De Queen parks director charged with theft, fired

— The fired director of De Queen’s parks department has been charged with felony theft of thousands of dollars in payments for CPR classes that was to be paid to the Red Cross.

The Texarkana Gazette reported that 52-year-old Karen Atkins was arrested Thursday by Sevier County sheriff’s deputies.

Atkins could not be reached for comment.

Atkins, who was authorized to teach CPR classes for the Red Cross, is accused of having kept $3,765 in fees from the classes and having used the money to pay credit card and other bills.

Atkins had been De Queen’s park director since 1998. She was fired Dec. 11 by Mayor Billy Ray McKelvy.

McKelvy declined comment on the dismissal.

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