Reconnecting Arkadelphia: The Stories We Could Tell

Our readers and advertisers have probably been wondering about the silence on this website. We took a weeklong vacation. Unlike years prior when we’ve left town for a few days, this time we left work behind. No email, no screen, no phone — we just wanted to be alone. Because this line of work garners more foes than friends, it would be foolish to advertise our absence. 

Although our counterparts and former print colleagues might scoff at the idea of walking away from the never-ending news cycle with no canned content, the truth is we’ve been spinning our wheels more often than not lately, and pondering the overall benefits of our work. 

We left fed up with Arkadelphia — particularly all the negativity that accompanies our line of work — and were well on our way to returning in a similar mood, mentally tallying the value of our assets in hopes of relocating to a beach town as we crossed the Arkansas state line when we found a glimmer of hope in a podcast whose details we won’t bore you with. The bottom line is that we all feel disconnected from each other because of Big Media and Social Media, but when we set our devices down and actually talk to our own — be it a neighbor or a stranger on the street — we most often find that other people are just like us: glad to chat, glad to help, glad to have a friend. Sure, our neighbors may have differing views, but should they need a hand, we’re first in line to lend that hand (and vice-versa).

Hearing that message struck a chord deep within us. We started The Arkadelphian five years ago with the intent of connecting our community, but somewhere along the way we lost that vision and instead chased an unquenchable thirst for views in order to sell our product to advertisers. It’s the unfortunate nature of show business, and we want no part of it. But now at least we have the community’s attention.

There are more stories to be told in Arkadelphia and its surrounding communities than what we typically report in these web pages. Maybe you’re a three-time cancer survivor. Maybe you picked up a ton of trash along the shorelines of DeGray Lake. Maybe you saved a life. Maybe you have an unusual hobby or collection. Maybe you floated the Ouachita River to New Orleans. Maybe you left a comfortable life in Clark County to teach special education in Alaska. Maybe you went on a cruise and had a run-in with pirates and the Coast Guard fought them off.

Admitting that we veered from our course is a hard truth to swallow, but we can get back on track with a little help from you, our neighbor. If you know of a story the whole community should hear, let us know about it. All we ask is that there be a Clark County connection to the story. And for goodness sake, don’t rely on your Facebook page unless you have thousands of followers like we do; besides, we’re professional storytellers.

Let’s put Arkadelphia back on the map as the “arc of brotherhood”, a place where neighbors get along, help each other, live with each other, learn from each other, love each other.

Joel Phelps is founder and editor of arkadelphian.com. Contact him by email at editor@arkadelphian.com.