We attended a candlelight vigil Sunday on the four-year anniversary of the death of our brother-in-law, Hot Springs lawman Brent Scrimshire. He was shot and killed while conducting a traffic stop on March 10, 2020. About three dozen people gathered outside the Hot Springs Police Department, where we lit 176 candles, representing his badge number. We will feel the immense sadness of his loss for as long as we live. We were shocked to learn the news the very next morning that there had been a gunfire exchange involving another Hot Springs officer. In this case, however, it would be the bad guy who lost his life. We hope for a speedy recovery for the injured officer, and pray for an end to the senseless gun violence that plagues our country.
Readers have likely noticed the new banner advertisement on this website. We’d like to welcome aboard Ford Construction/Metal Buildings by Ford. Based in Arkadelphia, the family-owned and -operated company was formed in 2017 by Keith and Sarah Ford as contractor and designer, respectively. The pair is much like the TV home remodel couple Chip and Joanna Gains, as with six children and another on the way, Sarah has “retired” from her design work to be a full-time mother. Keith has 25 years of experience in home and shop design, carpentry and construction. Ford Construction offers services including metal buildings, flooring, vinyl siding, interior/exterior paint and more. Be sure and click the company’s advertisement to learn more.
March is Women’s History Month.
We got a tip that there was a lot of police presence at Bank OZK’s Pine Street branch on Monday, so we checked into it. We learned from an official source that officers were requested there because a group of Canadians had been trying to open an account in the U.S., but no banks would do it. We didn’t learn if they had better luck at Bank OZK, but our reader was glad that we found out what the ruckus was all a-boot.
Justices of the Peace. It’s a mouthful, and it makes it sound as though our county lawmakers are the rootinest, tootinest cowboys in the Wild West. Probably time Arkansas should reconsider this title for all 75 quorum courts. We think county commissioner would be a dignified designation.
Mill Creek is alive again with the spring sounds of croaking frogs. Lots of cheering and baseball bats cracking at the nearby Henderson ballfields. About time to put out the hummingbird feeders.
Outnumbered 9-to-1. Good thing we enjoy the company of women.
This week last year we reported on a state-led Q&A session about industrial pollution near the Ouachita River and its effect on angry landowners. CLICK HERE to read that story.
Joel Phelps is publisher and editor of arkadelphian.com. Opinions in this column are his own. Reach him at editor@arkadelphian.com. “Tension, it’s all that I know/I got tension in my courtroom/I got tension in my White House/I got tension and it’s everywhere that I go.” — Todd Snider
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