Progress 2021: No lost year around here

Crittenden County moves forward amid global pandemic, economic uncertainty and social unrest

W hat a year it has been!

Long time readers of the Evening Times will no doubt recall that in the spring of every year for the past four decades or so, we have put out our annual “Progress” edition. It’s a great way to take a little snapshot of what has gone on in our little corner of the world and share it with our readers.

Well, if you were paying attention this time last year, you might note that there was no “Progress 2020” edition. We were right in the middle of finalizing our plans for last year’s special section when the pandemic hit, and hit hard. You can go back and look (I did) and see that just about the second week in March of 2020 was when the first round of cancellations and closings began to happen. With uncertainty and concern about the future with the coronavirus making its way into Arkansas, many of our regular participants in “Progress” backed out or shut down or put a freeze on advertising. Our own offices shut down and we all began, like many of you, to work from home.

So, no, there was no 2020 edition of “Progress,” and there very easily could have been no 2021 edition. Even with the vaccines beginning to circulate and with new cases of COVID-19 starting to “plateau” here in the state, it would have been very easy to just forego “Progress” for another year. But many of our local businesses have stepped up and taken part. And it’s important to recognize them here. Special thanks to: the City of West Memphis, Consolidated Grain & Barge, Evolve Financial Group, Farm Credit Midsouth, Fidelity Bank, First National Bank of Eastern Arkansas, the Marion Chamber of Commerce, the Marion School District, Pancho’s Mexican Restaurant, Partners Bank, Premier Bank of Eastern Arkansas, St. Michael’s Catholic School, and the West Memphis School District. Support from the community in the form of subscriptions and advertisers is the only way local newspapers like the Times can survive. We value each and every reader and advertiser we have and thank you for sticking with us through the years, especially now.

Yes, this past year has been tough on us all. We’ve lost leaders and loved ones.

Nearly 6,000 of the 325,000 Arkansans who have tested positive for COVID-19 were from right here in Crittenden County. And nearly 100 deaths of the more than 5,000 attributed statewide to coronavirus- related illnesses have been our friends and neighbors and co-workers. This number will go up. Even with vaccines now being administered, those numbers will rise. Even as we enter the first stages of “back to normal” in the coming weeks and months, we will be dealing with COVID-19 and its aftermath for a long time.

We have been through a lot, and we have been through it “together but separately,” as we have spent the past year in various stages of quarantine, of sheltering in place, of social distancing and, of course, working from home, learning online, and wearing these masks. We went from taking a couple of weeks to “flatten the curve” to a year of pandemic-related closures, mandates, guidelines and cancellations.

But through it all, we have been blessed. There is no denying the tragedy of losing a job, losing a loved one, suffering financial hardships, and all the other bad things that COVID-19 has put us through, but we do have hope for the future and we were able to, as a community, thrive in the face of adversity. That’s what “Progress” is all about. There have been setbacks and delays and there were those who, sadly, did not make it, but time moves on and we who are here to pick up and carry on can do so while respectfully remembering those who are no longer with us.

A hearty salute is due to those on the front lines who have been fighting to get their jobs done amid all of these “unprecedented times” that we’ve been going through. Health care workers and emergency responders have always been a pillar of our community and the coronavirus pandemic only proved that can not be overstated. When even a “simple” ambulance call or “routine” medical procedure can mean exposure to a deadly virus, it takes a special kind of person to keep coming to work, day in and day out.

I think of heroes like Bobby Harrell. Bobby contracted COVID-19 in mid-December last year, and he passed away the day after Christmas.

For 35 years, he served his community. In the face of the pandemic, he did his job. You might remember his name from five years ago when he helped get sick child to Le Bonheur after a Black Lives Matter protest shut down the I-40 bridge. Knowing that, you wouldn’t be surprised to find that Bobby and others like him continued to do their jobs despite the risk.

To be better people, despite our circumstances… that’s what “Progress” means. One of the areas most impacted by the pandemic is the world of education. Schools across the state shut down around this time last year. Thousands of students were sent home and thousands of teachers had to try keeping the learning going. West Memphis Superintendent Jon Collins referred to putting a plan together during the pandemic as “like trying to build an airplane while you’re flying it.”

