By JOEL PHELPS | The Arkadelphian

Today is the first day of spring. We will receive 12 hours of sunlight today, and the sun rose as due east as it gets — right in our eyes as we made our way downtown for routine inspection of police records. But it’s cold. Amphibious life along Mill Creek seem confused about the weather patterns of late. We typically hear them croaking from the window of our home office on Martindale Hill. They’ve been silent the past several evenings.

Today also marks the first day of spring break. Things are quiet in this college town, but we’ll continue to keep an ear out for news if any happens. Spring break is generally a slow (knock on wood) one for news, and we’ll be taking a couple of day trips and making some home improvements between meetings and writing articles.

Did we mention April Fools’ Day is right around the corner? Fair warning: Don’t let anything catch you by surprise.

As of March 8, crews working to construct the new Peake Elementary School campus were slated to begin digging footings on the west side of the site adjacent to School Street. This wing will house kindergarten and first grade classrooms.

We are thankful for the Clark County Extension Service. Recently they hosted a workshop to help homeowners rid their properties of moles and/or gophers. We attended, making a beeline to the front of the classroom to learn all we could about these subterranean pests. We learned enough from this workshop to purchase the correct traps, and within a few days we took care of the mole that had made a pig’s ear of our lawn. The extension service agents provide a useful service to the community, and they are armed with a plethora of tips and expert advice to help homeowners, gardeners and farmers tackle nearly any obstacle.

We’re in the market for a bush dog.

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Joel Phelps is editor and publisher of The Arkadelphian. He can be reached by phone at 501-304-2134 or by email at editor@arkadelphian.com. “Mastercard, Visa, American Express/Nothing against those credit cards, but cash is the best.”