By JOEL PHELPS | arkadelphian.com

We’re often amazed at what information falls through the cracks when we fail to report it and/or neglect to share it to our Facebook followers. Lately, it’s been news of the Barkadelphia Dog Park, which is currently under construction (and coming along nicely) on 15th Street on a lot north of and adjacent to Mill Creek. We’ve been keeping tabs on the dog park since our 2021 launch. Our reporting includes the vision for the park and the finalized plans, as well as the scoop on a land transaction between the City of Arkadelphia and Henderson State University. We’ve been telling you it’s coming, and recently we rehashed that city officials promised its completion by the end of this year. Yet as we scan our personal Facebook feed we’ve seen friends wondering about the odd new sidewalk that appears to circle in on itself. Said friends should make a habit of reading local news.

In late September, the Caddo Valley Flea Market announced via its Facebook page that it will be closing up shop come mid- or late-December. Although plans to erect a new bridge pre-dates the launch of arkadelphian.com, it’s no news to us that the flea market is closing, and it shouldn’t be news to our readers as we have reported in recent weeks about construction of a new bridge that will require state takeover of at least a portion of the 11-plus acres the flea market sits on. We also reported in November 2022 that the flea market property changed hands, with the new owner listed in deed records as Cassie Gonzales, spouse of state Rep. Justin Gonzales. The flea market and its customers (we often browse the market for treasure, too) voiced hope that a new space can be secured to keep the business operating.

7,000 followers. Not bad!

Local citizens should be thankful that Judge Troy Tucker and City Manager Gary Brinkley were proactive in pushing for local legislation to make it pert-near impossible for a cryptocurrency mining operation to start up shop in Clark County or Arkadelphia. In nearby Garland County, residents of Mountain Pine are upset over the noise pollution from a new crypto-mining facility, KATV reported earlier this week.

Thirty-seven is awfully young to be an empty-nester.

So much money that is spent in Arkadelphia goes to the profits of corporations in Northwest Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma. If you enjoy reading arkadelphian.com, it’s thanks to the small businesses that advertise on this website. Advertising isn’t cheap, but news isn’t free — we hope you’ll take note of which businesses rent or have rented space on this site, and support them — at least tell them you saw their ad in The Arkadelphian. We remain grateful to our customers and the small businesses they operate. Shop locally when you can.

Leaves suck.

Pedestrians have the right-of-way in crosswalks! That said, pedestrians need painted crosswalks. The new overlay on Wilson Street looks fantastic, but we’ve noticed that Henderson students living at University Place are often hesitant to use the unpainted crosswalks. Fix this!

Joel Phelps runs the one-man newsroom that is arkadelphian.com. Opinions in Bits & Pieces are his own, but you’ve got to admit that you agree with everything he says. Contact Phelps by email at editor@arkadelphian.com. We miss you already, R.