The graduating class of 2020 will certainly remember the final months of their senior year. Graduation and Prom were cancelled. Caps and gowns went in the closet. Schools found creative ways to recognize their graduates, with online “virtual” commencements and ‘drive-by” diploma distributions. When the new school year came around last fall, educators were ready. Local students received their own online learning tools, as thousands of devices were sent home and internet hot-spots were purchased to give each student access to web-based lessons and a line of communication to teachers. Students were given the option to attend on-campus classes or use distance learning. As always, our schools were able to adapt to make sure the education process continued.

An economic downturn from the pandemic was inevitable. Many Crittenden County residents lost their jobs as businesses were forced to close. Our community has a robust barber and hair-stylist business, but those businesses were among the many “non-essential” workers who found themselves unable to do their jobs during the peak days of the pandemic last spring and summer. I think about Larry Dunn at Larry’s Super Cuts and his daughter Amber. Larry’s been cutting hair here in West Memphis for 50 years, but COVID-19 shut him down. And you know, Larry never once pulled his weekly ad from the newspaper. And when the governor began rolling back some of those restrictions and barbers were able to open back up, Larry went right back to cutting hair.

We are a resilient people here in Crittenden County. I can’t go without mentioning Crittenden County Judge Woody Wheeless. Judge Wheeless worked tirelessly in the height of the pandemic to keep the wheels of the county government turning.

He was vigilant in keeping the community informed as well. For months, he posted daily or near-daily updates on social media on the number of cases in the state and in the county, all the time urging us to pray for one another and to follow the guidelines being put out to keep us all safe… and then he joined the ranks of those who contracted COVID-19. His case was a serious one, and he spent time in the hospital. Even now, months later, he’ll tell you he’s still not 100 percent. But the county has moved forward. Revenues have remained solid. The county has made plans to convert the old Ace Hardware store into a new home for a few of the county courts, the judges and their staffs. Taking something old and turning it to something new is “Progress” at its best.

And a quick “shout-out” to West Memphis Mayor Marco McClendon, who made it all the way to the national news when he bluntly told us all (pardon the mild profanity) to “Stay your ass at home!”

when COVID-19 moved into the community. Sometimes, the simplest messages are the easiest to understand.

Even in an uncertain economy, we have grown.

New businesses continue to pop up in the community.

Of course, the highlight has been Chick-fil-A. No, the popular chicken chain isn’t the city’s largest employer or biggest tax revenue generator, but we seemed to latch onto this dream of a Chickfil- A in our own community a few years ago and last year, we realized that particular dream. Maybe it’s a sort of “status symbol” or maybe it’s a sign of future potential in this area… or maybe we just really, really like their chicken sandwiches and don’t want to have to cross the bridge to get one. The Waffle & Pancake House, Big Guns Bar-B-Q, Whey Good, Wyatt’s Cafe, Arby’s, Anchor Grill, the all-new Tacker’s Shake Shack… with more on the way, Crittenden County continues to expand its options for local diners.

Even the pandemic didn’t slow down the restaurant business. Again, they adapted their business model, offering curb-side pick-up, delivery, online ordering and more to stay in business.

Jobs and industry are looking up here as well.

Carvana is poised to become a major part of the local economy. Southland’s ongoing multimillion-dollar expansion and hotel construction is something to look forward to in the near future.

The Mid-America Industrial Park, a joint venture between West Memphis and Marion, is poised for growth. Smaller businesses, such as the city’s medical marijuana dispensaries, Court Street Nutrition, and SkinMed of Eastern Arkansas have opened.

Coca-Cola, Mitchell Family Medicine and the East Central Arkansas Community Correction Center have all expanded operations.

More growth is on the horizon. New schools in Earle and West Memphis have popped up recently. The Marion School District and the West Memphis School District are in the midst of multimillion-dollar facilities upgrades. The City of West Memphis has spent millions on a new Library & Media Center, new fire stations and a new courthouse. Many have referred to the past 12 months as a “lost year,” a wasted year in which the global pandemic, political unrest, social turmoil and economic recession have stunted our growth and derailed our lives. But not here.

Here in Crittenden County, we have persevered and we will continue to persevere.

Out of this dark time, we are moving toward a bright future.

So, read on, here in these pages, and see what has transpired in our community over the past year and see what is on the horizon. Celebrate our “Progress” and stay with us as we move forward.

Ralph Hardin

Evening Times Editor