BITS & PIECES : And the sign said “Sold”

We got wind last week of an apparent sale of the former Central Primary School property. Yes, there is signage on the perimeter chain-link fence saying “SOLD”, but at last check Tuesday morning there had not been a deed recorded at the Clark County Circuit Clerk’s Office. We also asked Arkadelphia Public Schools Superintendent Nikki Thomas about the sale. Her response: The sale is pending. We’ll continue checking real estate records and hoping that 1) the school district may soon rid itself of this asset, and 2) the buyer has a solid plan for the property that will benefit Arkadelphia. 

For now, the property is being leased to Coakley Company, Inc., a Hot Springs company contracted by the City of Arkadelphia to relocate underground utilities ahead of the Pine Street widening project. Coakley is storing inventory (water pipes, sewage pipes, fire hydrants, etc.) on the old playground as well as on the north parking lots.

Nostalgia is sometimes a sickness: It will bind us in one place without allowing the mind to grow forward from the past. — Unknown

We checked online yesterday and learned that Hostess Brands/J.M. Smucker Co. did not advance to the Featured 4 in the Coolest Thing Made in Arkansas contest. The Pine Bluff Arsenal’s M18 colored smoke grenades are apparently cooler than Donettes. On the bright side: two Clark County manufacturers were included in the Super 16 bracket, meaning Clark County represented 1/8 of all Arkansas-based manufacturers initially included in the contest. Not too shabby!

Classes began at both Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist universities on Tuesday, Aug. 20. We heard through the grapevine that, based on preliminary estimates, Henderson’s enrollment is up 10% compared to the Fall 2023 semester. That’s “through the grapevine” and “based on preliminary estimates”, so don’t hold anyone to those figures. We’ll know more on the 11th day of class, when the figure has been finalized.

Some of you have unrealistic expectations of our responsibilities.

Some of our astute readers may have caught in the last installment of this column that Yours Truly rarely drives steamboats. That was a hat tip to the late comedian Mitch Hedberg, and brought on by our recent reading of Steamboats: Navigation on the Upper Ouachita River published this year and co-authored by Bob Thompson and Wendy Richter of the Clark County Historical Association. The river’s significance to Arkadelphia — before the era of railroads, automobiles and aircraft — is well documented in written tales of passenger water travel, commerce and even the occasional boat wreck. Fascinating stuff!

The Arkadelphia City Board of Directors held its annual retreat this weekend. We didn’t get the memo.

Joel Phelps is publisher and editor of arkadelphian.com. Opinions in this column are his own. You’re too old, let go, it’s over, nobody listens to techno!