My wife sent this over today. Great stuff.

Join the other Wordless Wednesday participants (or contribute something of your own) by clicking right here.

Here in Conway, a record number of voters turned out for early voting on Tuesday afternoon.

County Clerk Melinda Reynolds said as of 3 p.m. Tuesday, the number of people who had early voted totaled 2,600. The typical number of voters by the second afternoon of early voting is 500 or 600, she said.

She said there have been no major problems with early voting so far, only minor issues, such as a couple of paper jams.

A few elections ago, my wife and I voted early. We stood in line for well over an hour.

The next time we voted, we decided to wait and go on Election Day. We ended up waiting for maybe 30 minutes or less, and everything went smoothly.

In addition, it seemed more exciting and patriotic to vote on Election Day. We then went home and stayed up half the night to see who won.

Based on our past voting experiences, we've decided from now on we'll wait and vote on November 4th.

Yes, the time has arrived to unveil our new award and hand it to three very deserving bloggers -- Grandy at Functional Schmunctional, JD at I Do Things so You Don't Have To and Margie and Edna from Margie and Edna's Basement.

Yes, those bloggers are hereby named honorary Captains of the All Arkie Army. Why? Because we like them and want to send over a small token of our appreciation for making the blogosphere a better place to be.

Yes, the All Arkie Army is a collection of bloggers who happen to be from Arkansas or have ties here. We're a diverse lot, but this little award -- this distinguished designation -- gives us the chance to collectively acknowledge some of the better bloggers out there.

And, in the esteemed tradition of the Kentucky Colonels, you don't necessarily have to be from Arkansas to be a Captain of the All Arkie Army.

To that end, this award comes with absolutely no strings attached. That's right. We're not asking any of the recipients to pass it on or any of that stuff. We just appreciate the recipients and want to show it.

We hope the recipients do choose to grab a copy of the award and display it on their blogs, of course. And who wouldn't want to show off those fine colors? Yes, they'll be the envy of their visitors, for sure and certain.

And, the lucky recipients of this award get a dandy bonus, thanks to our own Theresa Komor of A Bumpy Path and Eyebald. Since this is the inaugural award, Theresa figured we ought to make it special, so she kicked in 1,000 Entrecard credits for the lucky recipients.

That's right -- 333 credits for each recipient (yeah, we know it's not even).

So, we hope the recipients enjoy their awards, display them proudly and keep doing what they do. The bonus Entrecard credits should come in handy, too.

Of course, we'll be naming more honorary Captains as we go, but this first group is decidedly exemplary. Stay tuned to see which lucky bloggers get honored next!

• Heart disease and stroke are the #1 and #3 causes of death in Arkansas.

• The total cardiovascular disease death rate in Arkansas is the 5th highest in the U.S.

• High blood pressure is reported by 30.5% of adult Arkansans.

• The Stroke death rate in Arkansas is the highest in the U.S.

• The Diabetes frequency in Arkansas increased 1994-2000 (5.4% to 6.2%) to 7.4% in 2005.

• Arkansas ranks 7th in the nation in obesity (BMI>30) with 28.0% of adults being obese.

• Of Arkansas children 0-5 years of age, 20.4% (%>95th) are obese.

• Of Arkansas student’s 9th-12th grades, 34% describe themselves as overweight.

• In 2000, total hospital charges in Arkansas for cardiovascular disease totaled over $1 billion dollars.

Source: Arkansas Heart Health


In 2006, Arkansas has a larger percentage of tobacco smokers than the national average, with 24% of adults smoking.

The national average is 20.8% according to Cigarette Smoking Among Adults --- United States, 2006 article in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Smoking contributes to heart disease and stroke because it increases blood pressure. When people smoke, their blood vessels constrict, forcing the heart to work harder in order to pump blood through the cardiovascular system.

Want a sure way to lower your risk of heart disease and stroke?

Don't smoke.

A Politically Incorrect Guide to Politics

"The Post American World", authored by Muslim Fareed Zakaria.



















Zakaria has weighed in on his Muslim background on only one
occasion, telling the Village Voice, "I occasionally find myself
reluctant to be pulled into a world that's not mine, in the sense that
I'm not a religious guy."

