$100,000 Missing from Bearden School District

(After the reported $100,000 loss, the Bearden school district demoted four full time teachers to part time positions. This saved the school $60,000-$80,000 according to Rozenberg. Former bookkeeper Debbie Riggs resigned before the end of the school year. The state is now reviewing the district's finances.)

This has yet to explain where the money went and how long it has been being taken.

A Bearden Citizen wrote:

WHY IS EVERYONE HIDING WHO STOLE THE MONEY?? EVERYONE KNOWS IT'S DEBBIE RIGGS!!! WHY ISN'T HER FACE ALL OVER THE NEWS?? AS PARENTS WE HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON. IT JUST DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ARE IN THIS TOWN IF YOU GET TALKED ABOUT OR NOT. LET SOMEONE CHEAT ON THEIR SPOUSE, OR DATE SOMEONE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR AND THEY ARE THE WORST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD, BUT LET THEM STEAL $100,OOO AND WE JUST LOOK THE OTHER WAY. GOD HELP US!!!!!

That is the Bearden Ark I know.
I know a few people from the old days.
You bet you are very correct.
Yet that is how it is in all our counties and cities of this country.
They have and always been that way.
It is who you know and well who you do.

Sick isn't it?

i didn't know bearden had that much money!

I can believe Debbie Riggs there is alot more that lady has done and I hope it all comes out God help her and I pray she does her jail time!!!

A Bearden Citizen wrote:

WHY IS EVERYONE HIDING WHO STOLE THE MONEY?? EVERYONE KNOWS IT'S DEBBIE RIGGS!!! WHY ISN'T HER FACE ALL OVER THE NEWS?? AS PARENTS WE HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON. IT JUST DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ARE IN THIS TOWN IF YOU GET TALKED ABOUT OR NOT. LET SOMEONE CHEAT ON THEIR SPOUSE, OR DATE SOMEONE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR AND THEY ARE THE WORST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD, BUT LET THEM STEAL $100,OOO AND WE JUST LOOK THE OTHER WAY. GOD HELP US!!!!!

Wounded wrote:

<quoted text>
That is the Bearden Ark I know.
I know a few people from the old days.
You bet you are very correct.
Yet that is how it is in all our counties and cities of this country.
They have and always been that way.
It is who you know and well who you do.
Sick isn't it?

Can any one tell me what happened I heard Debbie went to court this week ?

happy wrote:

I can believe Debbie Riggs there is alot more that lady has done and I hope it all comes out God help her and I pray she does her jail time!!!<quoted text>

I heard she has paid at least some of the money back, but that she is still free - probation only. And of course, I also heard their liquor store is still open and thriving. Can anyone confirm??(I'm surprised she hasn't been run out of town!)

I was told her husbands boss at saw mill loaned him the money and she was going to get 6 months in jail.But we are yet to see that,she has caused a lot of pain to people even before this.People need to stop going to the store you are putting money in her pockets that she took from our children!!!!

my opinion is, how many more of you people on here are doing wrong? a lot? all of you are probably church going people, but on here you talk about people. in my book, that is a hypocrite. just my opinion. yea, she stole money, got her punishment and is doing her time. its over now. i bet some of yall have messed up before and got away with it. at least she had the desency to confess for her wrong doing. just my opinion but it doesn't mean anything and neither does the post before mine. like i said, most of yall probably claim to be all CHRISTIAN, but when you are behind closed doors you are a totally different person, as we see in the post. Have a BLESSED day.

what about the young lady at the bank of bearden? supposedly laid off work, but they hire someone to replace her about a month later? do u think she really got laid off? i don't because i know the truth. she was transfering money from peoples account to her account. isn't that a form of embezzleing? i believe so. but nothing was done and it slip right away from everyone. if she would have worked somewhere else, she would be in the same situation debbie is in. behind bars right now. But people didn't want to pressure it, but what goes around will come back around. im glad people in bearden are so worried about everyone elses business, they forget they actually have a life of their own. or do they not?

It is not what you do, but who you are, an who you know. Most people have to pay a fine an do time. Birds of a feather stick together. We have no say. Vote for the wright person next time.

Dear No Name "Please Get Off This Page You To Are Sinning And Judging"And God Bless You

Looks like crime pays. I know a woman who had to small children from Bearden and searved five years, for the same crime.

