Garish-looking critter

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

WITH ALL the volatility of today’s politics, it’s a wonder any young person today looks at the political machine and decides he wants to make use of it. Yet, one Northwest Arkansas boy was determined to do just that.

This 11-year-old has spent years working to make the alligator gar our official state fish. (Say that three times fast.) The boy’s name is Henry Foster, and he’s reached out to multiple lawmakers to craft legislation that would enshrine the status of this aquatic animal. That takes some initiative.

We had the pleasure of speaking at length with young Master Foster back in 2017, and back then he’d successfully convinced then Rep. Bob Ballinger (R-Berryville) and Rep. Greg Leding (D-Fayetteville) to support his dream. Now they’re both in the state Senate.

For the record, beauty isn’t a requirement to become a state fish. Apparently. Looking at what other states have done, we laughed at Delaware’s Weakfish and quickly gave up trying to pronounce Hawaii’ s Hum uh u mu nu kunukuãpua’a. Though, Henry Foster can pronounce it flawlessly, as he demonstrated for us.

A bill to make the alligator gar Arkansas’ state fish passed the House last week with a vote of 54-15. With a little help from Mr. Leding and Mr. Ballinger it could go through the Senate and might even land on Gov. Hutchinson’s desk.

One thing we will give the alligator gar: It’s unique. No other state has it as a state fish. Also, they are very Arkansas-ish. They’re apparently hard to hook, as confirmed by Rep. John Payton (R-Wilburn).

Good. They’ve got fight in ’em. We like that.