Thursday’s thumbs

A collection of digits as January nears its end

January has just flown by, and our next installment of Thursday’s thumbs will mark the beginning of February, believe it or not. Live in the moment, they say. So, at this moment, we’ll offer our bi-directional Thursday thumbs:

Two historic preservation projects in Benton and Washington counties were celebrated late last week with awards from the nonprofit Preserve Arkansas organization. Benton County’s government received an award for excellence in preservation through restoration for its work on War Eagle Bridge, an iconic structure. Great River Engineering and Crossland Heavy Contractors shared the award with county government. In Washington County, the nonprofit Historic Cane Hill Inc., WER Architects/Planners and Kinco Construction shared accolades for a project to stabilize the 1886 Cane Hill College building and restore it to its original appearance. Those awards are well earned, so why not a thumbs up to go along with them?

As the Benton County Quorum Court debated whether to spend $50,000 on market research about how county residents feel about a potential courts facility and ways to pay for it, one resident trotted out an old political gem that we especially get tired of hearing in election years: “I think we all know government is wasteful; any size government has waste,” he said. We don’t suggest it’s untrue; government is often not the most efficient at running things. But politicians lob that charge because it’s an easy one to get voters’ heads nodding in the right direction. Such statements are usually made by candidates who suggest they’ll use “common sense” in allocating the people’s money. Almost without fail, however, these candidates cannot provide any detailed knowledge of the “waste” they so eagerly swear to be rampant in government. Here’s an idea: Before making such a claim, these vote solicitors should have at least one example of waste or fraud that, if elected, they will be willing to attack. Most candidates, asked for examples, try to get by on generalities. How can anyone believe they’re going to do anything about it if they can’t provide any evidence to back up their comments?

From the “politics ain’t fair” category: The Alabama House of Representatives on Tuesday voted 67-31 in support of a bill to end special elections when there’s a vacancy in one of the state’s U.S. Senate posts. The measure now goes to the state Senate for review. This comes just a few weeks after Alabamans voted in a special election to fill Jeff Sessions’ vacated seat. And lo and behold, a Democrat won. A Democrat! In Alabama! The bill’s sponsor, Republican (surprise!) state Rep. Steve Clouse, said he proposed the measure to save money. His bill would let the governor appoint someone who would serve until the next regularly scheduled election. We suspect if Roy Moore, the Republican, had won that special election, this matter wouldn’t have become so urgent.

It’s great to see, as reported in a recent news story, Fayetteville police and other city authorities working together with bar owners along West Avenue in the Dickson Street entertainment district to get a handle on growing issues with crime, violence or drug activity in an area now popular with the late-night crowds. Such problems require the attention of law enforcement, but long-term solutions generally won’t happen without a collaborative spirit involving everyone.

In one of the more impressive demonstrations of both technology and compassion for a friend, students at Springdale’s Shaw Elementary deserve kudos for focusing their learning about technology on a project to design a specialized handlebar attachment. That attachment allows classmate Gracie Marvin, a first-grader whose arm stops just about where her wrist would be, to gain greater control over steering her new bicycle. Students in environmental and spacial technology classes, commonly called EAST, at Shaw and Don Tyson School of Innovation spent weeks designing and making the 3D-printed handlebar extension. What an exceptional lesson not just from a technological perspective, but because it also shows students how using their skills and modern technology for good can make a huge difference in people’s lives. Well done, students and teachers.