Thursday’s thumbs

Breathing new life into a downtown building

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:

Credit school officials and police in Fort Smith for exercising reasonable caution by ending a Kimmons Middle School basketball game after a report two people on the school’s campus were threatened by a juvenile with a gun before the youth fled. It’s a sorry fact that someone would behave in such a way on a middle school campus. Disappointing as it may have been to disrupt the young people there constructively participating in a school function, public safety called for precautions.

It’s not often our business reporters get to write a warm and fuzzy story. Business, after all, is all business. But who can resist Walmart’s introduction of a stuffed toy called the Breakup Bear right here in the middle of February, known for the annual observance of Valentine’s Day. But everyone knows Cupid’s arrow doesn’t always work or, if it does, doesn’t always go in deep enough. If the relationship has to end, maybe breaking the news with a Breakup Bear would soften the blow. It comes with a shirt that says “Bye Bye” and appears to be tearing apart a little red heart while singing the 1990s NSYNC tune “Bye Bye Bye.” Cute, for sure, but it’s probably best to be absolutely sure the intended recipient has a sense of humor about such a turn of events. Even a stuffed bear can sting a little bit if someone throws it hard enough.

Gov. Sarah Sanders said her piece Tuesday evening after President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address and it was great, inspirational, strong and “spot on.” That is, according to a congratulatory email with 70 or so quotes the governor’s office collected from 13 elected officials in Arkansas, 30 current and former elected officials at the national level, 24 national commentators and four out-of-state conservative organizations. There’s plenty to unpack in her speech, but declaring Joe Biden “unfit” for the presidency was impressive, in that it took Biden moving into the Oval Office before Sanders established any notion of a president being unfit for the office. That’s rich.

It’s too early to know whether it will all come to fruition, but it’s promising to hear the owner of the fenced-off, three-story Opera House building in downtown Rogers plans exterior renovation work over the next few months. The building has sat empty for years, a sort of depressing anchor to the lively shops and restaurants that give the downtown area its vibrancy. It’s lingered for so long it was added to Rogers’ list of dilapidated properties last September. City officials say they hope the property’s owner, John Mack, will succeed at renovating the property, boosting the appearance of the downtown area. That restored building will in all likelihood bring more character to downtown than any new construction could. It was originally built in 1890, with additions in 1903. Rogers isn’t the only city around that’s faced struggles with dilapidated structures. We appreciate the folks who have worked hard to bring new life to the region’s downtowns, and hope the old Opera House building will find its way back into the life of downtown Rogers.

The good news from Madison County is the $700,000 purchase of 19.2 acres in Huntsville as the location for the county’s planned jail. The county has operated since 2014 with a jail that’s only capable of holding people for up to 24 hours because of state standards. For longer-term stays, the county had to transport inmates elsewhere. Voters in November approved funds to build a new jail, which is expected to be complete by 2025.