Update: Greenwood Woman Sentenced

Brooke Floyd of Greenwood was sentenced to ten years probation Friday, September 11th after pleading guilty to felony manslaughter.  Floyd was accused in the death of her 10 month-old son, Harper Alexander Floyd in July of last year.

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Good Samaritan Helps Deputy

A LeFlore County Sheriff's Deputy received a pleasant surprise while attempting to fuel his vehicle.  According to a LeFlore County Sheriff Department Facebook post, a man paid for the deputy's fuel after noticing that the deputy had issues with his fuel card.  The man, a biker who came for the H.O.G. bike rally, said paying for the patrol unit's fuel was just a thank you to the deputy for doing his job and serving the county.  He declined to give his name.

The deputy would have had to call his supervisor to bring him another card and then wait for someone to bring it to the gas station.  Sheriff Rob Seale said that the gas station clerk also reported that the man was a veteran.  However, without a name that could not be confirm- ed.  Seale also said this kind of support means a lot to him and his deputies.

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Amber Alert Issued On False Report

An Amber Alert was issued Sunday, September 13th in Ft. Smith when David Castillo-Mauricio, 2 years-old, went missing.  The child's mother told police he disappeared while he was playing in his front yard at 3606 Marshall Drive.

Several hours were spent trying to locate 29 year-old Raul Mauricio-Parga, the boy's father, who was identified as a suspect in the case.  According to Ft. Smith Police Detective Michael McCoy, at approximately 1:20 a.m. Monday, September 14th, the Amber Alert was inactiva- ted due to it being discovered that the child and his father were in Mexico and had not been in Ft. Smith.  The missing child report was false.

McCoy said the child had been in the father's custody for at least two months.  He also said it will be up to the prosecuting attorney to decide if charges will be filed against the mother.

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Former U. S. Attorney To Run For Senate

On September 9th, Conner Eldridge, former U. S. Attorney, announced that he will be seeking the Democratic nomination for the U. S. Senate seat in the 2016 election.          John Boozman, Republican, currently holds the position.  In a news release, Eldridge said "Washington is broken.  I'm running for the Senate because I'm committed to doing every- thing I can to fix it for Arkansas and for our country."

Eldridge resigned on August 21st after serving almost five years as U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas.  He and his wife, Mary Elizabeth, have three sons, Will 8, Henry 4 and Tull 3.  They moved from Arkadelphia to Ft. Smith.  Then after becoming U. S. Attorney, they moved to Fayetteville.

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Rheem Celebrates 45 Years In Ft. Smith

On September 10th, employees at the Rheem facility celebrated being in Ft. Smith for 45 years.  Rheem is a heating and air conditioning company.

Mike Branson, Vice President and General Manager of Rheem's air conditioning division, said that millions of dollars are being invested in the facility by the company to make changes.  Included in those is the re-designing of the inside.  Also, Branson said they are working on re-designing every product manufactured in Ft. Smith.

Rheem started in business ninety years ago.

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Associate Pastor Pleaded Guilty Of Fraud

Thomas Edward James, a part-time associate pastor at St. James Missionary Baptist Church in Ft. Smith, has pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of making a false tax return.  A release from Kenneth Elser, acting U. S. Attorney of the Western District of Arkansas, stated that James, 34, pleaded guilty to charges of defrauding investors of appro- ximately $200,000.

According to the release, James approached potential investors, a majority of whom were retired and members of St. James, with proposals to make investments through him.  He then fraudulently induced investors to invest funds through false representations that their funds would be invested in a U. S. Treasury Bond, which were insured and guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the United States government.

The release also stated he admitted to filing false tax returns from 2008-2012 and owing the U. S. additional taxes totaling $205,566.46.

James was previously terminated from Merrill Lynch as a broker.

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Plans To Build New Greenwood EMS Facility

The Emergency Medical Services in Greenwood has been operating out of its present facility since the 1970's.  It has become nonfunctional and crowded.  Not only does the EMS staff perform their duties there, but ambulances and EMS equipment are stored in the building.  There are plans by the Sebastian County government to construct a new one.

Emergency medical response for all residents outside the cities of Barling and Ft. Smith is the responsibility of the Sebastian County EMS.  Over the years the service has grown from one unit and crew to two units, seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day.  With the growth came more staff and more equipment to house.  According to Sebastian County Judge David Hudson, there is a budget of $1.2 million for the project and it will be built in collaboration with an outside professional.  No start date has been scheduled.

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