By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
A proposed letter from St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco stopping any transactions from taking place by the St. Francis County Transportation Commission will have to wait after members of the SFC Quorum Court voted this week to table the issue during the group's monthly meeting.
Last week, during a meeting of the quorum court's budget committee, budget committee and transportation commission member Regan Hill suggested that guidelines for the transportation commission be established by the quorum court and suggested the letter. Members of the budget committee approved of the letter which was not sent to justices by Cisco prior to Tuesday's meeting.
On Tuesday, fellow justice and transportation commission member Jack Crumbly questioned Hill over his motives for asking the quorum court to step into commission business.
Hill answered Crumbly's questions saying, "I may have talked about the transportation commission, but I feel that any commission or board that this court has ultimate responsibility for should answer to guidelines that are established by this court."
Crumbly agreed that guidelines should be established by the court, but took issue with the letter which would stop any transactions, including the payment of contracts through funding recently received from the Delta Regional Authority.
"I can understand that this court may need to establish a set of guidelines for all future funding, but there are funds that need to be paid to people for the work that they have done on this project that are being withheld right now, and that's not fair to those people," Crumbly said.
"That funding has been approved by the granting agency, or else they would not have released the drawdown. The commission has met with the funding agency and was given a letter which ran in the newspaper saying that everything was in compliance, and I feel those funds should be paid on those contracts. You can't correct mistakes in arrears," Crumbly said.
Hill took issue with the payment on the contracts. "There are some on the (transportation) commission, including myself, who feel that those funds should not be paid until such time as the commission has had an opportunity to go over them and determine what exactly should be paid. We need to take a long look at this before there are any funds paid on any of the contracts."
"Then I take it you are a better expert on paying DRA funds than the DRA officials themselves that have approved the budget and authorized payments in accordance with the budget," replied Crumbly.
Cisco told justices that a meeting of the transportation commission should be called with all quorum court members in attendance so that any questions could be asked and answered by the members of the commission. As of this morning, no meeting had been called.
In other transportation commission news, Cisco presented justices with a letter from commission chairman Buzz Haven requesting that he not be reappointed to the transportation commission and announcing his immediate resignation as of Sept. 16. Haven cited his farming operations and business commitments as reasons that he could no longer serve on the commission. Cisco told the court that he would suggest a candidate to replace Haven at next month's meeting of the quorum court. Cecil Twillie now serves as the transportation commission chair.
In other business, justices approved a two-month budget for the St. Francis County Road Department after modifications to an ordinance appropriating funding for the department was amended. According to the ordinance presented to justices, an appropriation of $290,400 was being ordered. Last week members of the budget committee voted to appropriate $72,600 in funding per month for the months of September and October before revisiting the road budget in November.
"I don't understand where this figure of $290,400 came from. We approved giving the road department $72,000 per month last week. As this reads, the department could go out and spend up to $290,000 if we approve it," said Justice Evans Seawood.
According to Cisco and St. Francis County Clerk Elizabeth Smith, the appropriation might authorize up to $290,400 in spending, but Smith had agreed not to process bills in excess of the $72,600 limit. The ordinance was halved and justices agreed to appropriate $145,200 for the next two months.
The court also agreed not to reduce St. Francis County Sheriff Dave Parkman's budget for auxiliary deputies to any sum less than the sum appropriated for the program this year.
"What I'm basically asking this court to do is, provided I turn the money for the uniform fee back over to county general, is approve a resolution saying that you won't cut my auxiliary program during my next term, if I win," Parkman said.
While justices did not agree to the proposal through 2006, they did agree not to cut the auxiliary program in 2005. The funding Parkman was referring to is $79,800 used to fund the uniform allowance in 2002 and 2003. The funding for the allowance was taken from the Sheriff's Department Communication account, which auditor's found to be out of compliance with state regulations.
Justices also heard from a concerned citizen asking that corners
on rural roads in the Hwy. 334 area be cut back for safety precautions.
Cisco agreed to take any justices that wanted to inspect the area
on a tour of the roads.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
A local Halloween tradition will be put on hold this year.
The Haunted History Tour, the event held at the St. Francis County Museum around Halloween, will not be held this year due to concerns about the renovation the building is undergoing and because of low attendance at last year's event, the SFC Museum Board agreed this week.
Museum director Laura Mazzanti broached the subject to board members. "Brenda (Fort, assistant director) and I spoke to Anita (Widby, board chair who was absent from the meeting) and we felt that the Haunted History Tours should be cancelled for this year," said Mazzanti. "We feel that with the current construction it might not be safe to have children here. They just started work this week, and who knows what will be going on at the end of October.
