them. If you buy a CD at the store, they cost $15 to $20 each. I thought that we could sell them at $5 each."
Beavers agreed, "We could use the money from the CD sales to fund the new copier," added Beavers. "It is not so much a matter of people buying a CD from us, but a matter of people giving a $5 donation to the library and us giving them their choice of a CD for our thanks. I think it is a great idea, but we need to make sure that it is legal before we start this."
The board agreed that the CDs will be sold if, after contacting the state assistant attorney general Bradford Phelps, it is found to be legal. Jumper said after the meeting that pending his approval of their plan, they will begin to sell the CDs on Monday, Aug. 2.
Beavers also offered an update to the board on the progress of the new parking lot that will be built on the southside of the property, across Davis Street from the library.
"The (Forrest City) street department has had the land cleared off for some time, and we are waiting for it to dry out," said Beavers. "The problem has been all of this rain we have had. New grass has grown where they have cleared, but they are afraid that if the land is still soaked when they clear it again, it will become a quagmire over there. They are going to continue the work just as soon as they know it is dry enough."
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
Over 350 people in the area have lost jobs due to plant closings and layoffs at RBX in Colt, Poly One in Wynne and Terry Manufacturing/Marianna Apparel in Marianna. Help for those finding themselves out of work is now being provided through a U.S. Department of Labor grant.
The Workforce Investment Board of Eastern Arkansas (WIBEA) was recently awarded a grant from the labor department in the amount of $760,457 for the purpose of serving workers from these three companies, according to a press release from the WIBEA.
"The majority of the individuals affected came from the manufacturing and machinery occupations," said Sharon Williams, executive director of the WIBEA. "Funds are available for laid off workers to participate in retraining activities such as customized training and on-the-job training. They may choose to attend a local community college or technical institution for occupation skills training.
"Individuals may participate in instructor-lead seminars and computer-delivered instruction for improving life skills, work ethics, supervisory skills, business knowledge, team-building skills, financial management and customer contact skills. Distance learning opportunities may also be available."
According to Williams, a survey will be conducted to find out what skills are in demand for the area. "An employer survey is being developed in partnership with the economic development groups in Wynne, Forrest City, Marianna, Helena and West Memphis," stated Williams. "The survey will determine the skills sets that are in demand. The information gathered from the surveys and the information currently known about new employers will help assist the individuals with their choices."
Williams also commented that many laid off workers may need new skills to work at plants that are locating in the area and the programs they are providing will help them learn those skills.
"We are very excited about the reemployment opportunities being presented by the new automobile parts manufacturers Eakas Corporation in Wynne and Hino Manufacturing in Marion," added Williams. "We are also excited about the expansion of the Federal Correctional Intuition in Forrest City. We really encourage the individuals to begin preparing now to be sure their skills match those that will be needed by these and other employers."
Individuals affected by these layoffs should contact Leigh Ann Frazier at the Arkansas Workforce Center at 1-800-794-0566 for more information about the grant and the opportunities available. If you would like more information on the Eastern Arkansas Workforce Centers visit www.onestop.org and for more information on the Workforce Investment Board of Eastern Arkansas visit www.thewib.org.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The 2002 audit for St. Francis County government is now final, and while it will display an error in the County Assessor and Collector's offices, the matter has been corrected according to Assessor Craig Jones and an official with the Arkansas Legislative Joint Auditing Committee.
According to the audit, both the assessor's office and collector's office were cited in 2002 for having inadequate access security and application controls for their computers. The comment also stated, "Weak access security controls could allow unauthorized changes to be made, which could increase the risk of fraud, and inadequate application controls could significantly impact the county's ability to continue routine operations using the existing applications."
According to David Kraft with the ALJAC, efforts by both offices to correct software issues have resolved the problem. Kraft said that while the comments will remain for the year 2002, the issues should be cleared for future audits.
"The problem with the software has been corrected, but the comment will remain in the audit report because for the year the audit was done, the issues were present. The problems were actually not the fault of the assessor, it was a software issue and Mr. Jones had the software provider come in and correct the problems," Kraft said.
Kraft also said that officials with the ALJAC inspected the work after it was completed to insure that the correct measures had been taken.
"Mr. Jones informed us that he had taken action to correct the issues and we sent someone in to take another look at it. It wasn't that we were checking behind him, we actually wanted to make sure that all of the measures had been taken so that the problem would not show up in the future," Kraft said.
According to Jones, the return visit from the auditors was much appreciated. "I'm glad that they came over and checked everything out and found the problems that needed correcting. It was something that we needed, and I'm also glad that they were willing to come back in after we took corrective measures and checked to make sure that we had everything in place," he said.
According to Kraft, no corrective measures had been reported on other issues concerning the sheriff's department or the county judge's office. The county treasurer, county clerk and circuit clerk were all found to be in substantial compliance with Arkansas fiscal and financial laws.
A man identified as the suspect in two recent shootings turned himself in to authorities this morning, according to the Forrest City Police Department.
Joel Bradley, 25, of 2019 Walnut, was being sought in connection with two instances in which he allegedly shot someone.
The most recent incident was Monday, July 12. Police were called to the home of Sylvester Jones at 310 "A" Street. Jones reported that Bradley was looking for a place to spend the night, but became angry and shot him in the leg, before running away.
Bradley was also a suspect in the shooting of Roosevelt Franklin of 1912 Crawford on the previous Monday, July 5. Franklin was also shot in the leg.
In addition to the shootings, police had warrants on Bradley for aggravated robbery, and he was wanted for felony criminal mischief for allegedly stealing a girlfriend's car and burning it in April. Bradley was out of jail on bond for another robbery.
He is now charged with two counts of first-degree battery, aggravated robbery, and possession of a firearm by certain persons, all felonies. There is also a third-degree battery charge, a misdemeanor.