Vol. 2, No. 13
Thursday, April 2, 2020
Clark a state COVID-19 hotspot
By Bill Sutley Dispatch Editor
Clark County has been identified as one of two COVID-19 hotspots in Arkansas, a Baptist Medical Center Arkadelphia physician said Thursday as the number of local cases soared to 26, 60% higher than a week earlier. “I think that’s the the two areas that have surprised us,” hospitalist Dr. Kristen Brandon said, identifying Heber Springs as the other hotspot. “The incidence is higher per capita if you look at the state as a whole.” Brandon said the staff at BMC-Arkadelphia continues to prepare for any further uptick in cases. “We’re definitely in a big stage of preparation,” she said. Keeping in regular communication with local physicians has been a big part of that effort, she said. The hospital would likely request help at the hospital from local physicians rather than import medical
help from outside the county if the situation worsens, she said. “We’re being very cautious,” she said. “We’re prepared to take care of a wide array of things.” Like other hospitals in Arkansas and nationally, Baptist Health Medical Center has delayed some elective surgeries — but not, so far, labor and delivery. Brandon, a board-certified pediatrician and internist, estimated that seven to nine successful deliveries have occurred in the past week. One major change for deliveries though is that Baptist, like other systems nationwide, has drastically reduced the number of visitors allowed in their hospitals. One visitor is allowed for a birth, while hospitals are loosening the no-visitors rule only in end-of-life situations, where family wants to say farewell to a loved one. The hospital’s emergency room has continued to be busy with other crises unrelated to the current worldwide pandemic. But it has changed everyday practices
for first responders. Jason Hunt, Arkadelphia’s fire chief, said the hospital’s paramedics continue to work closely with firefighters in responding to 911 medical calls, but ambulance personnel are taking the lead more often when no lifesaving effort is necessary before they arrive. “I really want to give props to the ambulance service personnel who are on the front lines,” he said. To this point, there have been “no known deaths” related to COVID-19 at the local hospital, Brandon said. The state Health Department’s COVID-19 total of 26 people infected locally compares with 15 a week earlier, and Clark County’s leading the southern half of the state. Nearby Garland County has 33 cases of persons testing positive for the coronavirus, but its population of 98,926 far exceeds that of Clark County’s 22,385. Saline, the sixth-largest county in the state
(population 118,009), was reporting 16 cases as of Thursday. A team of researchers at the University of Chicago has mapped confirmed COVID-19 infections per county, adjusting for population, and found significant clusters in parts of Georgia, Arkansas and Mississippi, among other areas, the magazine Scientific American reported Thursday, April 2. No further details related to Arkansas clusters were immediately available. County Judge Troy Tucker said local officials have discussed the possibility of a local curfew, but he said he didn’t think such drastic action was being seriously considered as long as residents continue to honor the 6-foot social distancing recommendation. Tucker said local officials have been following closely the recommendations of Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has resisted See Virus • Page 4
Limits put on outdoors area use From Dispatch Reports Gov Asa Hutchinson’s decision Thursday to close the Buffalo National River as a coronavirus crisis precaution follows by a week the temporary shutdown of the Ouachita National Forest and other campgrounds "for the safety of visitors and staff.” Modifying her earlier announcement that state parks would remain open, the state’s secretary of the Arkansas Department of Dispatch photo/Bill Sutley Parks, Heritage and TourKevin Tate, left, a local volunteer firefighter, took advantage of a slow period during Wednesday’s drive-thru COVID-19 testing at ism, Stacy Hurst, Friday Ouachita Baptist University’s Cliff Harris Stadium to take a photo of, from right, OBU nurse Molly Wallace, local nurse practitioner Lori limited the use of campSmith and Ddr. Noland Hagood, a local physician. They were among 30-40 local volunteers who helped with the drive. grounds to RVs with selfcontained bathrooms. Some campgrounds were due to reopen Wednesday, April 1, and the decisions simply mean Special to the Dispatch arrive. designated as senior hour, recommended for they won’t reopen yet. Three weeks have passed since Gov. Asa • Slim and Shorty’s has temporarily disolder customers. Overall, the decisions limit Hutchinson issued an order forcing all of the continued its curbside pickup, but the Clinton • Brookshire’s is open daily from 8 a.m.