I think that her and her husband shoud go spend some time in jail. You can't tell me that he didn't know that something was going on. I haven't seen them out but everytime I go back home and drive by te liquor store there is mor people there than normal. If you people would just stop and realize what this woman did to YOUR Children then you would stop supporting them and let them both go to jail. But since their las name is RIGGS then you just turn your head the other way. LISTEN to me she and her husband are both criminals. Let them do their time and have the court in Little ROck where the children of BEARDEN SCHOOL DISTRICT will be protected and the RIGGS WLL GET WHAT IS COMING TO THEM

I just found out that Mrs. Riggs got a 6 months jail term ( don't know what jail that she is in) and repaid all the money that she stole from the school district.

School embezzler serves time on weekends
By TAMMY FRAZIER Staff Writer
   A woman sentenced to serve six months in jail for theft of funds from the Bearden School District has been allowed to serve her jail time on weekends due to a medical condition, according to Ouachita County Sheriff David Norwood and Chief    Deputy Joe Strickland.
   During a Ouachita County Circuit Court plea day in April, Deborah Lynn Riggs, 48, pleaded guilty    to theft of property over $2,500 and    to second-degree forgery. She is the    former treasurer/bookkeeper of the    Bearden School District.
   Riggs was sentenced to six months    in jail and ordered to pay full restitution, which she did in the amount of    $109,007.12 on April 17.
It was discovered in 2008 that    Riggs had misappropriated funds    from the school district from July 1,   2004, through March 31, 2008. She    was arrested in December of 2008    and released from jail on a $25,000    signature bond.
   She was taken to the Union County    Jail to began her six-month sentence    on April 22. The Ouachita County    Jail does not have a facility for female inmates.
   However, Norwood and Strickland    told the Camden News today that    Riggs’ physician has confirmed that    she suffers from a chronic illness and    that she must make frequent trips to    Little Rock to see her doctor.
   Strickland said that it is not "cost   effective" for the county to keep    Riggs in jail and have to pay for the    transportation and her medical care.   He said that, under the new arrangement, Riggs and her family will be responsible for taking her to the appointments.
   "But we are still within the legal requirements for managing the jail so that she can go to these numerous doctor’s appointments," Strickland said. "She still will be required to do her jail time on the weekend in its entirety."
   The new jail terms were arranged on May 5, according to Strickland.
   He said that Riggs will not wear an ankle monitor during the days that she is not behind bars, and Norwood explained that doing so would restrict her movements and hinder her from being able to go to Little Rock as per doctor’s orders.   Strickland said that the sheriff’s office has received numerous phone calls from people who have reported seeing Riggs in and around Bearden.   Norwood emphasized that Riggs is not technically out of jail. She must still serve all    of her jail time and, under the    new guidelines, he said it will    now take her more than a year    and a half to complete her    sentence.
   

no name wrote:

my opinion is, how many more of you people on here are doing wrong? a lot? all of you are probably church going people, but on here you talk about people. in my book, that is a hypocrite. just my opinion. yea, she stole money, got her punishment and is doing her time. its over now. i bet some of yall have messed up before and got away with it. at least she had the desency to confess for her wrong doing. just my opinion but it doesn't mean anything and neither does the post before mine. like i said, most of yall probably claim to be all CHRISTIAN, but when you are behind closed doors you are a totally different person, as we see in the post. Have a BLESSED day.

Nope, not a church goer, and I have had screw-ups in my past, but never anything like stealing thousands of dollars from a school district. Boy, if that's just a little "wrong doing" to you, I'd sure hate to see a list of your sins.

The post before mind must be kin to Debbie, seems like you are taking up for her. Most decent hard working people dont steal. She had a good job, making good money, an a business doing good. Must of been to greedy. Just my opion to.

Bearden citizen wrote:

The post before mind must be kin to Debbie, seems like you are taking up for her. Most decent hard working people dont steal. She had a good job, making good money, an a business doing good. Must of been to greedy. Just my opion to.

I'm the poster of the post before yours, and I can assure you I'm no kin to Debbie. In fact, my post was a response to some idiot above who actually was standing up for her - if you were just a tad more intelligent, you would have been able to read my post and comprehend that. Only a moron would've read that and thought I was "taking up for her." Have a nice day.

well your money is not the only thing Mrs.Riggs has stolen You need to check with your sons that went to school with her!! You know her illness sure has come in handy for a few years now!And iam not kin ti her but where friends with her and kids for many many years ,she is like a snake WILL BITE WHEN YOU TURN YOUR BACK!!!!!