An oldie but goodie.

By John Brummett

Since we don't have much happening of a political nature inside Arkansas, there is uncommon statewide interest in a state Senate race in Conway.

Actually, that's not true.

The statewide interest is mostly among a few hundred or so insiders. Regular people statewide aren't at all fired up about this local race for one of the 135 individually insignificant seats in the Arkansas General Assembly.

There's probably not a thing in the world that would be changed for the every-day Arkansawyer by this race. Arkansas legislative issues seldom come down to one vote, and, anyway, everybody in the Legislature votes the same way nine out of 10 times.

Now that I've successfully established the pointlessness, let's shine the spotlight, shall we?

I'll get back to Obama and Palin and the rest next time. By Thursday, there will have been another debate and a guy named Ayers will be bigger than Willie Horton. It's getting nasty. McCain has no chance otherwise.

You have Sen. Gilbert Baker, veteran incumbent, former music teacher at the University of Central Arkansas and past state Republican Party chairman. He's one of those professed religious conservatives. He's a likable, energetic, Mr. Positive sort whose engaging and adapting manner affixes a palatable and moderate facade to his underlying right-wing instincts.

With nominal and destructive Democrats like Bob Johnson, Baker is part and parcel in that outfit calling itself the "Brotherhood" that now runs the Senate. It exists merely for mutual back-scratching in disbursing state surplus money equally among senators for their self-aggrandizing local pork projects and play-pretties.

Baker fell into the group because he got his feelings hurt years ago when Mike Beebe, then the top dog in the Senate, presumed to tell him what he could have from the capital expenditure budget.

Opposing Baker is Democrat Joe White, a Conway businessman who has the fervent backing of a man who otherwise is the state's consummate advocate of bipartisanship. That would be the aforementioned Beebe.

This is entirely personal. When Baker was state Republican chairman, he funneled tens of thousands of dollars in party money to one of those faux-independent groups that spent the money on attack ads on Beebe calling him, absurdly, a co-conspirator with the criminal Nick Wilson.

Conway residents got a mailer the other day that attacked Baker for having steered all his share of the Brotherhood's pork-barrel state money to UCA - instead, that is, of parceling out smaller chunks here and there for rodeos, county fairs, senior citizen centers, halls of fame and things that ought to be attended to locally, like sidewalks and street lamps.

The point was to try to tie Baker to the discredited Lu Hardin, and, indeed, as I well know, those two were pretty chummy in the day.

The mailer didn't say that it was from White's campaign. So Baker called a news conference to declare it "illegal." But it turns out that state law is unclear on whether such mailed material must reveal how it's paid for.

White said the absence of campaign disclosure was an oversight. Quite an oversight, don't you think? A politician just plain forgot to put his name on something. Anybody buying that?

Anyway, what in the world is supposed to be wrong with taking all of your share of the Brotherhood's pork barrel and passing it on to your thriving local state university?

Baker called this mailer a "Washington-styled attack ad" that he eschewed.

I remind you that Baker took Republican Party money and passed it on to one of those supposedly independent groups so that the supposedly independent group, a mere hit squad, could produce and air bogus attack ads on Beebe and a few targeted legislative and local candidates.

For his big state GOP fundraiser when he was party chairman, Baker brought in Karl Rove, the mere architect of modern Washington style.

So tell us another one about what you eschew, Gilbert.

-------

John Brummett is a columnist for the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock. His e-mail address is jbrummett@arkansasnews.com; his telephone number is (501) 374-0699.

By John Brummett

CONWAY - This showcase state Senate race in Conway is odd. These candidates, state Sen. Gilbert Baker and businessman Joe White, will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for, well, it's hard to say.

Baker thinks it's important that we have a two-party system and that he's the last line of defense against our not having one.

He keeps telling me that if the Democrats take his seat, then he just doesn't know what would become of the Republicans. He's actually contended that Democrats are out to get him because he's taken Republicanism all the way to the Pulaski County line.

It's like this is "Gilbert's Last Stand," an epic Western movie filmed on location at the Morgan exit.

Maybe he's right, because I can't figure otherwise what the deal is with White's Democratic challenge.

