It's rained so much lately our thumbs are starting to wrinkle up like prunes. On the bright side, though, a little rain keeps that nasty pollen a little more under control, and for that we'll give the rain a hardy thumbs up.
It's given us a chance to stop the sneezing long enough to compile this week's collection of thumbs:
Give’em a thumb
Want to give some brief feedback on news? Someone who deserves a pat on the back? An idea that needs a dose of common sense? Recommend a “Thursday thumb” by calling Greg Harton at (479) 872-5026 or by email at [email protected].
[THUMBS UP] The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is building a 27,000-square-foot educational center in Springdale that sounds amazing, and the Walton Family Foundation just helped move it closer to completion with a $980,000 grant. Philanthropist and business woman Johnelle Hunt had already delivered a $5 million matching grant toward the planned $14 million facility. Before it's all said and done, Northwest Arkansas will have a new attraction to educate visitors about preserving natural areas, animals native to the area, hunting and fishing, and enjoying the state's great outdoors. It is perhaps hard to believe for many Arkansas residents, but there are a fair number of people who never get a chance to get out into the Natural State, to float the Buffalo River or to enjoy a hike through the woods or spend a day fishing on a beautiful lake. The nature center will give thousands of visitors a year a chance to sample the experience within a short drive from the region's population centers. We're looking forward to it inspiring new lovers of the Arkansas outdoors.
[THUMBS UP] It's only natural to shed some tears for the tragedy that played out this week at a high school in Colorado as two attackers, whatever their names are, shot up two classrooms. But also let the record show that Kindrick Castillo, an 18-year-old kid sitting in his literature class, leapt up and charged the pair of attackers. It was an heroic act that cost him his life, but likely gave classmates some time to escape. Another senior, 18-year-old Brendan Bialy, is credited with charging the attackers as well, helping to fight them off, police and witnesses said. Let's remember their names. These were terrible circumstances not of their own making, but the way they and an armed security guard so far unnamed responded made a life-saving difference for many students or staff.
[THUMBS UP] They're calling him the "wow" child. The Handel & Haydn Society in Boston had just finished Mozart's "Masonic Funeral" at Boston Symphony Hall Sunday when, according to The Associated Press, a child, perhaps around 6 years old, in the audience blurted out his reaction: "Wow!" A local classical music station recording the performance captured the response, along with the audience first laughing, then offering its enthusiastic applause for the child. Now, the society is searching for the child to show its appreciation. "It was one of the most wonderful moments I've experienced in the concert hall," Handel & Haydn president and CEO David Snead wrote in a letter to concertgoers asking them to share the child's name.
[THUMBS UP] Walmart has now joined the retailers that have said they will raise the minimum age to buy tobacco products and e-cigarettes in the United States to 21. The Bentonville-based retailer also said it will stop selling fruit- and dessert-flavored e-cigarettes, which are enticing teenagers into "vaping" that continues Big Tobacco's hold on a market it desperately wants to lure in, the young crowd. Ask most educators or kids and you'll discover vaping is rampant among young people. Is it better for them than traditional tobacco? That seems likely, but it's not good for them at all, as the system delivers unregulated doses of chemicals along with nicotine into their bodies. Big Tobacco -- or is it Big Nicotine now -- will not easily release its death grip on its customers of tomorrow.
Commentary on 05/09/2019