February | 2018 | Jim Dailey

Archive for February, 2018

Bale of Hay, Bale of Hay … Make a wish and Look away!

Posted in Mayor Jim on February 11, 2018| 1 Comment »

Amazing what a creative farmer can do with 5 bales of hay! Amazing what one can see driving the Blue Highways of Arkansas.

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Discoveries in Searcy and Higginson, Arkansas

Posted in Mayor Jim on February 11, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Searcy, Arkansas is a mid-size city of 25,000 located roughly 50 miles North of Little Rock.

I’ve always appreciated Searcy as a growing center of commerce and education in White County. My opinion was even more reinforced last week when I was invited to meet with long time Mayor David Morris and other community leaders. This city has a lot going on. However, what prompted me to blog about this visit is the City/Community commitment to Historic Preservation … namely restoring and reopening the 1920’s Rialto Theater.

The theater is open for family friendly movies Monday to Friday in the evening and Saturday-Sunday with show times 2:00 and 6:30.

I was so touched by the leadership that would save and actively reuse this awesome historic building … right downtown on the square across from the County Court House … that I wanted to feature it.

Well done Searcy … more another day about Pioneer Village, Holiday of Lights etc. etc.

Now for Higginson, Arkansas …

On my way back to Little Rock, I decided to take the blue highway (remember William Least Heat Moon) and thoroughly enjoyed experiencing Kensett, Mcrae, Cabot and Beebe. Most of all I enjoyed my visit with Mayor Randell Homsley of Higginson.

I simply love small towns and I love small town Mayors. In the larger cities, Mayors have staff to run departments and do most of the heavy lifting. In small cities like Higginson, the Mayor is “the Mayor” plus part time volunteer fire fighter, manager of the sewer and water and “whatever it takes”. In Higginson the Mayor and City Council did most of the work building City Hall and managed to do it for $50,000. Wow! In my eye, this is a $200,000 dollar building … maybe more and they did it for $50K. Take a look!

As the new Arkansas Tourism Director, I have said that every city has a story to tell. What I hope to do is help share these stories in some meaningful way that relates to tourism and brings visitors to look, listen and learn. The real heart of America and of Arkansas is in the grit of small towns. We stand tall on their shoulders!

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Charlie Brown shows up on the Buffalo National River

Posted in Mayor Jim on February 11, 2018| 1 Comment »

Charlie Brown Christmas Camping:

Our annual Christmas camping trip did not happen in December because of burn bans and bad weather. Thus, the already scheduled camping trip on the Buffalo River just happened to be the place where a few decorations, Santa hats and Glow sticks materialized to adorn the iconic scraggly Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. Renie B showcased his tent with a string of twinkling battery powered lights.

Super Bowl Weekend …

For a number of years, Super Bowl weekend has been on our calendars as a designated three day camping extravaganza. We eat well, sip well entertain ourselves well. We also embark on a hike or two in the scenic Buffalo River Valley (incidentally, the Buffalo was the first Federally declared National River. Located in North Central Arkansas, it is a destination for hiking, canoeing and kayaking as well as fishing and sight seeing. ) On Saturday we hiked to one of the most beautiful and iconic spots in Arkansas … Whitaker Point … aka Hawksbill Crag!