For the Week in Clark County History, we combed through bound copies of the Daily Siftings Herald to choose some front-page news from editions dating 10, 20 and 30 years ago.

10 years ago in Clark County

March 19, 2013
The West Central Planning Commission held a public hearing in Caddo Valley regarding a 53-mile railroad easement connecting Gurdon to Amity. Numerous landowners spoke out against the easement, so a future meeting was proposed in order to discuss an appropriate price for the land.

March 20, 2013
The unemployment rate in Clark County rose higher than the state’s average. Arkansas sat at an average of 7.2 percent, whereas Clark County had a rate of 7.3 percent.

March 25, 2013
Married couple Bob and LuGene Erwin of Blevins began making their own soap using methods from the pioneer days. They found success in selling the soap on the internet.

20 years ago in Clark County

March 19, 2003
Following the announcement of a financial deficit, president of Henderson State University Dr. Charles Dunn announced that many business professors would receive a 10 percent pay raise in order to prevent them from taking job offers at other universities. Students protested the pay raises at a rally, claiming that students should have a say in how the university’s money is spent, and that student workers did not get paid fairly.

March 20, 2003
On the eve of the United States’ attack on Baghdad, the Clark County Disaster Response Committee met to review the county’s contingency plan to deal with a local terrorist attack.

March 21, 2003
A group of Henderson State University faculty and students gathered at the Clark County Courthouse steps to protest the war in Iraq. Afterwards, they participated in a prayer vigil at First Presbyterian Church.

March 24, 2003
An Arkadelphia resident was convicted of first-degree battery of an infant he was caring for while the mother was at work. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

March 25, 2003
In response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and to the ongoing Iraq war, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers increased the security to DeGray dam and placed the area on 24-hour surveillance.

30 years ago in Clark County

March 19, 1993
The African Children’s Choir consisting of 27 refugees from Uganda performed before an overflow crowd at First Baptist Church of Arkadelphia.

March 22, 1993
Billy Bunn wrote a letter to the editor claiming that the dream of home ownership is fading as the cost of homes continued to escalate. He noted that a major reason for this is that timber prices were increasing drastically due to a lack of supply. The cost of lumber went up 90 percent, from an average of $250 per 1,000 board feet to $474.

March 23, 1993
An article reflected on life in 1940s Amity. In 1948, the Lions Club of Amity spearheaded a “clean up and fix up” campaign for the town, receiving praise from Gov. Benjamin T. Laney, who said he wished the movement would spread to all of Arkansas.

March 24, 1993
Merchants and Planters Bank president and CEO Steve DeMott announced the addition of Henderson State University alumni Chris Wewers to the bank’s management training program.

March 25, 1993
City Manager Steve Beck announced that South 15th Street would be paved in the summer, and received public backlash for a lack of response when residents asked that the paving begin sooner.