Joe is a good ol' Conway boy who's been in the car business and other enterprises. But he's a ponderous communicator and he doesn't seem to have any issue that inspires him.

My guess is that he has some Democratic friends and he let them talk him into providing the warm body for going against Baker because these friends simply would prefer that Baker not be the senator from Conway, his being a Republican and all.

Maybe they fear that Baker will aim higher after getting term-limited in four years, maybe Congress, though I doubt he has that hankering or that Second District incumbent Vic Snyder is losing sleep.

So I wrote the other day that there wasn't any issue or policy at stake in this over-hyped contest. Baker, ever the Pollyanna, tried to tell me that there was.

He says he's committed to taking all the remaining three cents off the grocery tax. He says Gov. Mike Beebe, who supports White, is fretting about the economy and talking about a second incremental reduction of only a penny or a fraction.

So there's your issue. Baker wants to go back to the Senate in January to cut the budget more than the governor may want at the very time we may be entering a deep recession that would erode state revenues while increasing human needs, such as for Medicaid.

You'd think Republicans would have learned from recent national and international financial events that taking in less while spending more and trying to live on fiscal vapor creates eventual mathematical complication.

What Beebe and legislators ought to do is hold on to the $250 million or so in surplus now amassing, meaning income in excess of approved spending levels. The governor and legislators should lock that money in a rainy day fund in case things get as bad as they might. Just this once, because global finance has collapsed, they ought to resist the urge to spend every taxpayer penny they can get their hands on.

You see, when the economy goes bad, state government gets hit from both sides. It loses revenue stream while its essential responsibilities increase. And state government can't run up a deficit like the federal government.

Without real cash for state government, sick poor people don't get medical help because federal Medicaid matches aren't met. Prisoners don't stay in prison very long. College tuition gets hiked up. The public schools must get theirs off the top, because that's in the state Constitution and case law and we sure don't want another lawsuit.

Anyway, curious as to what possible substance or significance I might discern, I drove to Conway the other afternoon for a debate between Baker and White put on by political science students at UCA. I found none.

On the issue of whether Conway ought to be wet or dry or, as it is now, "damp," meaning dry except for private club permits as approved by the Alcoholic Beverage Control board, both Baker and White came out forcefully for supporting and trusting the will of the people at the ballot box, either way.

Baker did tell me afterward that, if given the chance, he'd personally vote dry, even to end the dampness, but only prospectively, not retroactively. He wouldn't want to put any constituent out of business.

He's against booze in his dry county, you see, except for the amount they're already pouring, which, as it happens, he finds to be just right.

He'd grandfather in booze monopolies. And I thought Republicans were for markets and competition.

The whole thing is just weird.

-------

John Brummett is a columnist for the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock. His e-mail address is jbrummett@arkansasnews.com; his telephone number is (501) 374-0699.

According to this story posted by Arkansas Business, KATV Anchorwoman Anne Pressly was attacked in her home early Monday morning and remains in critical condition.

KATV is Little Rock's ABC affiliate.

Pressly was found unconscious in her home in Little Rock's Heights area and, according to police, received severe wounds in the course of what may have been a robbery.

Here's hoping Pressly is OK and this whole incident underscores something that a home security consultant mentioned to me a couple of years ago -- the Heights is one of the areas hardest hit by burglaries in Little Rock.

According to that consultant, the problem with the Heights has to do with the perception of the area by its residents. The Heights is one of the more exclusive areas of Little Rock, so residents feel safe in that environment and assume they won't be victims of burglaries.

And, yes, I do mean burglaries -- breaking into and entering a structure with the intent to commit a felony therein. By definition, a burglary is not limited to robbery, but most burglars have stealing in mind.

So, many residents of the Heights don't think much about security. They probably should as they've got the best stuff to steal and criminals get an idea which residents have good security systems and which ones don't.

Years ago, a police officer told me something that has proven true time and time again -- criminals will hit the homes that provide the best opportunities. If, for example, a no-goodnik is out to rob homes and he faces one that has an alarm system, one that has tightly-bolted doors and one that provides an easy means of access, which one do you think he's going to hit?

