By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
In the effort to raise funds for a new Performing and Fine Arts Center at East Arkansas Community College, some help has been recruited from the beach.
The Beach Boys, that is.
The EACC Board of Trustees was told that last night by Board member Dr. Dale Morris, with Beach Boys music playing in the background.
"The Beach Boys will be in concert here in Forrest City, Ark., on Wednesday, May 26," said Morris, who is also chairman of the capital campaign. "We're going to have a barbecue dinner for about 850 people (at the Forrest City Civic Center) and then go to the new junior high auditorium and have the Beach Boys.
"And that is all through a donation from David Cohn," said Morris.
Tickets will be $150 per person, "which will include you a first-class meal, catered by Corky's Barbecue, then we'll all adjourn from the meal and go to the auditorium."
"We're going to sell it out. There's no doubt about that," said Morris. "But I just can't imagine that we're going to have the Beach Boys right here in Forrest City."
Morris continued, "David (Cohn) approached the (EACC) Foundation and wanted to do that, and we can't thank him enough."
He said the cost of the concert tickets would be tax deductible.
"It is completely deductible for taxes, except for the price of the meal," he said. "When they give their money, then the Foundation will send them a letter back telling them thank you, and telling them how much the deductible is according to IRS regulations."
People wanting tickets may contact Terry Crawford at EACC. "I'm sure before this is over, all of our Board of Trustees will have tickets for sale."
There will be some VIP seats available up front for an extra charge.
On another matter, board members got an update on the construction projects around campus.
EACC President Coy Grace said the furniture has arrived for Classroom Building 1, fairly completing the job.
He said work on the entranceway to the Betty Jo Hodges Building is nearing completion. Work on a new parking lot is waiting for dry weather so ground preparation can be done. Work will begin on the entrance to the administration building during spring break.
The next major job will be the renovation of Classroom Building 3, which Grace said would be along the lines of the work done on Classroom Building 1. He said Classroom Buildings 3 and 4 would be joined. The board approved going ahead with the Classroom Building 3 and also work on a courtyard.
The board also heard from Phil Ford, chairman of the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Blue ribbon Committee on Higher Education.
He told the group that the Blue Ribbon Commission is supposed to be giving the governor some recommendations for higher education either in late May or June. Ford said funding for the state's 22 two-year schools has to compete with funding for four-year schools. He also said there is still the question of what will be mandated regarding K-12 schools, which could directly effect funding for higher education.
"We are a poor state, and when you start trying to divvy out that money," it can get rough, he said.
He also had praise for EACC and Dr. Grace, saying that the school had an effective advocate in Grace.
In board action, the holiday schedule and college calendar for the 2004-2005 school year were approved.
Some reports were given. Vice President Catherine Coleman gave a report on Black History Month activities, and Vice President Jan Haven gave a report on a new Secondary Career Center, in which EACC will partner with area school districts to help provide mandated vocational programs. A report was given on the recent Arkansas Council of Teachers of Mathematics math contest, held at EACC.
Grace also said there are steps being taken to improve security on campus. Some student security guards have been recruited, and the school will soon seek bids for surveillance cameras.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
People using the Colt Community Center will now have to pay a $25 deposit to rent the facility to ensure it is cleaned after events there.
According to Colt Mayor Virgil Keeler, complaints have been phoned in on the building not being clean after functions are held. Council members unanimously voted to impose the additional fee and a checklist which renters will have to agree to upon renting the facility.
"We've been having a problem with people not cleaning the building up after there's a function. That can be a problem on weekends because someone might have the building on a Saturday night and then we may have someone in there Sunday morning or afternoon and they're walking into a dirty building. Right now, we don't have anything saying people have to clean it up, but if they have money on the line, they'll clean it up," Keeler said.
The council also unanimously voted to allow free usage of the building only to church groups and civic organizations from the Colt area. According to Colt City Manager Bobby Clarkson there has been recent confusion over whether there is a charge to individuals holding benefit dinners at the building. Council members agreed to allow benefits to be held free of charge only when the person the benefit is held for lives within the city limits of Colt.
The council also agreed to institute a plan which will call for industrial water customers to pay an average of their bill for new connection. Questions over the connection fee arose after Clarkson questioned the council on how a new industry would be charged for hooking up to the Colt Water System.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The warden and assistant warden for the new medium-security prison at the federal prison complex were introduced to the prison's Community Relations Board on Thursday.
Cole Jeter, current warden of the low-security prison and minimum-security camp, introduced Warden Linda Sanders and Amy Carlton, the assistant warden.
Carlton spoke first, saying she has felt welcome since her arrival. "I appreciate the staff's patience with me," she said. Carlton said the move brings her closer to home, because her family lives in Tennessee. She is the mother of a 5-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter, and said her husband is about to retire from the Bureau of Prisons.
