Thursday’s thumbs

Going round in circles in Eureka Springs

It’s Thursday and another chance to fire off a few up or down thumbs about some news developments in our neck of the woods and elsewhere:

Eureka Springs thrives as a quirky and friendly little artistic town in the Ozarks that’s home to hippies and a 65-foot statue of Jesus Christ. It’s residents have “anything goes” attitudes in large measure, but some of the local politics can get some people stirred up. Apparently, so can a Arkansas Department of Transportation proposal to build a roundabout where U.S. 62 and Arkansas 23 intersect. People turning left off Arkansas 23, toward downtown, can sometimes experience long waits at a stop sign at the oddly aligned intersection. There’s also one other historical fact at risk: Eureka Springs has no traffic signals and Mayor Robert “Butch” Berry says some folks want to keep it that way. A roundabout would accomplish a better flow of traffic without a signal. Our down-turned digit is for the argument that the roundabout ought to be rejected. Roundabouts are becoming more and more prevalent in many communities as traffic control solutions because they don’t require signals and, since everyone is driving in the same direction, any car crashes are less dramatic than the kind of T-bone collisions that can occur at what are viewed as “normal” intersections. After people unfamiliar with them drive on roundabouts a few times, they figure them out. And a roundabout sure seems to fit Eureka Springs’ culture better than a standard traffic signal. Plus, maybe they can put another statue in the middle of it. We’d suggest something shorter than 65 feet, though.

Conservative f iscal types might be unnerved by the city of Fayetteville’s plan to add $25 million to the city’s budget for 2023. It’s a big, big number — 13% over this year’s $191 million budget, with $8 million of the added dollars going to hire people to fill 45 new full- time equivalent positions. The good news is 25 of those new employees will be police officers or firefighters. For the police, an increase in the number of calls the department responds to requires a larger police force, according to Chief Mike Reynolds. For the fire department, the addition of new staff will decrease response time to outlying areas of the city where today’s department can’t often enough get to within a desirable time frame, according to Chief Brad Hardin. Undoubtedly, construction of a new fire station and Police Department headquarters — two projects voters supported in the city’s last bond program — also relieves the departments of some space constraints to bring on those new employees. By the way, the conservative fiscal types might appreciate that the city also added $3.8 million in sales tax revenue to speed up paying off the city’s outstanding bonds.

With recounts in a couple of mayor’s races done, it’s time to say “job well done” to the folks who put on the Nov. 8 election in the counties of Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley. We’ve heard of no major meltdowns or problems with people casting ballots and having them counted accurately. Every county has its own commission who conducts elections with coordinators and poll workers who volunteer. We applaud their efforts.

Medical professionals in Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley say it’s happening like it does every fall: The flu is spreading and, unfortunately, some deaths have already been attributed to it. The experts are predicting a “more normal” flu season this year, which unfortunately is bad news. Flu cases weren’t as prevalent during the peak of the covid pandemic, when many wore masks to help stave off infections. Now that covid has settled down, it’s relatively rare to see anyone wearing masks anymore. What’s the solution? It’s the old tried and true approach: Get vaccinated for the flu and boosted against covid-19, which state health officials expect to spread more aggressively as fall becomes winter. They also report this year’s flu vaccine has “strong efficacy.” In other words, it works, but only when it’s injected into people’s arms. Do your friends and families a favor: Get one.