Thursday’s thumbs

Happy birthday to a hospital; Break out the sunscreen

We’ve been looking for thumbs in all the right places, so here are a few to get Spring started off right:

Congratulations and happy birthday to Arkansas Children’s Hospital Northwest, which has been open in Springdale for one year. Many local children and their families who previously had to endure the sixhour round trip to Children’s Hospital in Little Rock to get specialized medical care can now spend less time a car and more time feeling better. We said at the time the hospital’s construction was announced that it would be a game-changer not only for Springdale, but for Northwest Arkansas as well. It hasn’t disappointed.

Folks in Madison County who will want to cool off this summer may very well get back an option that was sadly missing last year. A plan to repair and reopen the swimming pool at Withrow Springs State Park near Huntstville has been submitted to the appropriate state agency. With a little luck and a little more than $200,000, the pool will be open by Memorial Day. For 50 years, folks enjoyed splishing and the splashing at the park, which had the only public swimming pool in Madison County. That was up until last summer, when just days before it was scheduled to open for another season, news came that repairs were required and the pool would not be available.

Back when he took office, some folks hailed President Trump’s propensity to tweet out whatever was on his mind whenever the mood struck him. They thought, or rather, they hoped, this means of instant communication would be a good way for the new president to avoid the filter of an unfriendly media and speak directly to the people. Now, two years later, even his most ardent supporters wish he’d give his thumbs a rest. Not likely. But you’d think he’d at least recognize that there are a couple of topics he’d best avoid. Again, not likely. On Sunday, the president once again took to Twitter to complain about his old foe, John McCain. Then, this week, he told the press that he was no fan of the late Arizona senator.

McCain and Trump certainly didn’t see eye to eye on much. But anything that invites comparisons of the two would be something the president ought to want to avoid. Trump likes to mention that McCain was last in his class at West Point, an institution that only admits the cream of the crop. Last in THAT class is pretty good. McCain was a combat veteran, a war hero and survived five years in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp. Trump avoided military service because of bone spurs.

The subject of McCain is a loser for Trump, on social media and in any other setting. But don’t expect him to give it a rest. If he hasn’t yet, he probably won’t.

Congratulations to the Arkansas women’s basketball team and coach Mike Neighbors for securing a No. 1 seed in the Women’s

National Invitation Tournament. They’ll open play at home tonight against Houston just down the road at Walton Arena.

The road to this point has been even longer. The Razorbacks won only six Southeastern Conference games over the past two years. Last season, during Neighbors’ first year as year coach, the team suffered some lopsided defeats at the hands of nationally competitive opponents. What a difference a season makes. This year, the Razorbacks won 20 games, beat several ranked teams and made it all the way to the finals of the SEC post-season tournament. They were clearly under consideration for a berth in the NCAA championship bracket, but fell just short.

So the NIT it is, and that’s not bad. In fact, for a team that has come this far, it’s hog wild.

The city of Fort Smith has been awash with complaints about high water bills, creating a wave of hard feelings as customers struggle to get the problems sorted out. Residents say their dealings with city officials have left them feeling all wet, as the responses have been frustratingly slow and inconsistent. In an effort to stem the tide of negative backlash, Mayor George McGill proposed a residents committee to look into ways to improve the customer service offered by city workers.

It seems the problems with the bills started when the city implemented a new billing system and, at the same time, were replacing 33,000 old water meters. The transitions didn’t go smoothly. One customer complained that she received a bill of nearly $800, 10 times higher than her normal bill.

McGill, in his first year as mayor, was not happy. In a statement last week, McGill made it clear that what was happening was unacceptable and vowed that things will change. The committee is the first step in the process to calm the waters.

Congratulations to Northwest Arkansas residents, particularly those in Benton and Washington counties, who can once again count themselves as among the healthiest folks in the state. According to the annual County Health Rankings report funded by the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, Benton County was tops in the state in health outcomes and factors. Washington County was No. 2 in outcomes and No. 5 in factors. The reason? No surprise here: Residents in those counties have the access to and the resources to pay for health care. But experts offer this reminder: There are still people in the region without the resources or access to health care and plenty of unmet needs. So the good news only goes so far.