What the sad Pressly incident teaches us is that we can never take home security for granted, and that's doubly true in a city like Little Rock.

God bless you and get well soon, Anne! Those KATV news broadcasts just aren't the same without you.

Willy gets out and about the Natural state occasionally and gets tapped on the shoulder by his cell phone which is a handy picture taker. Pictures not always great quality but are a reminder of what the Cell phone sees around the state. With the Hawg's Permission, Willy will contribute some of past and present views of "What the Cell Phone Sees"

As a lot of you folks know, I've been the director of media relations for the Arkansas Realtors Association for the past three years.

In that capacity, I've seen both state and national markets go from the heights of 2005 to the slow markets that we've got going on right now. One of the questions I get a lot from the press, of course, is "just what the heck is going on?"

That topic has been rather beaten to death, but here it is in a nutshell. As we've learned, money was too readily available. That easily available cash served to inflate home prices and we've seen what happened when it became apparent that a lot of folks found themselves in a position where they simply couldn't pay their mortgages.

That's right. We got a lot of foreclosures and those drove down property values by adding a bunch of discounted homes to the housing inventory in markets around the nation. Furthermore, the death of the subprime market took a lot of that easily available cash from the market, so we saw even more downward pressure on home prices.

That situation led to the present where a lot of people are upside down on their loans -- they owe more than their homes are worth. It's been a hell of a mess, of course, but a common question is "how did we get here?"

The simple fact is, the federal government -- starting with the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 -- has had a nasty habit of messing around in the free market and twisting bankers' arms into issuing mortgages to people that probably shouldn't have them. Why? Well, it was an issue of fairness -- some people, particularly low income people, were left out in the cold when it came to getting a conventional mortgage, so why not make it easier for them to get homes?

The government meddled, meddled, and meddled some more until the subprime lending industry was born. Those nasty little things generally led to "no money down" loans which offered wonderful initial interest rates, but contained terms that kicked in after, say, five years that jacked those monthly mortgage payments through the roof.

In other words, if someone is barely paying their mortgage even under the favorable initial rates in an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM), what happens when the introductory period has run and those monthly payments shoot through the roof? Well, you get a lot of foreclosures and what-not.

Of course, some of those loans were outright predatory, whereas others were taken out by people who wanted more "house" than they could afford and they simply ignored what was coming down the road or figured they could sell their homes for a profit before they had to pay under the decidedly unfavorable terms.

Meanwhile, home values were artificially inflated everywhere, and why not? Money was cheap and plentiful, and the impact on home prices were obvious. Furthermore, builders started emphasizing pricier homes as there was a huge market for them. People who could legitimately afford, say, a $150,000 home under a conventional mortgage found themselves able to get subprime and "exotic" loans for homes that cost twice as much.

At the first of 2007, it was very obvious the whole system was crashing down as people found themselves unable to afford the terms of their mortgages and couldn't sell their houses because prices were dropping and inventories were increasing at the time. So, they started defaulting and the number of foreclosures went up substantially. In fact, we're still dealing with people struggling with their subprime mortgages.

The result of all that, of course, is downward pressure on homes due to both increased inventories of discounted, foreclosed properties and the lack of easily available mortgages. Banks aren't handing loans out to everyone with a job and pulse anymore, so it generally costs more to get a mortgage because down payments are required for most of them.

Here's the good news for Arkansas -- we've certainly been impacted here in the Natural State, but we haven't been hit as hard as in other states. Why? The National Association of Realtors tells us that, nationally, 9 percent of all homes are covered by subprime mortgages. That's significant as 54 percent of the foreclosures nationally involve subprime mortgages.

In Arkansas, however, only 5 percent of all homes are covered by subprime mortgages and, as a result, foreclosures have been reduced accordingly.

However, the availability of mortgages has hit us in Arkansas just as it's hit everywhere else, albeit to a lesser extent. That means that list prices are dropping and you can read all about that phenomenon and how the availability of mortgages play into it by clicking right here.

As for home values, we've been pretty fortunate here in Arkansas. Through August this year, for example, the average price of a home here was $152,400, down 1.3 percent from an average of $154,422 through the first eight months of 2007.

