Thursday’s thumbs

Things are looking up for NWACC’s enrollment

It’s Thursday, so that means an opportunity for a little digital feedback.

It’s always good to hear of an upward trend in enrollment at our institutions of higher education. The latest enrollment num- bers at Northwest Arkansas Community College show the student population for the fall has grown for the second straight year. That’s good news after several years in which the school’s enrollment wasn’t so encouraging. Every bit of learning advances the cause of a better Arkansas. Education ought to be a lifelong pursuit, whether through reading or formal educational opportunities. We appreciate all the educational institutions available to Arkansans in our neck of the woods.

If you’re a school board member, it’s probably a little uncomfortable to be forced into having a public meeting on an issue, but we’ve got to give a big thumbs up to the residents of Bentonville’s Lochmoor Club subdivision. Faced with a school district decision that ended busing options for the neighborhood, neighbors got together and exercised a fairly rare legal option: They collected enough signatures to call a special meeting of the Bentonville School Board. Who’s heard of anyone doing that, at least lately? School boards usually set their own agendas, but this one has no choice but to set the meeting on the busing question as a result of the neighborhood petition drive. That’s what one might call citizen engagement. We don’t know whether the neighborhood’s arguments for or against the busing plan will carry the day, but we appreciate the vigor with which they’re prosecuting their cause.

The story about the death of Springdale’s Walter Turnbow shined just a little light on the amazing contributions of a man who clearly kept saying “yes” to opportunities to serve his community. Turnbow, 95, died Monday. His obituary and the staff-generated story in this newspaper demonstrated the integrity and hard work Turnbow put into his time on earth. Every community needs leaders like Walter Turnbow, the folks who leave the people and places they touch in far better condition than what they found them.

One of the reasons it would make sense to build a new courts facility in Benton County alongside the county jail is that it puts the judges and courts staff in proximity to their, shall we say, customer base. County officials have pretty firmly stuck with the idea of keeping the courts downtown, also for some good reasons. Despite that, Circuit Judge Robin Green has begun holding court at the county jail periodically, eliminating the need for deputies to load 30 inmates into vehicles for transport to the downtown courts. It’s not a permanent change, but just a step to lighten the logistical load when inmates just need short hearings to advance their cases toward resolution. Like video appearances for simple and rather routine procedures, moving the judge and staff makes a lot more sense than 30 or more inmates who may represent flight risks and, to some degree, a danger to officers and the public. The approach makes sense, which is why we’re glad to see someone in government doing it.

Comedians and editorial cartoonists have had their fun with President Trump and what appeared to be a drawn-on map “confirming” Trump was right about Hurricane Dorian’s potential to impact Alabama. This is the age of the ridiculous when it comes to our president and how much energy is spent debunking his misstatements. The more worrisome part of all this is the reports top Trump aides are comfortable putting pressure on the nation’s weather forecasting experts to back up Trump’s erroneous statement. The president’s administration has a talent for turning absolute molehills into mountains of disruption, all because Trump has to be right 100 percent of the time. Is humility the president’s kryptonite?

Arkansas basketball Coach Eric Musselman, according to his just-finalized employment contract with the University of Arkansas, will be eligible for a $500,000 payment if a team he coaches wins a national championship. Truth be told, we suspect most Razorback fans, who have been pining for such success ever since Nolan Richardson’s team gave the state a taste of greatness in 1994, would be willing to pay twice as much for a Hogs repeat. Shall we pass the Hog hat?