By JOEL PHELPS | The Arkadelphian

For the Week in Clark County History, we combed through bound copies of the Daily Siftings Herald, housed in the archives of Riley-Hickingbotham Library at Ouachita Baptist University. We choose some front-page news from editions dating back 10, 15 and 20 years ago.

10 years ago in Clark County

Sept. 25, 2012
State Rep. Johnnie Roebuck was named the Gressie Carnes Democratic Woman of the Year.

OBU’s Tiger Serve Day involved more than 900 volunteers split into 91 teams to complete more than 100 community service projects in the Arkadelphia area.

Superintendent Donnie Whitten told the Arkadelphia Board of Education that student enrollment was approximately 2,151 students. Of those, 1,994 were in grades K-12, 57 were in Perritt’s pre-K class, and 100 were in the Early Childhood Education Center.

Sept. 27
Clark County was the recipient of a $49,000 federal grant to provide search and rescue training for a Southwest Arkansas regional response team, as well as gear and equipment for water rescue.

Oct. 1
The New Tech program at Arkadelphia High School was up and running. Arkadelphia was one of 15 school districts in the state chosen to participate in the governor’s Workforce Cabinet STEM Works initiative.

15 years ago in Clark County

Sept. 25, 2007
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a 1976 alumnus of Ouachita Baptist University, gave a lecture at his alma mater, emphasizing the importance of arts in education.

Sept. 27, 2007
Henderson State University laid claim to the largest domestic fleet of Maule airplanes when it took delivery of its 11th Maule, increasing the school’s fleet to 16. That aircraft would also the 2,500th plane the company had manufactured since it started production in 1961.

Sept. 28, 2007
A jury gave a 36-year-old Dalark man a 70-year sentence for the non-fatal stabbing of a woman in the parking lot of a Pine Street restaurant. He was found guilty of robbery, stalking and first-degree domestic battery.

20 years ago in Clark County

Sept. 25, 2002
Judy Blackwood was named Arkadelphia Public School District Teacher of the Year. Campus Teachers of the Year were Nikki Thomas, Goza; Betty Bass, Central; Leah Wright, Peake; and Trudy Conzel, Perritt.

The Arkadelphia Board of Education amended the student dress code to allow spirit groups to wear uniforms on game days.

Sept. 26, 2002
The City of Arkadelphia’s $100,000 River Park, located between 1st Street and the Ouachita River, was beginning to take shape. The project was funded by a voter-backed bond issue passed two years prior.

Sept. 27, 2002
Under the leadership of Gurdon Mayor Clayton Franklin, the city offered property owners its services to demolish and burn abandoned dwellings for a price tag of $500.

Sept. 30, 2002
A reporter series covered how local entities were breaking the language barrier for the Spanish-speaking population, which had seen an estimated 200% increase in just two years in Clark County.

Oct. 1, 2002
Of 100 inspections by the city’s code enforcement officer, 60 residents were found to be in violation of a newly adopted ordinance requiring residents to keep their property looking nice. At least seven of those violators made a court appearance.

Henderson’s Arkansas Hall, completed in 1949, was in the process of a $5 million facelift. The remodel added a new theater, expanded classroom, office space and a new roof.