Author: Paul Holmes

All hail the mighty boll weevil

Unless you have served in the Army or argued with that irritating voice in your GPS while seeking a shortcut to the Gulf Coast, you may not be acquainted with…

Public safety, amenities on the line in Jonesboro special sales tax election

Jonesboro voters will go to the polls Sept. 10 to decide whether to impose a temporary 1% sales tax to fund a package of public safety and quality of life…

Remember when we Arkansans often proclaimed, “Thank God for Mississippi,” in an effort to assuage our embarrassment at being ranked next-to-last in various state-by-state rankings, particularly those dealing with education,…

Jonesboro residents will decide Sept. 10 on one percent city sales tax increase

In three identical 11-1 votes Tuesday night (July 2), the Jonesboro City Council approved a series of ordinances proposed by Team Jonesboro, a citizens group that says its 12-year, one…

Wilson developers working through long to-do list to draw visitors, residents

Travel through many of the small communities of the southern Delta and the chances are the scenery that rolls past the car window tells the same story — that of…

Too much of a good thing

As if we needed confirmation, headlines around the U.S. accompanying a recent national weather story provided it. Yes, indeed, if we hadn’t figured it out already, we were told “The…

E-commerce rise equals unlimited growth for Hytrol’s conveyor systems

Three decades after rock band Queen declared “I Want it All and I Want it Now,” consumers increasingly are now finding that they can do just that — get nearly…

Car tags and carbon

And miles to go … Is it too soon? Too soon for what, you might ask. Too soon to be thinking about the November 2020 elections, of course. If it…

Farmers still rely on guesswork, gambling, gut instincts even with technology updates

As Tony Bradley of Jonesboro plants his 2019 crop, he reflects on the changes as well as the constants he’s observed in his four decades of farming in Craighead County….

Crittenden County bank changes name, prepares for full-service Jonesboro branch

Marion-based First Community Bank of Eastern Arkansas is changing its name and broadening its market. Effective April 1, the bank became Premier Bank of Arkansas, and expects, pending approval of…

What are the odds?

Let the games begin on April 1 at the state’s two race tracks, decreed the Arkansas Racing Commission last month. The two, as anybody who’s been around here even a…

Sowing the Good Seed: Forresters’ reputation for producing quality products blossoms

Keith Forrester always thought that someday he would eventually return to the family row-crop farm at tiny Whitton in western Mississippi County where he was raised. Three generations of his…

To catch a thief

Dear Whoever You Are, I can only suppose that your Valentine’s Day holiday was one of the best ever. I would tell you you’re welcome, but you’re not and anyway,…

Information sharing links law enforcement throughout NEA

Police and prosecutors across Northeast Arkansas are using one of law enforcement’s oldest tools -information sharing – in a new way to address violent crime. In January, 2nd Judicial District…

Following the money to a happy stomach and a healthier lifestyle

We’ve all heard that old saying that, “When they say it’s not about money, it’s about money.” But it was interesting to note that recently Dr. Linda McGhee, a family…

Enthusiasm for brewing bubbles over into new Newport liquor distillery

Phillip Finch and Ross Jones met a decade ago while a local option, wet/dry election effort was under way in Independence County. Soon, the two Batesville entrepreneurs began brewing beer…

Sausage-making, shotguns and Bowie knives

A friend who once worked in the Washington, D.C., office of a congressman often quoted the aphorism widely credited to Otto von Bismarck that one should never watch laws or…

Foundations work to bring trauma care to rural Arkansas

Trauma victims in rural Arkansas often are many miles and many precious minutes away from potentially life-saving care, decreasing their odds for survival until they reach a hospital. Statistics from…

The more things change …

Two things, music and the passage of time, in the right circumstances seem to smooth the rough edges of one’s memory. So it was pretty easy — sitting in a…

Uneasy riders

Do you remember those cross-country car trips, crammed in the back seat of the non-air conditioned family station wagon next to a baby brother you claimed you couldn’t stand? And…

Author: Paul Holmes

Tina Alvey Dale

Nancy Peevy