By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Crowley's Ridge Technical Institute is gearing up for its yearly bash, the Vo-Tech Barbecue, which is held traditionally on the first Friday in October.
That makes it this Friday, Oct. 1.
Work is under way on the stage, the door prizes are being stashed away, and the campus is getting spruced up for one of area's biggest annual events.
Tickets are $6 in advance, and $8 at the gate.
"Tickets will remain in advance sales until 1 p.m. Friday," said CRTI President Burl Lieblong. "Everybody (who's selling tickets) will have tickets until then at that price. And then from then on, all tickets will be sold on-campus for $8."
Along with the barbecued pork sandwiches, with trimmings, the door prizes are looked forward to each year. These prizes are donated by area businesses, and cover a wide range of items. As of this morning, the door prizes had reached $22,112.53 in total value, with more donations expected this week, Lieblong said.
Advance ticket sales are up this year.
"Ticket sales are above what they've been in the past. I don't have an exact count this morning," said Lieblong. "But there seems to be more sales."
Lieblong said he believes it's to anyone's advantage to get their tickets in advance. Not only will tickets cost less, but the stubs will be eligible for drawings for the entire time of the barbecue. For instance, a person who buys a ticket at the gate at 6 p.m. will miss the first drawings. According to Lieblong, the first drawing will be at 5 p.m.
The top prize will be $500.
The Cummins Prison Band, a group which has become as much a tradition at the Vo-Tech Barbecue as the food and door prizes, will be back this year, and will start playing at 5 p.m. They will play until 9 p.m.
The barbecue is a big event, and it takes a lot of work to put it on, said Lieblong.
"Thursday night, we're going to put on about 6,500 pounds (of pork)" he said. "We have to start the day before. Then they come off and we have to debone and chop it all. And that's quite a process, too. But we've got the charcoal, we've got the barbecue sauce, and the beans will be delivered Wednesday, the slaw Friday morning. Drinks will be iced down."
There will be a drive-through again this year.
"People will never have to get out of their cars, they can just circle around and get their plates," Lieblong said. "Everything is on target and looking good."
Crowley's Ridge Technical Institute is located on Ark. Highway
284 (Newcastle Road), across from Baptist Memorial Hospital-Forrest
City.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
A group met Friday and Saturday in Forrest City, with the goal of achieving a recognizable, sustainable community change.
The Communities of Opportunity Program, one of several programs under the auspices of the Foundation for the Mid-South, held the two-day retreat in the library of Forrest City High School.
The Foundation for the Mid-South serves the Delta area of three states -- Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. Two counties have been chosen as pilot projects for Communities of Opportunities. They are St. Francis County in Arkansas, and Leflore County in Mississippi.
George Penick, president of the Foundation for the Mid-South, said the program is about more than throwing money at problems.
"We're really trying to work with the whole community. So the whole community is involved n the change," said Penick. "We can bring money in, but if the community hasn't bought into it, then when the money's gone the progress is gone."
According to Dr. Beverly Divers-White, vice president of the foundation and director of Communities of Opportunity, the program has been recruiting people from a broad cross-section of the county. Plans call for a partnering for at least 10 years.
Although small group meetings have been held, the Friday and Saturday retreat was the first time they have all been together. The object was to break the ice, and to search for common ground rather than differences, positives rather than negatives.
"Historically in the Delta, when we begin talking to people they start talking about what's wrong with us in the Delta," she said. "We're engaging people in terms of what's right. What do we have a strengths as individuals, as organizations? As communities -- unincorporated areas as well as incorporated areas in the county?
"She said the group is also looking at leadership differently.
"This is not a top-down approach, where a few people are making decisions about how the community will change or how the county will change. We're engaging everybody."
The first day was spent talking about the strengths brought by individuals to the process. On Saturday, the topic was race and race relations.
The Foundation for the Mid-South was formed more than 10 years ago, with the help of Wal-Mart and other national foundations such as Pew, Kellogg, Ford and others. It was formed because the largest concentration of chronic poverty in the United States exists in the Mid-South region.
The foundation is supported solely by contributions from individuals, corporations and private foundations.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
The annual charity rodeo sponsored by the Forrest City Lions Club and Crowley's Ridge Saddle Club exceeded the expectations of the organizers.
The event benefits both the Forrest City Special Olympics and the Lions Club charities for hearing and sight impairment. While figures from the gate were not available this morning, Lisa Roberts, secretary of the Saddle Club, stated that the large crowds were appreciated.
"We had about 1,800 people on Friday night," said Roberts. "But on Saturday night, we had to close the gates. We estimate that 2,500 people came in on Saturday. That is the largest crowd we have ever had. It got so crowded that at about 9:30 p.m., we had to close the gates because there was no room left for people to park."
Roberts offered some highlights of the event, which began on Thursday with an event for special needs children. "The miracle rodeo was definitely a highlight. It is always great to see the way the kids react to the horses and cowboys. On Friday night, Martha Josey made a surprise visit to the arena. She is a world champion barrel racer and is very famous. And, of course, on Saturday night, we presented several gifts to Justin Evans, who was injured at last year's event. It was great to see him walk into the arena and get honored by so many people.
"We are well pleased with the event overall," added
Roberts. "We would like to thank everyone who came out to
the event, our sponsors, volunteers from both clubs who donated
their time and all of the businesses who donated food and drinks.
The event was much bigger than we had expected, and we hope to
keep the rodeo growing each year. We want to make it bigger and
better."
The candidates in last week's school board elections may finally see ballots certified once a recount in the race for the Zone 4 seat in the Palestine-Wheatley School District is concluded tonight.
Members of the St. Francis County Election Commission will hold the recount at 6 p.m. outside of the Election Commission office at the St. Francis County Courthouse. Following the recount, which will include all early voting, absentee and PWSD zone ballots, the commission is expected to certify the voting in all three school district races from last Tuesday.
The Palestine-Wheatley School Board is scheduled to meet at 6 tonight in the cafetorium on the high school campus in Palestine. The district will present its annual report to the public at 5:30 p.m., prior to the beginning of the monthly board meeting.
On Tuesday, the Forrest City Planning Commission is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. at city hall.
The St. Francis County Quorum Court's personnel committee will meet at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the courthouse.
The countdown to the naming of an Arkansas Air National Guard C-130 after Forrest City has begun with less than a week before Saturday's ceremony.
There will be a meeting Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the Forrest City Area Chamber of Commerce to finalize plans for the event.
Forrest City will become the fourth Arkansas city and the first in this portion of the state to be honored under a program from the AANG to bring recognition to Arkansas Communities as well as assist the AANG with recruiting statewide.
The dedication ceremonies will be held on Saturday Oct. 2, and will include a tour of the AANG base for 20 to 25 high school students and city and community leaders, the dedication of the plane and a tour and flight on the C-130. The flight will leave the base in Jacksonville and travel to Forrest City, flying over the city before heading back to the base.