THE GREAT DELTA DIVIDE

Delta's cities show its plight; Blytheville, Pine Bluff face future after population drops

A decommissioned plane sits on the tarmac in the former Air Force base in Blytheville on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021.on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021.
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Stephen Swofford)
A decommissioned plane sits on the tarmac in the former Air Force base in Blytheville on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021.on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Stephen Swofford)

Tom Sylvester used to look up at the sky above Blytheville in the 1970s, watch the planes fly out of the nearby Air Force base and dream about being able to glide among the clouds.

"The

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