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Bivens says waiting willCasonspitching• • •be the only painful parthandle JonesboroPage 4Covenant House helping teens• * •some»•«Sercing all I he communities of Mississippi CounlgCopyright 1991.:iu a,l. (6ni)7lt;S3-44Al A Park Newspaper Vol. 97 No.45 14 Paqes 2 Sections July 2, 1991/ »•#*- y — w *w - / i » '35lt;T\/^Printed on recycled paper.Police BeatBody foundnear airportBLYTHEVILLE - The body of a 26-year-old black female was found Saturday night near the Blytheville Municipal Airport. The woman, identified as Kermitt Rosebud, was found approximately 10:00 p.m. and had been shot.An investigation is being conducted by the State Medical Examiner in Little Rock. No arrests have been made.Luxora manstabbedLUXORA - Robert Brown, 29, of Luxora, was stabbed Saturday night at 11:40 p.m. and was transported to the MED in Memphis. No arrests have been made in the case but suspects are being sought.Free ride turnedout costlyBLYTHEVILLE - James McMinn, of Gosnell, reported to the Blytheville Police Department Monday he had offered a ride to a co-worker in Walker Park at about 2 p.m. The co-worker allegedly pulled a gun and ordered him to the backseat. The co-worker drove to Missouri and allegedly stole $375 from McMinn. The matter is under* i n ves t iga t i on.LocalEvents |MCCC introducesnew seminarsBLYTHEVILLE - The Mississippi County Community College Business and Industry Resource Center would like to announce the following seminars for July.Business Etiquette will be held July 9 16 at the MCCC Main Campus from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.Small Business Financial Analysis will be held on July 10 at the MCCC Main Campus and will behv Anhrpv RollAlexander sayscommissionwas off track'By MARK BIVENS CN Managing EditorBLYTHEVILLE - Congressman Bill Alexander says the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission may have overstepped their boundaries. What he can do about that, he says will involve further investigation on his part.“I’ve been watching this closely,” Alexander said Monday afternoon. “It occurs to me the commission may have over-reached their (boundaries) but I haven’t talked to any other members of Congress about this. Their (job) is not to try and reorganize defense establishment. Their purpose was to deal with specific bases, not to decide defense policy.”Friday the commission suggested Eaker should be included on a list of bases to be closed to save money in the Defense Department. July 15, the decision goes to President Bush whether to reject or approve the list. If Bush approves, the closures will become final unless Congress rejects the entire list within 45 days.“I’ll have to look at it and analyze the position,” Alexander said. “The commission is not charged with the responsibility to decide defense policy. If the commission got off track, it’s Congress’s job to shut them down.”Clinton counts onindustryhelpBivensEXPECTING COMPETITION — Blytheville Board of Realtors president Anthony Little talks things over with Board secretary Janet Robinson last night at the monthly meeting. Little said he expects “much keener” competition on the local market if Eaker Air Force Base closes.LITTLE ROCK (AP) - Gov. Bill Clinton said Monday that a steel plant scheduled to open next year and the prospects of a new industry in northeastern Arkansas could ease the hurt if Eaker Air Force Base closes.Clinton also said Fort Chaffee in northwestern Arkansas would be a likely candidate for a new military mission if the Joint Readiness Training Center leaves the base.The two Arkansas military bases got negative votes from the Base Closure and Realignment Commission over the weekend. Clinton said he’s working on the assumption that Congress and President Bush won’t spare the installations.“I think we should work on that assumption now. We can always undue it if Congress reverses it. If our congressional delegation can do something, nothing would make me happier. But I think from our point of view, we have tobegin to explore all avenues/’Clinton said in a brief interview at the state Capitol.He said “a couple” of businesses have contacted the state about locating at the Blytheville Air Force base. The governor wasn’t specific, but he said airplane-related industries would be logical candidates.He said Federal Express, the business most courted by northeastern Arkansas officials, isn’tamong the “couple” of industries that have contacted the state.The Nucor steel company of North Carolina is co-owner of a steel plant in Blytheville. A second plant, wooed with tax breaks approved by the Legislature this spring, is set to open in Mississippi County next year, bringing about 400 high-paying jobs.Clinton said the Nucor plant and some lesser-known sophisticated industry already in Mississippi County will make Eaker attractive to industry.“We’ve got a lot to sell so I really think we can sell it. The issue iscan we do it in time so there won’t be a big lag time where a whole lot of people are out of work,” Clinton said.The base provides about 4,600 jobs and pumps $83 million into the economy. If it remains on the closure list, the base would remain open for 112 to two years, anaide to Clinton said. “That would give us some lead time/’ Clinton said.Manv of the military workers at the Air Force base would leave the state for other bases, Clinton said. The trick would he to find new jobs for the civilian workers left behind, either at Nucor or a new plant.“What you have to do is have enough jobs to fill the civilian jobs either directly or indirectly in terms of impart in the area, (Minton said.Planning for the future theme of Chamber meetingBy ANN MARIE HENRY CN Staff WriterBLYTHEVILLE - Harold Sudbury Jr., the Eaker Committee Chairman, said in a press conference Monday that he was “optimistic” about prospects of new industry moving into the facilities at Eaker Air Force Base.“We have one of the most modern facilities in the entire country, if not the world,” Sudbury said. “I’m excited about the challenge we have in redeveloping the base. It’s not going to be easy, but the facility is second to none in the world.”The press conference was held to acknowledge that the Defense Base Closure and RealignmentCommission had included Eaker Air Force Base on a list of proposed base closures submitted to President Bush. If the President approves the list, and Congress does not override his decision, the base will close.The Eaker Commission, formed in the spring, worked to keep the base open, but also started formulating plans in case the base did close, Sudbury said.“The Committee does not necessarily agree that the Closure Commission made the best recommendation. We still believe that Eaker is an outstanding base, but we plan to work to do what is best for the community. ’ ’Though no industrial prospects4 4were named at the conference, William J. Tomlinson, Chairman of the Blytheville Chamber of Commerce Industrial Development Committee, said that some response from industry interested in the base’s potential had been received.It is standard for anonymity in this procedure,” Tomlison said. “We don’t like to operate in confidentiality, but we have every reason to go along with their (prospective industries) wishes.”The base would initially be leased to industry wishing to locate on its facilites, Tomlinson said. Conveyance of property to the city would take a some time, he added. His main concern is toshorten as much as possible the period between when the Air Force vacates the facilites and new industry moves in.“It’s in the military’s best interest to cooperate in the redevelopment of the base if Con gress decides to close it,” Sudbury said. “The Air Force and the community will work together in as fast a time as possible to redevelop the base. ”Presently, the Eaker Commission is working on identifying the assets of the base, Sudbury said.“Once we know what we have, we can present the facts to prospects,” Sudbury said. “We plan to market it in the best way thatTomlinson mentioned (hat some of the base’s assets include miles of airplane runways, streets and roads; a sanitary sewer and water distribution system in place and ample work, office and classroom space.“If a community had to duplicate those assets, it would take millions of dollars/’ Sudbury said.Sudbury encouraged anyone in the area with any ideas about how to best utilize the facilities, to please contact the Chamber.Irnmi; hnu; 51Gosnell Mayo/* Dick Reams said that the effect of the base closure on Gosnell would be “devastating ”
Newspaper Details
Blytheville Courier News
Blytheville, Arkansas, US
Tue, Jul 02, 1991
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
University O.
AR, USA 27 Feb 2020
Other Publications Near Blytheville, Arkansas
Blytheville Army Air Corps News
Blytheville Courier News