Yes, that's a drop, but not nearly as severe as the double-digit reductions in values in the rest of the country.

So, does that mean that there aren't any concerns in Arkansas housing markets? Not exactly. Sales have dropped 19.2 percent through the first eight months of 2008 -- 17,723 single family residences sold by Realtors as opposed to 21,931 through August 2007.

That means that buyers are in a very good position to find some bargains out there as inventories are still relatively high. Furthermore, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages are still available, but require 3.5 percent of the purchase price for a down payment and closing costs. Those FHA loans, by the way, cover most homes in Arkansas.

Sellers, meanwhile, are still selling their homes, but there's a problem of perceived value as opposed to actual, fair market value. Sellers, still used to the hot markets of a couple of years ago, tend to overvalue their homes.

Regardless, Realtors in Arkansas tell me that sellers willing to price their homes fairly will usually make a profit if they've been in their homes a few years. They just might have to wait a bit longer to sell those houses than they did just a couple of years ago.

What's the good news? I'll put it this way -- I picked up my house in Benton, Ark., two years ago for about $30,000 less than what it appraised for this year. In other words, I got a bargain and my home is worth considerably more than I paid for it. When the market comes back around -- and it certainly will -- I could make a tidy profit, indeed, if I chose to sell.

A major problem over the past few years is that people started to view homes as short term investments -- buy one, sit on it a couple of years and make a profit. That's never worked out very well in Arkansas, but real estate remains a solid long term investment in this state.

Bill Smith, Editor, ARRA News: I received these first words from a reader and wondered how I could use them. Well this weekend's news provided the opportunity.

"Something to think about. Just a few points to ponder. Anyone who's gone through the Security Clearance procedures in the Military" (even Gen. Colin Powell), FBI, CIA, Secret Service or other agency requiring securing, processing and handing of classified information and documents "can verify that this is a valid point to ponder: If Barack Obama would apply for a job with the FBI or with the Secret Service, he would be disqualified because of his past association with William Ayers, a known terrorist. If he is elected President he would not qualify to be his own body guard!"

Kind of makes you wonder where General / Former Sec. of State Colin Powell's head was at when he endorsed Obama. Powell didn't resign his commission and therefore he is still responsible to his oath of office. Upon what valid basis did he support a person for Commander-in-Chief who may well have been disqualified for military service, etc. A man who used hard drugs which would not be waived for a commission as an officer. A man who has been associated in his past and present life with a former anarchist, shady Chicago back room deals, a black supremacist pastor, a communist mentor, and close family (blood) relatives and foreign leaders in an African country with ties to radicals and terrorists. It is beyond reasonable belief that one of our former popular Generals who served as a Republican leader and was sought by his party to consider running for president would now endorse Obama.

Obama's stated beliefs and principles are so diametrically different from those previously espoused by Powell. Also, Obama's actions and associations would not have been "becoming for a junior officer" under Powell's command. As a retired officer, I am still reeling from the above thoughts. Surely race could not have been a factor in Powell's decision. And yet, Powell related in his public endorsement that 'the prospect of Obama becoming the first African American president would 'electrify the world.'" More disturbing is the fact that Powell "expressed disappointment" of McCain's selection of a woman - Gov. Sarah Palin - to be his vice presidential running mate. In 2000, Powell campaigned for John McCain for President and may very well feel betrayed for not being selected for the VP nomination. One wonders at this late endorsement about Powell's feelings on a woman being selected over either Powell or another a person Powell would have approved of as VP. Powell calls Biden a good choice, when Biden and Powell were seldom on the same page on core issues or values.

Powell became a 4-star General, Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, national Security advisor and Secretary of State under Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W, Bush. Now this singular decision made by Powell to publicly influence voters for Obama over McCain, a fellow military man who "really served" his country, is almost too much to take-in. And the alleged reason for Powell's endorsement - McCain selected a woman for VP and Obama as a black president may electrify the world. Powell's decision left many feeling like the people must have felt when their "Knight" lost their "shining armour."

