P
UMPKIN PATCH VISIT FOR PRESCHOOLERS
(USPS156-140) Vol. 132, Number 43 DeWitt, AR 72042 • 16 Pages • 2 Sections • 75 cents
AROUND THE COUNTY
Serving Arkansas County, Arkansas Since 1882
Story and photos on page 1B
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Clinton Visits Pine Bluff President Clinton Rallies For Democrats at UAPB
DEWITT PTA FUNDRAISER
Corky’s BBQ fundraiser with proceeds to benefit the DeWitt PTA. Drive-Thru or Dine-In. Thursday, October 23rd from 5-7PM at the Dragon Football Stadium Plates are $10--includes pork, baked beans, coleslaw, bun and cookie. You may purchase your tickets from Whitney Neal at F&M Bank, Nia Rieves at PCC or any other PTA member.
LEFT TO RIGHT - Mark Pryor, James Lee Witt, Mike Ross, and President Bill Clinton
By Shelly Faulkner President Bill Clinton has been drawing huge crowds across Arkansas with the Democratic campaign, “Arkansas Victory 2014”. Arkansas Victory 2014 is the largest campaign in Arkansas his-
tory. President Bill Clinton informed the crowd at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Sunday, October 19th, the importance of voting, early voting, and that “every vote counts”. Thousands of
Arkansans from across the state are going door to door, making phone calls and getting the word out about the upcoming November election.
HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL AT DEWITT SR. CENTER
FAMILY LOSES EVERYTHING IN HOUSE FIRE
TRICK OR TREAT ON THE SQUARE
By Terrye Seamon “God be with whomever that is because they are going to need it,” Tiffani Burns told her children when she saw the smoke across town as she pulled into the parking lot of a local restaurant. Little did Burns know that she was saying a prayer for herself and her family as a fire consumed their house at 1308 Lee Street on Sunday, September 28. The fire, which resulted from the wiring in the furnace, was first spotted by a neighbor across the street when he noticed smoke under Burns’ carport. When Burns arrived on the scene, the carport was on fire as well as the car under the carport, and smoke was coming out of the eaves of her house. The entire house and all of the family’s possessions were lost. “Everything we own, other than what was on our backs and in our vehicles, is gone,” Burns said. The situation almost turned into a three-house fire, damaging the two houses on each side of hers. It had already melted one neighbor’s fence and eaves and smoked up and damaged the other neighbor’s home by the time the firemen had a handle on it. Ten more minutes and Burns said dam-
205 N. Main October 25, 2014 2:00 pm7:00 pm Hot dogs, chips, popcorn, cheese dip, and soda Lots of fun for all ages! Games for prizes such as: Cake Walk, Spider Ring Toss, Pick Up Ducks, Fishing, and Bingo GRAND PRIZE- Halloween Basket with lots of goodies and suprises!!! The drawing for grand prize will be at 6:45 Tickets for the games and food will be available at the door
Halloween night from 5-308:00 p.m. Come by for tricks and treats Candy, prizes, and fun, cash prize for best costume On the southeast corner of the square next to Boyd & Buie Sponsored by Boyd & Buie
age to the neighbors’ homes would have been much worse. Apparently there was some difficulty reporting the fire. Burns said that several people had tried calling 911, but they couldn’t get through. When a call was placed, it would just ring, but no one would answer. “I don’t know why it wasn’t answered,” Burns said. She said that the call log showed that approximately fifty calls had been placed to 911, but only two had actually been answered according to the 911 system relay record. Burns said that at least one phone call to report the fire was placed directly to the DeWitt Police Department. It was 35-45 minutes between the first sign of the fire being spotted by the neighbor and the fire department arriving at the scene. “I’m not saying that they did wrong. I’m just saying that it [the 911 system] did not work,” Burns said. There has been some speculation about whether the difficulty in placing those 911 calls to report Burns’ house fire was related to a previous fire September 23 at the Arkansas County Courthouse in Stuttgart. The courthouse fire,
Continued on Page 4B