Stories from Wednesday, January 24, 2018

The City of Blytheville’s annual legislative audit for fiscal year 2016, conducted by the State of Arkansas, was publicly released recently and its findings showed improvement in regulatory compliance. However, it also revealed that the city’s financial statements supplied to the state did “not present fairly, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States…the financial position of the City of Blytheville…or the revenues, expenditures, and changes in net position and, where applicable, cash flows thereof for the year then ended.”. ...

Nine contractors submitted proposals to be the city of Blytheville’s construction manager for its new justice center. Tuesday morning, city leaders unsealed those firms’ statements of qualifications to oversee the expected $2.4 million project. However, they did not open the contractors’ fee proposals and will not until later in the process to comply with USDA loan rules, according to architect Todd Welch of Brackett-Krennerich & Associates, which designed plans for the renovation of the former armory into the future justice center.. ...

Susan McCormick has announced that she will be a candidate for the position of Mississippi County Tax Collector and will run as a Republican. No Republican has ever filed for the position. The position is currently being held by Betty Hepler, who was appointed by the Quorum Court on November 2, 2017, to fill the remainder of Patricia Caldwell’s term. Caldwell died on October 12 and the term ends on December 31, 2018...

The Blytheville School Board met Monday evening for its regular monthly meeting, however, immediately after establishing a quorum and saying the Pledge of Allegiance (two minutes into the meeting) the board went into executive session after a request from Board Member Tommy Bennett, Jr. to discuss “possible hiring, compensation and what not of personnel matters.” Exactly 73 minutes later, the board came back into open session and stated that no decision had been made...

Monday night at the Blytheville School Board meeting, a motion was made by Desmond Hammett to give all employees of Blytheville Schools a $300 bonus. The motion did not get a second from any board member and therefore “died on the table.” This is yet another example of the deep misunderstanding that this board has for its district and its employees. The school board does not understand the needs of the faculty, and the district is suffering for it...

Williamsburg, VA- Billie Masner Wilkes passed away peacefully in her sleep, early Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, in her home at Windsor Meade, Williamsburg.  Billie enjoyed 96 eventful years. Born December 13, 1921, in rural Arkansas, Billie was the “baby sister” in a family of eight children. ...

The Coast Guard is responding to a sunken vessel discharging oil near mile marker 823 on the lower Mississippi River near Blytheville, Wednesday. Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River watchstanders were notified by Terral River Service at 5:35 a.m. of the uninspected towing vessel Virginia Renee sunk at its mooring at Hickman Landing. The Virginia Renee has a reported 10,000 gallons of diesel aboard...

An Osceola man has been arrested in connection with the November 2017 robbery of Jordan’s Quick Stop on West Main. According to Blytheville Criminal Investigations Division Commander Lt. John Frazier, Antwuan Coleman, 19, turned himself in on Wednesday...

Blytheville police are searching for a man accused of making threats against police officers, following Operation Street Sweeper earlier this month. According to Criminal Investigations Division Commander Lt. John Frazier, a warrant has been issued for Tyrone M. Dority, 23, of Blytheville for making a terrorist threat...