Stories from Wednesday, April 21, 2004

Hart's Family Center has donated a Medtronic Lifepak CR Plus automated external defibrillator (AED) to Eureka Springs High School. An AED staff training program is also being implemented in cooperation with the American Heart Association (AHA). The defibrillator is a small, self-contained unit weighing less than five pounds...

In a rapid-fire presentation, Eureka Springs Public Works Director Robert Forrest announced Monday evening he wants to build a $2.2 million wastewater treatment plant, replace 20 miles of city sewer lines, increase his department's staff and start a clean up of Leatherwood Creek...

More than 50 people came to a public hearing Thursday at the Beaver Fire Station to ask questions and express their concerns about the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) building a new bridge at Beaver. An informal poll clearly showed the feelings of most attendees when Beaver Meadows resident Bob Messer asked for a show of hands of those who don't want a new bridge at all, and nearly every hand went up...

Holiday Island District Manager Kevin Crosson can't remember what number draft he's on to Regulation 26-2002 regarding golf cart fees, but he's calling it number 4. Monday the suburban improvement district Board of Commissioners (HISID) looked at yet another revision to the controversial issue of charging golf cart fees...

GREEN FOREST ---- Two more meth labs were confiscated and one person arrested last week by members of an "unofficial" task force comprised of all county law enforcement agencies and Alpena police. "This was our first meth lab bust as a unit," said Green Forest's Sgt. Brad Handley...

State-of-the-art 911 and central dispatching equipment that was installed at the county courthouse will continue to gather dust because of funding problems. The center was set up using "jail" tax funds, then halted after questions arose regarding use of those funds...

A popular Green Forest High School student-athlete was seriously injured early Sunday morning in a head-on collision on U.S. Highway 412, according to the Arkansas State Police. Justin Wyas, 18, a senior who was expected to graduate this year, was listed in stable but critical condition at St John's Hospital-Springfield after being airlifted with facial and internal injuries and a possible fractured pelvis, according to school officials...

ALPENA ---- Jessa Lale's dirt-digging prowess has earned her much more than the friendly kidding she's been getting from classmates. This Alpena High School senior not only got her nails dirty, but earned Overall Best of Show at the 2004 State of Arkansas Science and Engineering Fair ---- and a trip to Portland, Ore., to compete in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair...