OPINION — Editorial

Can you feel it?

The whole state is tilting Northwest

According to the latest Census Bureau report, Northwest Arkansas is leading the state in population growth with once little Bentonville gaining more than any other city. Bentonville, capital of the Wal-Mart empire, picked up 2,427 new inhabitants. A couple of other towns in Northwest Arkansas led the state in the rate they're growing, with Tontitown increasing its population by 25.1 percent and Cave Springs by 17.3 percent.

Listen to Jeff Hawkins, executive director of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission: "Rapid growth is expected to continue in both [Washington and Benton] counties; however the pattern of growth occurring more rapidly in Benton County is expected to continue." Only a few old-timers may remember when the hardscrabble Ozarks were considered an economic basket case while the fecund plantation culture to the south and east was considered Arkansas' best hope. Now the roles have been reversed.

Last year Arkansas as a whole ranked 27th in the Union with a modest rise in its population as a whole of 0.3 percent, outdistancing neighboring Mississippi, Louisiana and Missouri but not Tennessee, Texas or Oklahoma. This is still a state very much on the grow, but unevenly. Suzett Sparks, who heads the Northwest Arkansas Board of Realtors, says folks in Fayetteville and Washington County in general are being drawn north to Benton County. "It used to be," she notes, that "there wasn't much to do in Benton County. If you went to dinner or anywhere, you went to Fayetteville. Now we see people in Fayetteville coming here." Turnabout is still fair play in all things, including economic development.

More people means more opportunities, but also more problems. Larry Fletcher, an alderman in Cave Springs, which had a population of just a little more than 1,900 in 2010, now has one of 3,800. "It's a nice community to live in," he notes. "A lot of beautiful homes are being built." But along with progress comes some inevitable problems. The city's sewer system, for example, hasn't kept pace with its growth. Meanwhile, Tontitown seems to be having the best of both worlds, the neighborliness of a village and the amenities of a small city. It helps to have planned ahead. Mayor Paul Colvin says city housing codes have been revamped to take the city's growth into account. And the boom times are expected to continue now that the Arkansas Children's Hospital has a branch nearby to serve the northwestern quadrant of the state. "It makes for a central point to people to live, to travel for work or entertainment," says Mayor Colvin.

Meanwhile, in the state's center, North Little Rock lost population for the second year in a row. The city reported having 66,278 residents--down 228 from last year. Even if it has almost 4,000 residents more than it did according to the 2010 Census. Little Austin in Lonoke County turns out to be fastest growing town beyond Northwest Arkansas' magnetic draw. It gained 9.6 percent in the state's population ratings with 326 new residents moving in. To quote its mayor, Bernadette Chamberlain: "If you don't want a lot of traffic and everything else, it's here. It's quiet. We have a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week police protection. We don't have big Wal-Marts or nuthin.' We have a Dollar General. We have day cares. We have a bank."

What more do you need besides your health and faith? It all sounds idyllic. Big cities, big problems. Small towns, big lives. And room to grow. Back in 2000, Austin had 605 people; last year it had 3,722, with many of those new residents employed at Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville, where--as it used to be said during the Cold War--peace is their profession.

"We're a bedroom community," says Mayor Chamberlain, "like Cabot used to be to Little Rock. I guess you want to say we're the bedroom community now."

But the farther east and south a traveler goes, the more dismal the outlook for little towns that keep getting littler. Pine Bluff, which used to be the gateway to Southeast Arkansas, is continuing to decline. Moro and Aubrey, cities with fewer than 200 inhabitants in Lee County, ranked first and second when it came to losing population last year. Marianna, less than half an hour's drive east from Moro, came in third in this loser's derby.

There might be hope for Pine Bluff, which had the unenviable distinction of leading the state in the number of residents lost by a single city--1,140--which means its population declined an impressive 2 1/2 percent last year. Its mayor didn't return a recall for comment, and who can blame her? But the old river town still has some old families who may yet lead the city back to its old heights.

Note: This state's small population gains were outpaced by Texas and Tennessee, neither of which has income tax. This state should consider a moratorium on income taxes for new residents. This would be attractive to retirees and business.

There are things mere statistics can't reflect, like the pride and energy of those families who stick to a code of noblesse oblige even in the worst of times, which may be the key to making them the best of times once again. An updated Census report may reveal many significant things, but not the heart and soul of a state sliding slowly to the Northwest even as old times there are not forgotten.

Editorial on 05/30/2017

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