By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The project to remove the top floor and renovate the ground floors of buildings in the Turner Circle area has gotten a little cheaper, members of the Forrest City Housing Authority learned Tuesday.
The low bid on the newest project actually came in costing less than the current project.
The job presently under way is costing around $1.2 million for four buildings. The low bid for the newest project came in at $1,198,000 for five buildings. The bid was submitted by Crawford Builders of McCrory. Other bids were $1,229,000 from Kenco Construction of Forrest City and $1,266,950 from Arka-Tex Remodeling of Little Rock.
Janet Duncan, head of the Housing Authority, said that after the five-building project, there will be three buildings left.
On another matter, the Housing Authority members adopted a resolution to submit information to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which is required each year.
Duncan said the report covers several subjects, including vacancy turnaround time, response to emergency work orders and routine work orders, inspection of units and security.
"We had vacancy turnaround on 156 units, and the average turnaround time was 19 days, it's barely an A, but still an A," she said.
A response of 24 hours is required on emergency work orders, and Duncan said the Authority was 100 percent on that. There were also about 2,496 regular work orders, with an average of 7 days response, which she said was also a good grade.
"We're getting to the work as fast as we know about it, basically," she said.
She said that units are inspected at least once a year, but "more like three times a year. If you have a lot of turnover, you're going to do a move out inspection, you're going to do a move in inspection, you're going to do an annual inspection. We check them after they've been there a couple of months, just to see how they're doing, just to see if they're really there and see how they're taking care of the unit. So we really inspect them more than once a year."
On security, Duncan said the Housing Authority no longer has a specific grant to pay for officers, although the Housing Authority is allowed to use other funds to pay for officers in the projects.
"HUD will no longer fund drug grants," said Duncan. "They think we weren't successful in getting rid of drugs. What do you think?"
Member Warren Faupel disagreed with that assessment.
"I thought they did remarkably well," he said. "There was a point, when the crime rate in Forrest City Housing was lower than Forrest City as a whole."
"It is today," said Duncan. However, she added that HUD was apparently acting on national averages.
"I guess, they're looking at the nation as a whole. I think they feel that drugs escalated as a nation, and that's probably true," Duncan said. "While they took that grant away from us, they still allow us to use other grants for the same purpose if we choose. We use a small portion of our capital fund, which is our remodeling grant, to keep our police officers. So we're still paying two police officers, still have the same two, and it's still effective."
She said recent drug busts on Housing Authority property were proof that the officers were being successful.
"I know that people, a lot of times, feel like that's negative publicity," she said. "I don't feel that it's negative publicity. I say we're doing something about it. Those people will automatically use their units for having drugs inside their units."
A change of venue has been approved for a man suspected of kidnapping, rape and murder, meaning his trial will be moved from Phillips County to St. Francis County.
Circuit Judge L.T. Simes, on Monday granted the change of venue requested by the defense, for the trial of A.D. Hurd, 39.
Hurd is charged with capital murder, kidnapping, rape, aggravated robbery and possession of firearms in the death of Nermie "Jean" Liddell, who was the secretary for the Phillips County Sheriff's Department.
Police said Hurd took Liddell, 59, from her home March 30, and forced her into her Jeep Cherokee, drove her to a remote area outside the West Helena City Limits. The investigation said she struggled before she was shot. Her body was found near the Jeep, which was wrecked.
Officers with the St. Francis and Phillips county sheriff's departments participated in searching for the suspect. Hurd was arrested without incident after a 21-hour manhunt.
He had been scheduled for trial Tuesday. However, after the change of venue was granted, there may be a postponement.
According to the St. Francis County Circuit Clerk's Office, no word had been received this morning on a new trial date.
According to a news story, in his order granting the change of venue, Simes stated, "The case has received extensive media coverage from both print and television outlets, including local media coverage. It is clearly shown that a fair trial is not likely to be held in Phillips County."
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The county's budget for 2005 will have to wait a little longer after members of the St. Francis County Quorum Court postponed adopting the proposal at the suggestion of County Attorney Fletcher Long.
Justices reviewed a pair of ordinances scheduled for adoption last night which would have identified the projected revenues for 2005 and adopted the 2005 budget. Last night's meeting was a reconvened meeting after justices recessed last week in order to get accurate figures for levying taxes for next year.
Budget committee chairman Henry Wilkinson praised the efforts of a pair of county elected officials to put together a budget for next year.
"A lot of effort and energy went into producing this budget, and I would like to thank Elizabeth Smith (County Clerk) and Ann Harbin (County Treasurer) for the work that they did on this," said Wilkinson.
After reading the ordinance on the projected revenues, Long told justices that adjustments would have to be made in order for the budget to be legal. According to Long, state law requires expenditures to be 90 percent of the projected revenue. The current version of the budget would have allocated $6,404,546.83 for next year's spending against $6,525,028.94 in projected revenue. That would equal 98 percent of the projected revenue.
