Opinion

We are delighted to welcome our 14th association and 16th state to be represented in the Column Partner Program — the Arkansas Press Association. The Column team will be working with the APA on a redesign of their statewide public notice website, making critical improvements to the accessibility of their site as well as adding improved search and alert functionality for the public.

50 years ago, the citizens of sovereign Republics known as the Counties of Baxter, Marion, Newton, & Searcy within the sovereign Republic of the State of Arkansas advocated the release of land along the banks of what is known as the Buffalo River. It was done in the hopes of stopping the creation of dams along the river and impacting private property owners not just along the river bottom, but many who owned property that would evidentially be covered in the body of water created by this river blockage. The result was the creation of the Buffalo River National Park (BRNP) with the promises of job creation and national recognition of the pristine area with the main objective of protecting the Buffalo River and providing a pristine outdoor experience with nature in its natural setting. The area would be under federal protection and what could possibility be wrong with that. 50 years later, everything is wrong with this decision.

LITTLE ROCK - National Work Zone Awareness Week (WZAW) is April 11-15 and the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) is pleading for drivers to slow down in work zones. This national safety campaign is observed each spring, the traditional start of construction season, to encourage safe driving through highway work zones.

Cover crops more effective than insecticides for managing pests, study suggests. Did that catch your attention? Promoting early season plant cover, primarily using cover crops, can be more effective at reducing pest density and crop damage than insecticide applications, according to a Penn State-led team of researchers.

Fayetteville — The Center for Arkansas Farms and Foods’ 2022 Beginner Farmer Classes are available online through Oct. 31.

An important deadline is approaching if you plan on voting in the May 24 Preferential Primary Election and Nonpartisan General Election. If you have not already registered to vote, you have until April 25 to file your voter registration application with your county clerk.

Little Rock – Average teacher salaries in Arkansas ranked 47th in the nation in 2020, down from 46th in 2019 and 44th in 2018. Legislators on the Senate and House Education Committees heard a lengthy salary comparison last week, written by legislative staff.