We had intended on noting how nice and quiet it will be in town once the college students return home for the summer. Given this week’s disheartening news about the program cuts and faculty eliminations, however, we just hope the undergraduates return for the fall semester, along with a new crop of freshmen. It’s nice to have a break from the increased traffic and noise, but our town’s survival depends on these kids.

Thursday’s rain and subsequent street flooding reminded us of a project some of our readers have been inquiring about. All the concrete pipes and heavy equipment you’re seeing at 26th and Caddo streets is part of a city-funded drainage project. Admittedly, we don’t know all the details about this project as its preliminary stages of planning and funding was in the works before we launched back in July. Having seen vehicles drowned out in that dip on 26th Street between the Caddo Street intersection and the old Siftings office, hopefully this will provide some relief to residents in that area.

We recently had some correspondence with someone in northern California considering the launch of an online newspaper. They found us through the LION (Local Independent Online News) membership list. Since they’re still in the brainstorming phase we won’t name their town, but the local newspaper there was recently purchased by a corporation that has “essentially destroyed the local news aspect of the paper” and mainly prints national or international stories from the Associated Press and other agencies. Sound familiar? Wasn’t that long ago that GateHouse did the very same thing to several community newspapers in Arkansas. Anyhow, they doted on the “polished appearance” of The Arkadelphian website, adding later that “what you have accomplished with your Arkadelphian local news site is SO impressive and inspirational for other communities.” Thought that was too cool not to share.

We’re thinking hard about organizing an editorial committee to help continue steering The Arkadelphian in the direction it needs to go to better serve the residents of Clark County and surrounding areas. One person has accepted the invitation, and at least four more should hear from us in the coming weeks. We’ll gather once a quarter and discuss community feedback from past stories, future story ideas and brainstorm revenue options. If you’d like to be considered for a spot on this panel, shoot us an email to editor@arkadelphian.com or call/text 501-304-2134.

Until we meet again, here’s another piece to the story that began last time:

Part 2/9
I was a freshman at Henderson and had just finished my morning algebra class. En route to my apartment, I pulled out onto North 10th Street from Huddleston when BAM — I crashed into a city-owned pickup.