Yes, Powell has the right to vote and support whoever he wishes but now he joins the ranks of people like Wesley Clark, as empty suits seeking another moment of fame. My suggestion to all is "THINK, Before YOU VOTE!" The choice: Obama the young smooth talking inexperienced socialist who is also an anti-traditional family values advocate or McCain the older but scarred proven warrior who is the straight talking man who is a maverick by speaking the truth even within his own party. A maverick who chose a person - yes a woman - outside of Washington politics to help him stand firm for the American people against the onslaught of a Democrat controlled Senate and House led by an inept Harry Reid and the "beyond the pale" Nancy Pelosi. Again, "THINK -- THINK, Before YOU VOTE!"

Yes, folks, its time to follow in the grand tradition of the Kentucky Colonels and name some folks Captains of the All Arkie Army.

"Kentucky Colonel? Captain of the All Arkie Army? What the hell are you talking about, The Hawg?"

Well, the state of Kentucky has, for years, bestowed the honorary title of Colonel of those individuals who have done something to significantly improve the culture of the Bluegrass State. You had such notable individuals as Tom Parker (Elvis' manager) Colonel Sanders (the chicken guy) and even Muhammed Ali (he floated like a butterfly, stung like a bee!) was honored with the title of Kentucky Colonel.

One fascinating thing about the Kentucky Colonel honor is that one doesn't have to be from the state of Kentucky to receive it. Yes I, The Hawg, have long dreamed of being a Kentucky Colonel.

But, I digress...

So, we're doing something similar at the All Arkie Army. There are certainly bloggers out there that we members of the Army enjoy -- individuals who have improved the blogosphere significantly.

Let's give them a nice, no-strings-attached award, huh? Let's show our appreciation by naming them Captains in the All Arkie Army and presenting them with the dandy award posted here? This is an award that says, "You're just a fine blogger" and doesn't require them to pass it around or anything like that. It's a simple token of appreciation.

The floor, then, is open for nominations. I ask all members of the All Arkie Army, then, to pick some bloggers that you like and post them in the comments section or e-mail links to their blogs to me if you're shy. We'll take nominations for a few days and then vote.

Remember, we're not looking for any members of the All Arkie Army and nominees don't necessarily have to be Arkansas citizens. These are just people we like.

Get cracking, folks, and let's honor some bloggers!

Here in central Arkansas, Friday night football has been a major event for as long as I can remember.

Yes, communities in these parts follow their high school football teams with a passion. When a team is struggling, that tends to irritate the heck out of its home town.

We Benton residents have been quite irritated this year as our poor Benton Panthers have been plagued with trouble all season long. The Panthers traveled to Sheridan on Friday and lost 15-7 to the Yellowjackets.

Sheridan isn't that good but, fortunately for them, Benton is worse this year. That little game put Sheridan's record at 3-4 (2-2 in the 6A South), while Benton fell to 1-6 (0-4 in the 6A South). Benton's only victory came against Conway, a team that is bad as Benton in that it has also managed to win one only game this year. Thank God for Conway, I suppose.

How bad did Benton play against Sheridan? Well, you only need one stat to show that -- 80 yards of total offense. To make matters worse, the Panthers were held to 17 yards in the second half. That's just sad.

So, congratulations to Sheridan. Benton was Sheridan's homecoming game, so there's something to be said for good scheduling.

Speaking of opportunistic scheduling when it comes to homecoming games, there's hope on the horizon for my beloved (yet struggling) Panthers. The Panthers host Little Rock Fair for the Benton homecoming on Friday.

Little Rock Fair hasn't won a game all season. Here's hoping Benton will chalk up a victory, improve to a sparkling 2-6 record and get a conference win. There's a lot on the line when those two teams take to the field -- the loser gets the honor of being dead last in the 6A South while the winner is, well, next to last. Yeah. How's that for motivation?

This season is a wash for the Panthers and I'm hoping things will get better next year. My dad and I go to almost all Panthers home games, so we'll be back to watch more football for (hopefully) many years to come. We're both proud Benton High graduates, after all, and those games give us the chance to visit and catch up on this, that and the other. The social aspects of those games are very important to us, but we'd love to see the team play well.

Benton isn't the only team that's struggling. Head right here to read about the Arkansas Razorbacks' latest woes.