-8 parks mostly to day use, state’s restaurants and bars to shut down dinStreet restaurant is handling bulk orders for 10 p.m. Senior citizens are encouraged to shop and the Buffalo River deciing rooms and offer to-go and deliveries only. people or or more, preferring 24-hour notice. during : sion, which will devastate The directive, Hutchinson said then, will last 870-245-2365 or 870-403-2887. Miscellaneous the local economy there, "until further notice." Any bar or restaurant • Java Primo Coffee House Cafe and More is • Walgreen’s is open from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. were designed to limit situwith an alcohol license from Alcohol and Bevopen from 7:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday through Monday and 8 a.m.- 9 ations — such as meeting erage Control may sell corked or sealed bottles Saturday and 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sunday. 870- p.m. on Tuesdays. Pharmacy customers have someone on a trail — where of wine with to-go or delivery options. 230-1337. access to a drive-thru window. social distancing is impracHere’s information on some Arkadelphia • Tasty Hibachi is open from 11 a.m.-2:30 • Gamestop is open daily from noon- 8 p.m., tical. eateries open for take-out orders, plus more: p.m. and 4 p.m.-8:45 p.m. Monday through but in-store shopping is discouraged. Online A complete list of cloRestaurants Saturday. 870-617-7063. purchases can be made if inventory is in stock sures, more information • El Parian, a Tex-Mex restaurant at 202 N. • Pizza Hut is open daily from 10:30 a.m.-10 and will be brought outside once processed. and updates are available 10th St., is serving customers through its drive- p.m., offering takeout and a new contactless Clerks there are also accepting gift cards and on the websites of the thru from 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. daily. The best way delivery option. Food can be paid for online, credit cards and will meet customers at the Ouachita National Forto place an order for pickup at its drive-thru over the phone or with cash. 870-246-5895 door to make those purchases. 870-403-0252. est, http://www.fs.usda. window is by calling 870-245-2546. • Domino’s is open for takeout, delivery • DeGray Lake Lodge is closed (although gov/ouachita, or the Ozark• Allen’s BBQ is open from 10:30 a.m.-8 and contactless delivery from 10 a.m.–midtakeout from its Shoreline Restaurant is availSt. Francis National Forests p.m. Monday through Saturday. It has an outnight Monday through Thursday and Sunable), but six trails near there are open to the at http://www.fs.usda.gov/ side window, or call in orders at 870-403-0331. day, or 10 a.m.-1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturpublic for day use. osfnf/. Updates can also • Fat Boys Fine Food and Catering is open days.870-246-3131 The Dispatch welcomes additions to this list be found at the Ouachita from 11 a.m.- 7:30 p.m. Monday through Grocery stores -- far from comprehensive -- for future National Forest Facebook Saturday. Call in orders at 870-246-6552. Food • Walmart is open daily from 7 a.m.-8:30 re-publication. Send information to will be brought out if you call again when you p.m. The first hour of opening on Tuesdays is ArkadelphiaDispatch@gmail.com. See Parks • Page 4
Local eateries cater to hungry cabin fever sufferers
Throng bids farewell to AHS coach By Bill Sutley Dispatch Editor
More than 100 J.R. Eldridge fans kept their social distance Tuesday, but they still managed to give the Arkadelphia coach and his family a raucous, metaphoric hug good-bye in the form of a hastily arranged parade. In all, about 60 honking vehicles, led by an Arkadelphia police car and fire truck, rolled by his home on Mockingbird Lane at about 6 p.m. after gathering in a packed nearby church parking lot. Eldridge, 42, head football coach at 518-student Arkadelphia High School since 2011, started work Wednesday morning as head football coach at 2,611-student North Little Rock High School, the state’s fourth-largest secondary school. “North Little Rock is, in my mind, one of the best jobs in the state,” Eldridge said after the farewell procession departed. “We felt like it was a great opportunity.”
2017, 2018 state championship rings The North Little Rock School School Board voted 6-1 Monday night to hire Eldridge, recommended by Superintendent Bobby Acklin, who interviewed 10 finalists on March 12 — one day before the coronavirus shut down his district’s schools. Eldridge will face the chance — and challenge — to build on the success enjoyed by Jamie Mitchell, who put the Charging Wildcats in the Class 7A state
championship game the last four years, defeating Bentonville in 2017 to give NLR its first title since 1972. Mitchell, who went 8-5 in 2019, losing the 7A title to Bryant for the second year in a row, moved on Feb. 27 to become head coach of Shades Valley High School in the Birmingham suburb of Irondale, Ala. (The largest of 14 high schools in the sprawling Jefferson County School District, 1,338-student SVHS counts six current or former NFL players among its notable alumni on Wikipedia.) Eldridge’s salary wasn’t announced at Monday night’s NLR School Board meeting, but public records show Mitchell was earning $89,497 a year, and the former Arkadelphia coach will likely earn more because he has about four more years coaching experience than Mitchell. Eldridge, 82-34 as Badger head coach, earned $79,535 at Arkadelphia See Coach • Page 5
Coach J.R. Eldridge, right, and his son, Max, wave to the parade of about 60 cars Tuesday.