By TAMARA JOHNSON
Managing Editor
The body of a missing Forrest City man was pulled from the St. Francis River Wednesday afternoon, and is being sent to Little Rock for an autopsy at the family's request.
St. Francis County Sheriff's Department Chief Investigator Glenn Ramsey reported searchers found James "Jamie" Paul Clark's body about 4:45 p.m. in the St. Francis River, downstream from the Big Eddie Hill bridge.
Clark, 30, was last seen by Arkansas State Police about 11 p.m. on Tuesday, March 16, on the St. Francis River levee near Widener. State police reported a trooper working Interstate 40 observed Clark's 1994 Ford pickup on the levee, north of I-40, about 11 p.m. After running a check on the pickup, the trooper found Clark's driver's license was suspended and drove back to Widener where he began looking for the truck and driver.
The trooper was assisted in the search for Clark's vehicle by another trooper and a county deputy. The truck was later located near the boat landing at the Big Eddie Hill bridge, but Clark was missing.
Clark was reported missing by his mother on Thursday, after which several ground searches were conducted by the county's search and rescue team. On Wednesday, Ramsey contacted the Shelby County Sheriff's Department Search and Rescue division which sent a cadaver dog to assist in the search. Clark's body was found about a mile and a half from the bridge where he had abandoned his truck.
Members of the SFC Search and Rescue squad helped in the search along with numerous family members and friends of Clark, according to Ramsey.
Officials with the State Crime Lab were in Forrest City this morning to pick up Clark's body for the autopsy which will determine the cause of death.
"We hope to hear preliminary results tomorrow, depending on the workload of the crime lab," Ramsey said.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
The fifth annual Circle of Friends Intertribal Native American Powwow will take place this weekend, during which area residents will have the opportunity to experience Native American life and culture.
The event, in its third year in St. Francis County, will be held from Friday, March 26, through Sunday, March 28, at the Wiley T. Jones Fairgrounds. Cinda Brent, a co-coordinator of the powwow with her husband Frank, recently discussed some new attractions for this year's event.
"We are branching out a little bit this year, and we will have more activities for the kids," said Brent. "We will have horse rides, kiddie rides and a moonwalk. Another event for children is an excellent demonstration by Denise Singing Hawk Oatson that teaches the kids about the powwow itself. She does drumming and dancing, tells stories, and explains to them what is going on during the different activities.
"We will also have a lot more animal exhibits this year. We will have a skunk exhibit. Many people don't know that skunks are not just black and white in color. There are apricot, brown and other colors, and we will have some there. Also, we will have a K-9 special forces and recovery demonstration with Barbara Ferraro."
The gates will open to the public at 10 a.m., on Friday, at which time children's day will begin. At 11 a.m., the first powwow dance will begin featuring several drums (or performers). The first dance ends at 2 p.m., and the evening dance will begin at 7 p.m.
On Saturday, gates will again open to the public at 10 a.m., the daytime dance will begin at 12 p.m. and end at 5 p.m. At 7 p.m., trade blanket will begin. Trade blanket is a time were goods are traded for other goods.
Sunday, the final day of the Powwow, has a later gate opening time of 11 a.m. The final powwow dance will begin at 1 p.m., followed by a 50/50 raffle and a charity auction. Gates will close at 6 p.m.
According to Brent, all times are subject to Indian time, which means that they are approximate. Activities including Native American storytelling and children's programs will be offered daily, not just at scheduled times. Pets are welcome if they are properly restrained.
""Everyone is welcome," added Brent. "You don't have to be an Indian to attend. We welcome everyone to come out and see what we are about."
The Scholarship Committee of the Forrest City Education Foundation has announced it will take applications for up to two, $1,000 scholarships.
The scholarships are for Forrest City High School graduates who have been admitted to teacher education programs and who agree to return to the Forrest City Schools to teach upon graduation.
The application deadline is April 15, and forms are available at school district offices and at East Arkansas Community College.
According to Catherine Coleman, scholarship committee chair, employees of the FCSD who give semi-monthly contributions through payroll deductions primarily fund the program.
Anyone else may participate as well by sending contributions to the Foundation at P.O. Box 2813, Forrest City Ark., 72336, Coleman said.
She continued, "The program has been a great success already. Our first scholarship recipient, whom we helped finance her senior year in college, is now a first grade teacher in Stewart Elementary School. Our second recipient is a much-in-demand math major.
"Our third recipient, another math major, Donesha Williams, was selected for a scholarship to support her studies at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and will be graduating in May with a masters degree.
"Finally, selected for scholarship this past year to support her studies at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Rachel Smith will be completing her junior year this May."
Coleman added that the Foundation has established a $16,350 endowment that will provide funds each year.