In other business, justices adopted an ordinance to allow $200,000 to be transferred from the county's trust account to economic development to assist in luring a plant to the Colt area. The move came after Harbin made a request to the court for direction on where to find the funding that justices approved last week.
"Last week, you all passed an ordinance which will allocate $200,000 to economic development, but the fact is that I deal in cash money. I want the quorum court to tell me exactly where to take the funding from," Harbin said.
According to St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco, plans called for the payment to come from the county's trust account which contains $389,000. The move to make the payment will also force justices to amend an ordinance adopted in January which required the county to have the same amount of money in the trust account at the end of the year that they did at the beginning. According to Harbin, the account would have to be balanced at $487,000 to meet the ordinance requirements.
In other business, justices voted unanimously to adopt the ordinances levying personal and property taxes after adjustments were made.
A Forrest City man facing several drug charges was sentenced to two 10-year sentences, which will run concurrently, in the Arkansas Department of Corrections Tuesday in St. Francis County Circuit Court action.
Dewey Emerson Jr., 37, of Forrest City, was found guilty of charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver near certain facilities in connection with a February incident, and felony charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, along with charges of possession of a controlled substance (marijuana) and theft of services from an October 2003 incident.
According to affidavits from the Forrest City Police Department, on Oct. 5 of last year, officers were called to a local motel where they found Emerson. They were in the process of arresting Emerson on outstanding warrants when they found a substance in trash can in the hotel room that field tested positive for methamphetamine. After a further search of the room, officers found more methamphetamine, along with marijuana.
In February, officers arrested Emerson after executing a search warrant at his home at 422 Laughrun Drive. Officers again found methamphetamine and marijuana along with paraphernalia used to take the narcotics, according to court records. Charges of possession of a controlled substance near certain facilities and drinking in public were nolle prosequi by the state.
In other action Tuesday, Kenny Jones, 40, 176 Gregory St., Forrest City, was sentenced to five years in the ADC. Jones was found guilty of charges stemming from two separate incidents, one in June of 2003, and one in June of this year. According to arrest reports, on June 16 of last year, Jones was arrested on one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver near a certain facility (crack) and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver near a certain facility (marijuana). According to the report, prosecuting attorneys nolle prosqui the charge concerning the crack cocaine, and Jones was found guilty of the second charge and sentenced to five years in the ADC.
Jones' sentence will run concurrently with a five-year sentence handed down for a June 6 incident where he was charged with defective equipment, DWI, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver (cocaine), possession of drug paraphernalia and refusal to submit to a drug test.
The offices of the Times-Herald will be closed Thursday, Nov. 25, for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Many area businesses will also be closed Thursday.
Forrest City city offices and the St. Francis County Courthouse will be closed Thursday and Friday.
Forrest City Schools have been closed all this week. Palestine-Wheatley
and Hughes will be closed Thursday and Friday. Crowley's Ridge
Technical Institute and East Arkansas Community College will also
be closed Thursday and Friday.
Two Tennessee men were arrested Tuesday after 88 pounds of cocaine was found in the automobile in which they were traveling.
An officer with Arkansas State Police Troop D headquarters in Forrest City pulled over a 2000 Chrysler for speeding on Interstate 40. In the car were Harold Joe Curry, 47, of Millington, Tenn., the driver, and Marvin Okeith Cobb, 42, also of Millington. Both men stated they were coming from Dallas, Texas.
The officer reported a mild odor of marijuana was present. The vehicle was searched, and about 40 kilos (88 pounds) of cocaine was allegedly found, along with about five grams of marijuana.
Both men are charged with possession of a controlled substance (cocaine) with intent to deliver, a Class Y felony, possession of a controlled substance (five grams of marijuana), a Class A misdemeanor, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class C felony.
Volunteers are needed to assist with the Arkansas Body Walk Exhibit which will be visiting St. Francis County from Tuesday, Nov. 30, through Friday, Dec. 3. The 30-by-36-foot exhibit representing the human body will be at the Hughes Elementary gym on Tuesday, Nov. 30, and at the Forrest City Civic Center Wednesday, Dec. 1, through Friday, Dec. 3, according to the St. Francis County Extension Service.
Twenty volunteers are needed as station presenters each day to interact with the elementary students as they tour the brain, mouth, stomach, small intestine, heart, lungs, muscle, bone, skin and pathway to life stations. At each station, the volunteer station presenter will engage the students in a five-minute activity. Station presenter's scripts and tips will be provided once a volunteer signs up. Eight to ten volunteers are also needed to help set up and take down the exhibit on Monday afternoon, Tuesday evening and Friday afternoon.
Anyone willing to assist on any, several or all of these days, should call the St. Francis County Extension Office at 870-261-1730.