Editor’s pick: Local stories that defined 2024

By JOEL PHELPS | arkadelphian.com

From a bear sauntering around downtown Arkadelphia to a local eatery becoming a literal drive-thru, 2024 marked a year of unusual happenings.

Yet in the foreground of the bizarre news that made local headlines, the Arkadelphia landscape is undergoing a makeover as the city’s main thoroughfare is being widened and a bypass is under construction. Historical landmarks have been razed, and new institutions have been built.

SEE ALSO: arkadelphian.com’s Top 10 most-read news stories of 2024

We’re looking back at our coverage of the previous 12 months with an editor’s pick of local stories that helped define 2024. Here’s a recap of this year’s news (links are included for further reading):

With no organized opposition and in a special March election, Arkadelphia voters renewed a 1-cent sales and use tax for general government operations. The ballot initiative, which drew some 1,300 voters to the polls, carried with 61% in favor of continuing the tax for an additional 10 years.

In March, longtime Arkadelphia businessman Percy Malone told a public board of job recruiters that he was considering uprooting his pharmaceutical business if the panel didn’t take steps to retain AllCare Pharmacy. Malone, in business locally since the late ‘60s, pointed out that he has invested millions into the community and, as a state lawmaker, secured millions more — yet AllCare, which employees more than 100 people locally, hasn’t been offered any incentive from a 1/2-cent sales tax geared for job retention and expansion.

The rural community of Alpine, in northern Clark County, was the scene of an emergency landing and subsequent crash of a single-engine aircraft one morning in April. The pilot walked away from the plane crash that left his 1966 Mooney face-down in a pasture.

While Arby’s may “Have the Meats”, it didn’t have the desire to keep slicing roast beef at its Arkadelphia location in April, when a motorist — after confusing his vehicle’s brake pedal for the accelerator — rammed into the corner of the eatery’s brick exterior. Though repairs were made to the structure, a peek through the restaurant’s windows shows no promise of another curly fry being served across the formica counter. Its menu board has since been removed, and eight months later there’s still no official word from the chain about continuing business in Arkadelphia.

Also in April, the city commemorated the official grand opening of the 3.5-acre Barkadelphia community dog park at Mill Creek Drive and 15th Street.

During renovations to make Arkadelphia’s train depot more compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, contractors unearthed numerous historical bricks that were part of the station’s original foundation. Local historians were able to preserve many of the bricks, although not as many as they had hoped, as Union Pacific continued working on the project.

Out for a springtime stroll, a black bear in downtown Arkadelphia drew the attention of countless spectators one Friday afternoon in May as it sauntered around eastern Main Street. Perhaps it was searching for legal advice, as it was first captured on video walking in the street in front of Taylor King Law, then later captured (and relocated) by game wardens from a tree near Clint Mathis’s law firm.

Also in May, longtime fireman Andy Neel was named Arkadelphia’s new fire chief. He replaced Jason Hunt, who resigned from the post in January.

In June, the newly built Peake Elementary School officially opened its doors as Arkadelphia Public Schools’s state-of-the-art K-4 campus. The community showed up in full force for its grand opening and a tour of the facility. We put together a heart-warming video of the occasion and the 83,000-SF school.

Lamar Taylor represented Henderson State University in July as he competed in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. Hailing from Bahamas, the Red Wave swimmer finished 26th overall out of 79 competitors, making both his nation and alma mater proud.

Arkadelphia High School closed a decades-long gap in August when it relaunched a Future Farmers of America program, drawing interest from several students who enrolled in agriscience studies.

After years of being on the market, Central Primary School (or, depending on one’s age, the old Arkadelphia High School) sold in September to local businessman Roger Wingfield. The school district and Wingfield closed the $215,000 deal, making way for Wingfield to own an entire city block and to demolish the century-old buildings on the property. Wingfield remains mum on his intentions for the now-leveled acreage, calling the purchase a “future investment opportunity.”

Clark County sheriff’s deputy Fred Phillips got the scare of a lifetime early one October morning when his police-issued SUV was the only thing standing between an 18-wheeler, piloted by a drunken driver, and innocent motorists obeying traffic laws. In an act of bravery, Phillips stationed his vehicle on the shoulder ahead of the truck, which pummeled into Phillips’ vehicle instead of hitting others on Interstate 30. Phillips miraculously survived the crash, and was later honored with a prestigious award for his bravery.

Real estate records filed in November unveiled plans that the location of a former hardware store in Gurdon will make way for a Casey’s convenience store location. Clark County’s second-most populous city has seen some new retail development in recent years, including a new Dollar General Market.

We broke news in December that the Pocahontas, Arkansas-based American Made General Store is making plans to expand its retail chain and open a fifth location in two states, the newest one to be situated alongside Interstate 30 in Caddo Valley. The store, which sells only products manufactured in the States, is expected to open (hopefully) by June 2025, just in time to celebrate U.S.A.’s birthday.

December was a momentous month for the Arkadelphia Badgers, who shutout the Elkins Elks to claim their fifth (or seventh, depending on who’s keeping records) state title in the program’s history on the gridiron.

The biggest project on everyone’s mind is the ongoing widening of Pine Street and the Arkadelphia Bypass, both of which are happening simultaneously. A selection of our reporting on either project can be found by searching “Arkadelphia Bypass” or “Pine Street” in the search bar in the menu at the top of the page. Consider yourself implored to explore.

We look forward to serving Clark County in 2025, and thank the community for its support since we launched in 2021 and its continued support moving forward. Happy New Year!