"As the endowment is increased over the years, the annual scholarships it provides will also grow," she said.
Foundation Director Sonya Fletcher added that funds placed in the Scholarship Endowment are matched dollar for dollar by grants from the Walton Foundation to the countywide affiliate of the Arkansas Community Foundation.
"The local ARCF affiliate is a project of the Forrest City Education Foundation and others," she said. "The affiliate is available to manage any endowments for organizations within St. Francis County."
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
A big hole in front of a Palestine truckstop is causing big problems for motorists in that area, and after some discussion, the county is planning to repair the problem.
Ongoing issues concerning a large hole at the exit of the Love's Truckstop in Palestine have prompted officials on both the county and state levels to inform the city of Palestine that they are not obligated to maintain the road because it is inside the city limits.
A letter to Palestine Mayor Willetta Carroll from the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department dated Feb. 10 stated, "In regard to your concern for the condition of the roadway north of the I-40/Highway 261 interchange in the vicinity of Loves Truck Stop, it is our understanding that Palestine has annexed this area. Our District Engineer has confirmed that the roadway problems you mentioned are outside the boundaries of the Department's area of maintenance responsibility... We know of no agreement by St. Francis County that they would maintain the roadway within this annexed area of the city."
According to Carroll the property was annexed into the city in the 1970s. Carroll also said that the county has done work on the area in question since the beginning of the year.
Problems arose this year after a second section of the road caved in after county road department crews had repaired one section. The county at that time decided to no longer repair the roadway in front of the truck stop.
St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco recently wrote in a letter to Carroll, "St. Francis County, under no obligation, has repaired this section on more than one occasion. Our office has recently received calls concerning the need for repairs. These individuals always claim they were instructed by you and/or your office to contact the county for repairs and not to give up their plight for action... This section is not the county's responsibility, not the AHTD's responsibility, but is your responsibility. This letter shall serve as official notice that no further action will be taken by St. Francis County and callers should not be instructed to contact my office."
However, Cisco said this week that county crews will repair the area in question once again out of concern for the citizens affected by the damage, but he made no assurances that further work would be done by the county.
"When you annex an area you annex everything, roads and all. If cities could annex only the property that they wanted then you would have all of the cities leaving the roads up to the counties to repair. We're going over to patch it up one more time, but I can't say anything about repairs after that," Cisco said.
According to Carroll, she has instructed the city's attorney to contact the county's attorney to determine what responsibility the county has regarding the road.
"That road was originally a county road, and they've done maintenance on it in the past. I'm waiting to find out from him who is responsible for the road because I need to know if they can just give the road back to the city or what," Carroll said.
With spring well on its way and people looking to "clean up, paint up and fix up," today's edition of the Times-Herald will contain a special section on home improvement.
This section was made possible by the following sponsors:
A/C Services, Inc., Arkansas Concrete Company, Chez Weenie, Colvin's Country Carpets, Inc., Cummings Heat & Air Repair, Delta Lawn Care, First National Bank of Eastern Arkansas, First National Forrest City, Forrest City Bank, Forrest City/St. Francis County Abstract Company, Inc., Griffin Rent To Own, Hurd Construction & Painting, James Smith Construction, Kenne Long Heat & Air Electrical, Martha Wilson Realty, National Carpet One,
Parker's Best Brands Plus, Paul Spears-Shelter Insurance, Perdew Construction Company, Inc., Phil's Honey Dew Service, Phyllis Speir Interiors, Plantation Shutters & Blinds, Quality Plumbing, Qualls & Sons Construction Company, Ridout Lumber Company, Sears, Security Door Company, Sherry's Outlet, Southern Furniture Company, Standridge Heat & Air, Inc., Steam-Max, Thomas Long Real Estate, True Value, Vaccaro Lumber Company and Woodruff Electric Cooperative Corporation.
The annual Chicken and Dumpling Day fund raiser to benefit the William Stone House in Colt will be held Saturday, April 3, from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.
The menu will include a generous helping of chicken and dumplings, with slaw, roll and dessert. Coffee or tea will be served for dine-in only.
The price is $5 for adults and $3 for children. If there are enough volunteers, delivery will be made within the Colt Community.
All donations will go for the maintenance and upkeep of the William Stone House.
Several more candidates have filed for the May 18 Democratic Primary.
Craig Jones has filed for reelection as St. Francis County Assessor.
James T. Meredith, M.D., has filed for reelection as county coroner.
James L. Thomas has filed for constable of Telico Township.
Two people have filed for positions on The St.. Francis County Democratic Central Committee. Lillian Hughes has filed for JP District 6, Position 1 and Frederick H. Freeman has filed for JP District 7, Position 2.