Let the record show that we were invited to attend (and cover!) the Clark County Democrats’ annual Clinton Day Dinner. We didn’t go. This spring the local Republican committee told us about their Lincoln Day Dinner and special guest, but noted the media was banned from attending (the rule apparently did not apply for one newspaperman guised as a preacher). In fairness, we prefer to give both parties equal coverage, even if it means none at all. Should both parties save us a seat at their 2025 banquets, we’ll be there, if only to hear how awful the other party is. If not, we’ll just have to figure out another way to spend the evening.
We learned through our friend Mike McNeill at magnoliareporter.com that Union Pacific’s beloved steam locomotive, Big Boy No. 4014 will not be rolling through Arkadelphia during its upcoming tour as we had hoped it would. Instead, Big Boy will make a brief stop in Kingsland — the Cleveland County town where Johnny Cash was born — and roll west, without stopping, through Ouachita, Columbia and Lafayette counties. This takes place Monday, Sept. 16, 2024.
No rain? No worries: The Clark County Fair is just weeks away.
Beginning Tuesday, Aug. 20, don’t expect the typical quantity of articles posted to this website, as we’ve been summoned for jury duty. Our prediction is that, given our role in the media and our knowledge of the upcoming case, our name will swiftly be tossed from the pool of potential jurors. Once that happens we’ll keep our seat in the gallery and start covering the trial, which will likely eat up most of our working hours until a verdict is reached.
You probably shouldn’t text while intoxicated.
Too often we find that local entities simply do not take advantage of the service we offer as a hub of local information. We want to share news from schools, businesses, civic organizations and more. At last count, we had 8,900 Facebook followers, and our paywall-free website receives, on average, one click every 20 seconds. Chances are your Facebook page isn’t reaching as many folks as you’d like. Frankly, we feel that too much information goes unseen because the creation of so many Facebook pages has fractured mass communication. But hey, we’re here if you need us.
Today marked the first day of school for local K-12 students. We watched traffic on both Caddo and Pine streets as parents dropped off children at the new Peake Elementary School. We thought consolidating three campuses into one would create a snag for traffic, and we’re glad to report that our prediction was wrong. As expected during the first days, streets surrounding the school were slightly congested, but the Arkadelphia Police Department kept traffic flowing smoothly.
A press release came across our desk Tuesday regarding Oaklawn’s $500,000 gift to the Razorback Foundation. Citing “tough financial times for college sports”, Oaklawn president and UA alumnus Louis Cella called on other Arkansas businesses to pitch in and help out the Razorbacks. A PBS News analysis shows that Division I athletics generated $15.8 billion in revenues in 2019, and a more recent Sports Illustrated article highlights Razorbacks ticket sales compared to other SEC programs. The Hogs will be just fine, financially. That half a million dollars would have been better spent building a pedestrian bridge (or two) across Central Avenue.
Joel Phelps is publisher and editor of arkadelphian.com. Opinions expressed in this column are his own. Contact Phelps at 501-304-2134 (leave a voicemail) or email editor@arkadelphian.com. I rarely drive steamboats, Dad.
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