Pine Bluff -  

 

Airdate: May 21st, 2008

A Star City logger has finally paid up, which will get a prosecutor off his back.

Some money is better than no money, but the victims aren't entirely happy with the deal.

Back in January we told you about two Jefferson county customers of timber cutter Charles Culpepper…the Kentzes of Pine Bluff and the Youngs of Sulphur Springs.

(Linda Young/January) “We have not received any money and we haven't seen him in better than a month.”

The Youngs were paid a few weeks later for the trees harvested and sold by Culpepper.

But payment to the Kentzes was not forthcoming.  They say they were told they would be paid more than three thousand dollars.

(Frantz Kentz/January) “33 hundred and some change.  And we're going to be lucky to get 12, 15 hundred for it…for what he's done.”

The Arkansas Forestry Commission investigated and referred the file to prosecutor Steve Darylmple for review.

(Charles Culpepper/January) “I'm legal on everything I've done so far. I haven't violated the law or I'd be in jail.  Because 30 days have passed…45 days have passed...I'd be in jail right now if I was in the wrong.”

Stuck between whether the matter was civil or criminal, Darylmple recently convinced Culpepper to pay the Kentzes $14 hundred dollars.

(JoAnn Kentz/Pine Bluff) “He told us that we had to.  I mean, we questioned it amongst ourselves before we went up there.   And I said “If we accept this is that the end of it" you know?  We asked him that and he said well you either take the money or I'll give it back to him.”

The Kentzes say Culpepper left a big mess that they will now have to pay somebody else to clean up.

 Email To Friend