August 2024

As we approach Labor Day, it’s crucial to highlight a significant initiative aimed at making our roads safer. From August 16 through September 2, including the Labor Day holiday weekend, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will partner with Arkansas law enforcement for the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” high-visibility enforcement campaign. This effort is designed to deter impaired driving and prevent the tragic accidents that have marked previous Labor Day weekends.

Shopping Smart Saves at the Grocery Store Those of us that regularly shop for groceries are aware of the rising costs of food. We can’t change cost increases, but we can work on shopping smarter to stretch our food dollars.

LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Department of Transportation estimates that in 2027 and 2028 about $2.2 billion of new projects will be added to its list of highway improvements. That estimate comes from the department’s chief engineer for preconstruction, in an interview in the summer issue of the agency’s magazine.

The Brooks-Baxter War. Welcome to Clayton County is a limited weekly column exploring the life of General Powell Clayton, the original namesake of our county, our early history, and why we are not called Clayton County today.

“Goin’ places that I have never been. Seein’ things that I may never see again, and I just can’t wait to get on the road again.” Aww, Willie, those roads appealed to a lot of us back in the day. I know they did me. I began driving trucks in Arizona in the mid 60’s, and it was my medicine. Now it is a dangerous drug. When I look back at the changes in the last 50 years, but particularly in the last 15 or 20, it is just mind-blowing. Once upon a time, I just couldn’t wait to get behind the wheel of most any vehicle and see what was on the other side of the hill or around the next curve. I know some of you younger readers will find it hard to believe, but once upon a time our highways weren’t so crowded as today. Once upon a time, automobiles weren’t cruising at 80 or 90 mph almost as a rule. Yeah, they would go that fast, but it just didn’t feel safe for very long. Down here in Texas, most interstates and even other roads have 75 mph speed limits. But if you lock your cruise control on that, you had better stay in the right lane, cause some big ol’ fwd pick-up truck is going to fly by you, and all its little hatchlings of small compact cars, zipping in and out like little chickens in the barnyard. Now that might not be so bad, if it was all wide-open spaces like people think Texas is, but nope, it ain’t. Traffic down here is thicker than red peppers in your chorizo. You folks up in Clay County have it really nice as far as traffic goes. Yesterday, we went to our local town about 6 miles down the road, Magnolia, TX. In that 30 minute excursion, you would have believed that we were in one of those big disaster movies where people park wherever they want, then cut you off in traffic and try to beat you through an intersection and pretend to be one of those movie heroes like Jason Statham or Tom Cruise. I bet Tom would be angry with me for not giving him top billing too. There is a section of highway in Texas called I-35 between San Antonio and Dal