"This is my sixth federal facility, so I feel well-rooted," she said.
Sanders then spoke, telling the group that she has an 11-year-old-son and a 5-year-old daughter.
"This is my ninth duty station, so I've been around. And around," she joked. "This also brings me closer to home. I'm originally from Southern Illinois, so I'm actually in the same time zone as my mother, which is good for a change."
During a question-and-answer session, Sanders said the hiring process has already begun at the new prison.
"We're interviewing officers right now, and have positions posted," she said. There are 301 positions available.
She was also asked about a timetable for actually receiving prisoners.
"A lot of it is going to hinge on the budget," she said. "So we plan to actually start intaking inmates before the end of the year."
Jeter also commented on getting the facility opened.
"There are certainly going to be a lot of challenges as she brings this institution on line," he said. "We too are feeling the pinch, with domestic spending being closely scrutinized, to the tune of about a $110 million shortfall in the Bureau of Prisons for this year. So there is some belt tightening, for want of a better term."
He continued, "This presents a great number of challenges for the Bureau, which is certainly amplified on Warden Sanders' part, as you can imagine, trying to furnish, staff and prepare an institution for receiving inmates. It takes some organization."
He said this is the second prison activation in which Sanders has taken part, "so she has some experience, and I'm sure it will serve her well."
The medium-security prison will house 1,536 inmates.
In answer to another question, Jeter said the rest of the prison is still over capacity.
"As far as rated capacity, we're about 31 percent over rated capacity," he said. "We have 1,960 inside the fence, and about 284 in the camp, so we're about 31 percent over our rated capacity. And as we look down the road, and as Warden Sanders can tell you, at some point she'll probably be at some rate of overcapacity."
He said the rate of prisoners coming into the federal prison system has leveled somewhat.
"The numbers did not decrease, the rate did increase," he said. "We initially thought some of that was attributable to the fact that a lot of law enforcement action had been refocused against terrorism. That's not to say they're not still fighting the war on drugs and things like that. But it did kind of result in our numbers leveling off."
Jeter said everyone was playing a waiting game with the budget. "She (Sanders) really has her hands tied, as do all of us. She 's anxious to go forward. I know she'll be a great addition to the facility."
O.J. Gandy Jr. announced today that he is a Democratic candidate for the office of St. Francis County Justice of the Peace, District 8, subject to the 2004 Democratic Primary.
He is presently serving his fifth term as a member of the Quorum Court and is a member of the budget committee.
Gandy is a life-long resident of St. Francis County. He is married to the former Martha Sweet. They are the parents of two children, Jay Gandy of Little Rock and Ree Routon of Forrest City. They have five grandchildren.
"I would appreciate the continued support of the voters of District 8 in the upcoming Democratic Primary," said Gandy.
With the official start of spring just around the corner, area students will be given a break from classes during the next two weeks.
Students in the Forrest City School District will be out of class from Thursday, March 18, through Monday, March 29. Thursday and Friday, March 18 and 19, have been set aside for parent/teacher conferences and inservice days. The following week will be spring break.
Also on Spring break March 22-26 are Calvary Christian Schools, Crowley's Ridge Technical Institute and East Arkansas Community College.
All will return to their regular class schedules on Monday, March 29. EACC students who attend Arkansas State University classes on the EACC campus will have Monday, March 15, through Friday, March 19 off, due to differences in the schedules for the two schools.
The Hughes and Palestine-Wheatley School Districts will both hold their spring breaks next week, Monday, March 15, through Friday, March 19. Those students will return to classes on Monday, March 22.
A Little Rock man charged with robbing the manager of a Shell Lake truckstop last September was sentenced to five years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections on Thursday.
James Trice, 25, was originally charged with aggravated robbery, but that charge was reduced to robbery, a Class B felony, to which Trice pled guilty.
Trice and Tyrone White, 27, were arrested after they allegedly robbed Dave Merz, of West Memphis, as he was leaving the Truckstops of America location. Merz told police one of the men had a semi-automatic pistol.
After taking Merz's bank bag, which contained an estimated $35,000 in cash and checks, the two men fled south over Interstate 40 and into woods where Trice was captured. White was arrested the next day in Forrest City.
A reception honoring Danny Ferguson, who is leaving after five years as executive director of the Forrest City Area Chamber of Commerce, will be held Thursday, March 18.
The reception will be held at the Chamber office on 204 N. Izard Street in Forrest City, from 3:30-5:30 p.m.
Ferguson announced recently that he is leaving March 31 to work in the private sector.
Ferguson began work in April of 1999, and has said his number one priority has always been to bring jobs to Forrest City and the surrounding area.
He has also served as a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, a position he is leaving due to term limits.