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INDEX Feature Events Opinion Obits COVID Update Sports Arkadelphian
No. 5
Vol. 3
1 2 2 3 3 4 4
September 16, 2021
Oracle partners with The Arkadelphian news website Lance Brownfield Editor-in-Chief
If you’ve seen a black Prius around town with “The Arkadelphian” written on the side, it doesn’t belong to the city. It belongs to Joel Phelps, Editor-in-Chief of “The Arkadelphian.” “The Arkadelphian” is a news website, with (quite a fitting name) founded and run by Phelps. Phelps used to work as a reporter for the Daily Siftings Herald and was Editor-in-Chief of the Oracle student newspaper during his
time at Henderson. Phelps started the site earlier this year after realizing the need for consistent coverage of the city and county. Since starting this news organization, Phelps has created Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts for the budding site. While the bulk of the reporting falls on Phelps’ shoulders, he also employs a few stringers and freelance journalists from the two universities and the community. "This partnership combines content
from up-and-coming journalists with an experienced community journalist to provide Arkadelphia and surrounding towns the news that matters to them," Phelps said. We at the Oracle are glad to see more coverage of the city and have decided to partner with “The Arkadelphian.” As his publication does not print, we plan on sharing a selection of his stories in our print edition every week as well as working with him to share pictures and other story assets for efficient news gathering.
This partnership will not only be beneficial to “The Arkadelphian'' and “The Oracle,” but also to the news consumer here in Clark County. "As publisher of 'The Arkadelphian,' I'm excited to partner with
'The Oracle,' said Phelps. "This partnership wil reach two audiences: Those who seek their unbiased information in a printed newspaper and those who consume that same quality journalism in a digital format."
We look forward to working with “The Arkadelphian” and Phelps as he builds his audience and coverage of the name’s sake of his news site.
Huckabee-Sanders and Rutledge face off at HSU Donovan Lee Sports Reporter
Thursday, Sept. 9, HSU was the host campus for the Clark County Republican Committee’s Lincoln Day Dinner. Their special guest speakers, two familiar names to Arkansans, came to address the organization ahead of what could be an eventful campaign season. A r k a n s a s gubernatorial candidates Sarah Huckabee-Sanders and Leslie Rutledge visited Arkadelphia and spoke at the evening dinner event hosted by the Republican Committee. Head of the county’s political group, Stephen Silberkraus, introduced both candidates as they spoke to those in attendance. The evening began with a welcome and prayer that was a segue into dinner. The speaking engagement was preceded by the Pledge of Allegiance, the singing of the national anthem, a video presentation of a poem about the American flag, and an auction of trips and memorabilia, and the committee’s annual awards to their politicians. Former White House press secretary and current gubernatorial candidate, HuckabeeSanders took to the podium first. With fifteen minutes, she addressed the recurring theme of her being the daughter of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and how she has embraced the label. HuckabeeSanders said, “He is one of the best people I’ve ever known.” HuckabeeSanders spoke on her summers growing up in Arkadelphia, working on Capitol Hill under former President Donald Trump— something she is very proud of— and her motivation for wanting to govern the Natural State. “There’s no person who has been challenged or criticized as much as I have and been able
to come out stronger on the other side.” The candidate went on to say that she is “tired of watching Arkansas competing at the bottom,” and that being governor “is not a responsibility I take lightly… I relish it.” Also running for the highest position in the state, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge made an appearance at the event to sway the voters in her favor. Rutledge described herself as a “Christian, Pro-Life, gun carrying, conservative Momma,” and that those qualities will make her “a better governor.” Rutledge emphasized how she has been a trailblazer for women politicians in the state and how she “is pretty good at breaking the glass ceiling” in politics. She listed her accolades
state government has on the table and her thoughts and opinions on them. She touched on her support for Second Amendment laws, her stance on Critical Race Theory (CRT), gender laws for youth in the state, and tort reform, along with other topics of concern. The attorney general spoke on the current state of the federal government and how she has devoted time to flipping the government majority back to Republicans. “I’m the only one running with seven years experience behind a desk making decisions for Arkansas,” said Rutledge, who was elected to office in 2014. In regards to Huckabee-Sanders, Rutledge mentioned their relationship and family history. “[Sarah and I] have been friends
Photo by Donovan Lee
Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Sarah HuckabeeSanders squared off at the Clark County Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner at Henderson Thursday, Sept. 9.