"Also, we didn't have a good attendance last year at the event," added Mazzanti. "The board had spoken about changes to the event in the past because of conflicts with other events such as football on Friday nights. Brenda and I have been talking about maybe this year having a costume class or pumpkin painting class on the Saturday before Halloween, but again we don't know about the building. I want to make it clear, we are not doing away with the event, we want to hold it next year with some changes."
Mazzanti also updated board members on the construction project. "As you already know, the grant is here and the crew is at work," said Mazzanti. "They have been very polite, courteous and considerate so far. They are working on the east facade of the building stripping paint. They are beginning there so that interruptions to access of the museum will be limited.
"There will be times due to the construction that we will have to close the museum from public access for a day or half a day. I don't think this will happen much, and I don't think there is any reason for the staff hours to be affected. We will try to notify the media ahead of time if the museum will be closed, but again we don't think this will happen often."
Mazzanti then asked the board for permission to continue with a fundraising project in October. "We had targeted doing our tag sale in conjunction with the (First United Methodist) church's sale," said Mazzanti. "Again, we don't know where the building will be at this point, but the dates we were given were (Friday and Saturday) October 8 and 9. I was wanting a nod from the board to go ahead with the sale."
Board member Rush Beavers stated that she felt the sale needed to happen. "I would say that we do it," said Beavers. "We have put off having a fundraiser for so long. I just don't know how successful it will be since we are starting off about two weeks before the event."
Mazzanti commented that she had received some donations for the event and explained how it works. "The donors set the prices of the items," she said, "then we sell the items. If the item is sold, we will give a receipt to the donor. They can then use the receipt as a tax deduction as a donation to the museum." Mazzanti added that anyone who is interested in donating an item in good condition, but not clothing, to the sale should contact the museum at 870-261-1744.
In other news, Otto Kirkpatrick, an original board member,
resigned. He cited that since he was moving he could not serve
on the board.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Because they failed to produce precinct totals in this week's school election, the St. Francis County Election Commission could once again be in violation of state law when they vote to certify election results.
Susie Stormes, director of the State Board of Election Commissioners, said that since state school election codes do not cover the topic of precinct-by-precinct tabulations in school elections, the county commission should have reverted to general procedures covered under election laws.
"It (precinct tabulations) is not addressed under the school election code, so it defaults to procedures covered under general election laws, and they require the county board of election commissioners to certify the results of the election by each precinct," Stormes said after seeking counsel from the State Attorney General's office.
County commission member Bettye Proctor said this morning that the commission was complying with the request of Forrest City School District Superintendent Lee Vent in only providing totals, but she also said problems with the ballots and the tabulator prevented them from having the breakdowns.
"Mr. Vent told us in a meeting last month that he was primarily concerned with the totals from the races in Forrest City. On top of that, because of the problems that we had with the machine Tuesday, we couldn't get the precinct breakdowns. We didn't have a lot of room to work in and it was hot in there, and the machine overheats. We had a problem with some of the ballots and had to get that worked out. It was just a mess," Proctor said.
The problem with the ballots centered around the format of the ballots. Some of the ballots were squared on all corners, with others having tapered corners.
In addition to the problems Tuesday, commissioners will also attempt to hold a recount in the race for the Zone 4 seat on the Palestine-Wheatley School Board after Donald Cagle filed a request for a recount this morning. Cagle lost his bid for the seat by one vote to Donald L. Story, 30 to 29. According to Cagle, the desire to make sure that the election was calculated correctly is his primary concern in the request for a recount.
"Since the figures were as close as they were and there were some inconsistencies the other night, I just want to make sure that everything is correct," Cagle said.
"I'm not doing this just to see if I won because I'm not a sore loser. I don't have a problem with the fact that I might have lost. If I lost, I lost and I congratulate Donald on his win and wish him all the best on the school board," Cagle said.
Proctor said that telephone calls have been made to the State Board of Election Commissioner's office and the Secretary of State's office to make sure that proper procedures for a recount are followed. She said that the recount could be held Friday morning so that the elections in all three county school district's could be certified at a meeting of the county election commission at 2 p.m. Friday.
County election commission chairman Joe Young was not available
for comment this morning.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The annual charity rodeo will be held Friday and Saturday in the horse show arena at the Wiley T. Jones Fairgrounds.
In addition, as a prelude to the big rodeo, tonight (Thursday) will feature one of the greatest yearly events in the lives of special needs children in the area.
