Welcome back, students young and old, to Arkadelphia. The first day of school for Arkadelphia Public School District is Wednesday, Aug. 14. Both Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist universities begin their 2024 fall semester on Tuesday, Aug. 20. We enjoyed the peace and quiet that is an Arkadelphia summer without college students, but we revel in knowing that a new group of youngsters will make lifelong friends and memories in Arkadelphia. Some of them will even stick around after college, as we did, and carve out a living here.
Could it be time for the powers-that-be in Caddo Valley to consider annexing with Arkadelphia? We’ve been through this movie before, years ago, when Arkadelphia’s leaders put the question to a ballot that Valley voters did not support. Both cities have since experienced a complete turnover in leadership. We don’t foresee anyone on either side of the Caddo River approaching the idea again publicly anytime soon, but it’s fun to ponder the possibilities.
Those Phi Lambs are gonna need a brush hog.
News from the web: Hostess Brands reported this week that 79 employees at its Lenexa, Kansas, facility are being laid off. Parent company J.M. Smucker plans to permanently close the facility after reviewing its operating model and business needs.
It was August last year when news of a potential buyout of Hostess was communicated in this column. CLICK HERE to read the Aug. 31, 2023, Bits & Pieces.
With a contract awarded at $56.1 million, the Arkadelphia Bypass is the 11th largest highway construction project in Arkansas, according to a ranking published recently by Arkansas Business. The project has an estimated completion date of late 2026. To put that number in perspective, the largest project — the reconstruction of Interstates 30, 40 and 530 in Little Rock — clocks in at $540 million, while the perpetual I-30 construction in Benton is costing $187.3 million.
In the three years since our launch in 2021, we’ve published more than 5,400 articles to arkadelphian.com — articles that collectively generated more than 4.1 million views from 1.9 million visitors. We thank every advertiser, donor and reader for making this venture possible.
Arkansas State Police said earlier this week that the agency seized 7,000 Fentanyl pills and other drugs during a traffic stop on I-40 at Van Buren. We keep tabs on ASP news and have seen several releases touting drug busts on I-40. Can’t help but wonder what they could be missing on I-30.
Joel Phelps is publisher and editor of arkadelphian.com. Opinions in this column are his own. Contact him at 501-304-2134. Everything Zen / I don’t think so.
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