and laws she has contributed to enacting since beginning her tenure in her current position, as well as contrasting HuckabeeSanders’ position of Arkansas being last by naming some categories that Arkansas is the leader in. Rutledge’s platform emphasis: “Make Arkansas First.” Rutledge wasted no time addressing the controversial issues the
for a long time. Her daddy was my first contributor to my campaign back in 2014.” The state politician closed out the speaking engagement by stating: “The next Governor of Arkansas will be a Republican, and the next Governor of Arkansas will be a woman,” and that regardless of the outcome of the election, “I will never stop fighting for the future of the great
Photo courtesy of The Arkadelphian
The Arkadelphian is a local news website started by Joel Phelps, who formerly worked as a reporter at the Daily Siftings Herrald and as Editor-in-Chief of The Oracle student paper.
Remembering September 11 Emily Henderson Contributing Reporter
Another average Tuesday morning on September 11, 2001, turned into something no one would forget. Around 8:45 a.m. LTC Tommie Campbell received a call from his wife. At the time, Campbell was responsible for putting together a large general officer conference at Camp Robinson. “My wife never calls me at work,” Campbell said, “I thought maybe it was just a drone or something accidental.” As he turned on the television, the second tower was struck. He asked his wife if this was a replay of what happened. His wife responded with "no," as the plane crashed. President George W. Bush soon shut down all flights, but Campbell knew Senior Colonel General Shinseki was in the auditorium and would need to return to Washington. Shinseki was on the only plane that flew out of Arkansas that day. Campbell was stationed in Little Rock at the time. After the attack, he explained that the rubble was being searched through, and his wife did not leave the house for a couple of days. It made moving supplies and everyday tasks for the military difficult. “Life as we knew it then had come to halt, there was a lot of unknown,” he said. Like most, Campbell and the other men were fearful of what was to come. However, the men knew they were “defending the
American way of life” and had to be prepared for anything they were called to do. Two days after the attack, Campbell had been scheduled to fly to Washington D.C. in nearly the same spot the Pentagon was hit, but the flight was canceled due to the strike on New York. He explains that had it not been for a conference he was supposed to attend, it is likely he would have been there considering his constant presence at the Pentagon. Even today, 20 years later, Campbell remembers the uncertainty and fear he felt. The attack changed the many ways he lived his everyday life. “It made me much more hypervigilant.” He explains he is more
cautious of his surroundings. At restaurants, he faces the door, and in his office, he had the bushes cut so he could view the parking lot from the window. While he is not necessarily looking for the “bad” or “worst that could happen,” he simply wants to stay alert, to be more prepared. After serving our country for 23 years, Campbell retired in October of 2002. Since then, he has spent eight years in a classroom and seven years as a principal. Campbell is currently the project director at Veterans Upward Bound. He has a positive outlook on life: to give and not expect anything in return and help anyone and everyone. “Just don’t take anything for granted.”
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Info from Weather.com
FRI - Sep 17 partly cloudy
SAT - Sep 18 partly cloudy
SUN - Sep 19 partly cloudy
MON - Sep 20 partly cloudy
TUE - Sep 21
isolated thunderstorms
WED - Sep 22
THU - Sep 23 partly cloudy
AM thunderstorms
89o 65
92o 64
92o 65
90o 65
90o 64
86o 57
87o 56
Precipitation: 24% Wind: E 6 mph Humidity: 74%
Precipitation: 24% Wind: ESE 5 mph Humidity: 73%
Precipitation: 22% Wind: SE 7 mph Humidity: 70%
Precipitation: 24% Wind: SSE 7 mph Humidity: 72%
Precipitation: 32% Wind: S 8 mph Humidity: 73%
Precipitation: 40% Wind: NNW 6 mph Humidity: 70%
Precipitation: 24% Wind: E 5 mph Humidty: 61%
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