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association event is being sponsored jointly by the Crowley's Ridge Saddle Club and Forrest City Lions. Proceeds will go to both organizations' main charities -- Special Olympics for the saddle club, hearing and sight services for the Lions.
Saturday will have a special feature -- an appearance by Justin Evans, who was critically injured in a bull-riding accident which occurred during the 2003 charity rodeo.
Mayor Larry Bryant has proclaimed Saturday, Sept. 25, as Justin Evans Day in Forrest City. Evans, who is still undergoing physical therapy, "will be there with his family to thank the citizens of Forrest City and St. Francis County for their support through prayers and financial aid," according to a press release.
On both Friday and Saturday, gates will open at 6 p.m. and the rodeo itself will start at 8 p.m.
Advance tickets for the rodeo are $6 for adults and $5 for those age 13 through 18. Kids 12 and under will be admitted free, in the company of an admission-paying adult. At the gate, tickets will be $8 for adults and $7 for those aged 13 through 18. Advance tickets for a family of four are on sale for $20. Tickets are on sale at Express Cleaners, Honda of Forrest City, Machen and Bonanza. There will also be door prizes.
Events will include Saddle Bronc, bareback, calf roping, steer wrestling, women's barrel racing and bull riding. There will also be concessions.
Workers with Southwick and Johnson Rodeos, along with local volunteers, have been getting the arena ready.
All the exciting rodeo events of Friday and Saturday will be preceded tonight, by the annual Miracle Rodeo at 7 p.m.
This is an evening set aside for children with special needs. They get the opportunity to ride horses, and some can even ride a "bull" made from a hay bale.
This is all done with the cooperation and participation of the parents and special education teachers of the area. There is no admission charge for this event, and the public, as well as volunteers, are welcome.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
The Forrest City Civic Center will be the site for what is being called a "Regional Methamphetamine Summit" for the residents in First Judicial District counties.
The program is being organized by the Crowley's Ridge Developmental Council and is designed to get everyone working together to combat the problems that meth use causes.
The meeting will be held Monday, Sept. 27, from 9:45 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Cindi Prince, director of the CRDC Prevention Resource Centers, said this meeting is not just for law enforcement.
"This is for everyone," stated Prince. "The summit is for parents, children, law enforcement officials, school staff, church leaders, elected officials; everyone and anyone in the community. Statistics show us that we have a major problem with methamphetamine use in not only the First District, but across the state.
"It is everyone's problem, from the users down to people on the street," added Prince. "These people (addicted to meth) are going to work and driving around town. They are addicted to a highly-addictive drug. This problem has got to stop. Our goal with the summit is to get everyone on the same page to help prevent meth use and to stop new potential addicts from starting."
Prince also commented that several events will be held all day for participants of the summit. "Several local groups will be in attendance including the Forrest City Mustangs Against Drugs and Tobacco and the Gethesmane M.B. Church Youth Group.
Dr. Rob Covington, a psychologist who has been working for many years with drug addicts, will also speak at the event. "He is an excellent speaker and has a lot of useful information about meth usage," Prince said.
Prince stated that while the event is free and open to the
public, space is limited. For more information, or to register
for the event, contact Prince at 870-933-0033."
September is Rice Month, and today marks the Times-Herald's annual salute to the rice industry.
Today's paper contains a special section devoted to rice and to Chelsea Jumper, Miss St. Francis County Rice of 2004.
The section will have numerous articles giving information on rice, plus Chelsea's winning rice recipe and other recipes which feature rice as a main ingredient.
A $1 million cash bond was set Wednesday for a Texas man arrested when state police seized over $10 million in cocaine and methamphetamine from the U-Haul he was driving to Patterson, N.J.
The same bond was set for an accomplice in the case who was arrested about midnight Tuesday as part of the ongoing investigation into the drug bust, which was the third largest to be recorded by state police.
Officers with Arkansas State Police Troop D in Forrest City arrested Antonio Hernandez, 33, of Jacksonville, Fla., about midnight Tuesday on two counts of felony possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver in connection with the confiscation of the drugs.
The arrest of Hernandez came on the heels of the arrest of Macs Ray Priddy, 34, of Orange Grove Texas, about 1 p.m. Tuesday near the eastbound Widener exit on Interstate 40. During the traffic stop, state troopers found 197 kilos of cocaine, one kilo of methamphetamine and one kilo of ice, the purest form of methamphetamine, hidden in a couch inside the U-Haul driven by Priddy.
Priddy was charged Tuesday afternoon with possession of drug paraphernalia and two counts of felony possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.