Thanksgiving is a time of reflection, and Pine Bluff has much to reflect on, some good, some not so much.
On an individual level, the people in this city have a resolve that is beyond measure. It’s as if Pine Bluff is filled with the people one sees interviewed after a calamitous experience like a tornado or earthquake or flood that has destroyed much of the physical appearances of their lives.
Those people seemingly always say that this — where this is — is their home and they will do what’s necessary to stay living there. Their grit and determination is front and center. Faced with difficult circumstances — an off-the-chart murder rate, business closings, questionable education systems, the list could continue — Pine Bluff’s residents tough it out and help each other along the way.
On a citywide level, the word that strikes us is perhaps not thanksgiving but more of anticipation for what’s ahead. The Pine Bluff School District has a new board member, as the board itself moves further away from state guidance. Watson Chapel has a new superintendent that seems to be catching some fire in his enthusiasm for bringing a quality education to the district.
The post-graduate institutions, Southeast Arkansas College and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, will both have new leadership. The one at SEARK is already in place, while the search committee looks for a new chancellor for UAPB, the Delta’s flagship institution.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The whole city itself is getting a new arrow in a new mayor who will have her own agenda and priorities. Each new mayor has the opportunity to take the good of the previous administration and add their own positives as they embrace the future for the city. The anticipation is whether that new arrow will be up or down with the backdrop being that citizens, even those who didn’t vote for her, will likely be rooting for her success, with the caveat that her decisions are honed by input from those citizens.
The day becomes one for taking stock. Is the car gassed up? Are we ready to move forward? What’s holding us back? How will we know when we get there?
Pardon us if that’s all a little heavy for a day set aside for turkey and dressing and football and a lot of hugs. What’s up ahead is an exciting unknown, but it’ll wait. Enjoy today’s known.