It's nowhere near "politics as usual" in Arkansa's small communities that are surrounded by miles of cattle ranches and hay fields. It's about people with strong ties to home and each other in ways seldom seen these days. It's about life based on real, tangible values, ideals and mores that leave no one standing outside the reach of home.

This swing symbolizes yet another milestone of rebuilding a town mostly destroyed by a tornado several years ago; a tornado so severe that it laid flat everything in its path. The old school that was is now a beautiful, rambling campus of buildings and football, baseball and soccer fields. Somehow, the modernity of the new school only emphasizes the sense of small town community and a simple way of life. Though colleges tend to be a micro community within itself, this small town celebrates and applauds the successes of growth along with it, making the college as much a part of the town as everyone else. No one is left out. This swing and small play gym mark the beginning of a park snuggled in with humble, single family homes, giving the neighborhood kids a safe place to be instead of in the streets.

The two lane highway that runs through the center of town eventually meets up with other two lane highways, each intersection marking the way to get to other small towns. The countryside comes within inches of the solid line painted along the edges of the road. There are no shoulders, no room for driver error, yet they are the best maintained roads you will find. The road lines are always fresh, never faded, the weeds are bushhogged and the trees trimmed of loose branches. Between the network of paved, two lane highways are miles of gravel roads, painstakingly scraped and planed after every rain storm.

Soon, you'll come to another small town, this one with around 350 residents and no businesses to speak of, yet there is a town hall, a waste water system, a fire department and a police force of two part time officers. The tickets given to drivers speeding through the center of town results in enough revenue to keep its small infrastructure in place for the benefit of its residents. The town's mayor is a humble, quiet man with a sense of fairness and wisdom that would be the envy of any large city judge, if only those large city judges would take notice.

Mile after mile on these two lane highways is the beauty and wholeness of nature itself. As far as the eye can see is the size of graze for a herd of cattle with calves romping and cows grazing. A little further on is as large of a field dotted with hundreds of round bales of hay drying in the sun, waiting to be lifted onto flatbed trucks and hauled to huge storage sheds to be stored for the winter. Half mile driveways lead to the ranch homes and barns, with meticulously mowed lawns and tended gardens. Sometimes, what was a driveway becomes a dirt road that cuts between the home and barns to give access to more farms and ranches beyond. A glance toward the left or right while passing through a wooded area is often met by the return glance of ever watchful deer, herds of which sometimes join the cattle to graze in the open.

The C130s from Little Rock Air Force Base fly overhead several times a day, yet the loud roar of the engines doesn't detract from the serenity; instead they become part of it. The planes' competition are hawks, eagles and chicken hawks gliding on stilled, outstretched wings, and V's of geese passing through on their migration routes. It's not unusual to have to stare several seconds to decide if what is flying is a bird or a dragon fly or a monstrous, four inch horse fly.

Life is big here in Arkansas, and in ways that are far larger than life in any large city could ever be. Life surrounds you and makes you a part of it, makes you one with it. You are alive.

According to this story in the Benton Courier, the Benton, Ark., City Council passed a resolution last week asking Alderman Joe Lee Richards to resign.

What did Richards do? He referred to part of his district, Ward 2, as a "black ghetto" during a City Council meeting. As a result, his fellow alderman passed a resolution asking him to take his ball and go home, claiming that Richards' statement had tarnished the city's image.

Of course, the alderman who passed that resolution were right -- what Richards said was embarrassing and doesn't do just a whole lot to counter the notion that we're a bunch of backwards neanderthals here in scenic Benton.

On the other hand, Richards was elected by the citizens of Ward 2 and it's up to them to decide whether his political career is at an end. Interestingly enough, some of the black residents in Richards' ward have expressed their support for the man. Perhaps that's one of the primary reasons Richards has chosen to ignore the Council's resolution.

Fortunately, the Council's resolution isn't binding. That's a good thing as we certainly don't want a situation in which the Council can decide which alderman are suitable and which ones are not. Should they ever get that power, it can be successfully argued that the Council has stopped representing the citizens of Benton entirely.

While you're here, why not check out some more Arkie nonsense right here?