A visitor's glance at Conway

Submitted by Rhonda Overbey on Tue, 2013-12-17 15:00 I had the opportunity to show a few visitors around our fair city over the weekend. Their extensive online research into Faulkner County was impressive. I'd say that as far as book smarts go, they schooled me about the demographics of Faulkner County's population, top industries, housing market and trends. I was just there to take them to lunch and add the color commentary. Seriously, I'm no John Madden but I could give Collinsworth a run for his money when it comes to talking about why Conway is, well, Conway. •The 54-foot-tall Christmas tree - you know what stood out to the visitors? That we have one. The fact that Conway citizens are passionate enough to speak up about it was also impressive. (On a side note, they loved it.) •The buzz downtown - call it revitalization, rejuvenation or just activity, Downtown Conway represents the health of the business community. And to visitors, seeing a walkable and shopable downtown with bustling restaurants and parks is something straight out of Mayberry and Andy's Bluebird Diner. They loved it. (Neither visitor had a Christmas tree or parade in their communities.) •A+ schools - not just the elementary and high schools, it's also the colleges and UCA, look around, overall Faulkner County schools are exceptional. I've been in it so long that I see the holes, but the emphasis our community puts into supporting education really shows. •Geek central - it's attractive and catchy to visitors. Tech start ups (as reported on the front page of Sunday's Log Cabin) and our younger-than-normal average age are appealing and interesting. In spite of the HP layoffs this year, new and sustainable businesses are thriving. Our main concerns - growing pains, housing issues, tax money, poverty and low-income families are all common problems you'll find in any community. Could it be that I've been in it for so long that it takes a visitor with fresh eyes to show me the beauty where I'm living? Sometimes I forget that our problems aren't special, they're actually pretty common, but what makes Faulkner County special is the citizens. So before you point out a problem and roll your eyes, just remember that there are plenty of communities who'd trade places with us in an instant.

Wampus Cats Boulevard

With all the mumbling and grumbling I'd heard, I had no idea how cool Prince Street (aka Wampus Cats Blvd.) was going to look! The decorative lamps in the median, the gentle sloping of the landscape - it's going to be fantastic. It's street scaping you expect to see in neighborhoods in Germantown, TN or Plano, TX. I was thinking about the cool factor the other night when I turned west onto Hwy.60/Prince Street from Donaghey Ave. on my way to try out west Conway's first hibachi restaurant (KOBE: now open) next to the Mamacita's (NOT open) Mexican restaurant not to be confused with the Texas chain of Papasito's restaurants. I was thinking how surprised some friends will be when they come home for Christmas this year. The old two-lane Prince Street and Morningside corner have changed a lot in the last few years. The progress has been painful. Retailers and businesses with Prince Street frontage have been fighting construction crews and the congested traffic it brings for more than a year but (wow!) what a difference. And from one homer to another....I like that when opposing teams come to Conway to use Wampus Cats facilities they enter on this fantastic road. My submissions for renaming the stretch of road in front of Conway High School from roundabout to roundabout: •Wampus Cats Boulevard •Cat Blue Byway •Alma Mater Avenue •Learning Lane •Education Avenue •Championship Road •Six Legged Swamp Cat Street •Blue and White Way •School Pride Parkway •Excellence Express Submitted by Rhonda Overbey on Tue, 2013-12-24 12:17

Change Approved!

Taking vacation around the holidays reminds me why I wouldn't like to work from home. Television is awful. Executives are constantly changing programming to find something, anything that will make viewers respond. What other reason could the producers of 'Jersey Shore' have to come up with 'Party Down South', 'Rich Kids of Beverly Hills' or the swoonable Bachelor Juan Pablo? Throw up another controversial reality show, please, throw up. But don't listen to my viewing advice. I missed jumping on the 'Downton Abbey' bandwagon and Bad was already Broken by the time I knew what it was. I don't even watch 'Castle' anymore. I won't be watching 'Cougar Town' either. If I see another commerical or hear "change approved!" again, I won't need wine pong to make me start drinking! Commercials are catchy, though. Even Rob Lowe took to Twitter this weekend complaining about the frequency of the Big Baby commerical. And Greek yogurt or not, I agree that the world would be a better place if all men looked like John Stamos. The infomercial featuring the Chillow is pretty impressive too...why waste time flipping your pillow over when both sides are cool? Or how about a bacon bowl? No need to put bacon on your salad; put the salad in your bacon. New year's resolution....try not to live life As Seen On TV. Submitted by Rhonda Overbey on Mon, 2014-01-06 13:24

Tupelo Honey

Sweet sweet Elvis. It's hard to believe he's been gone 37 years and he's still trending on Twitter and getting birthday wishes on Facebook. Vanity Fair has uncovered a never-before-seen photo of the King to be published in its next issue. As with most things Presley related, the photo is surrounded by mystery and controversy....where's it been, why hasn't it been published, is it really Elvis, etc. If it's really Elvis, he's about 13, standing in the metropolis of downtown Tupelo near the hardware store where his precious mother bought him his first guitar. You tell me...is it live or is it Elvis? Either way, I like him like this. He looks like he's enjoying the sun on his face and knows he's about to own the world. Here's a link to the Vanity Fair story http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2014/01/elvis-teen-photo-tupelo Submitted by Rhonda Overbey on Wed, 2014-01-08 15:41

What's the deal with #Monday? Can I get a RT?

When did Monday become the new Thursday? A few years ago, trendsetters officially made Thursday the new Friday. (Did you get the email?) Happy hour after work Friday? Nah, why wait til Friday when you can leave early on Thursdays and hit JJs? Fun work functions got moved to Thursday night because you can't ask people to waste Friday night on events that can be attended a day earlier. You following? So what happened to the 'old' Thursday night events? I think they got moved to Monday. Someone may have tweeted about it. Suddenly, Monday is the happening night. MNF, RAW, DWTS and Castle aside, Monday used to be a nothing night. In Conway tonight, the public is invited to the Chamber to meet a Fire Chief candidate, there's a business after hours event at A&J Collision, and the new UCA head football coach is at his first public meet-n-greet at Centennial. All on a #Monday! Go figure. Can't wait to see what the rest of the week brings. Submitted by Rhonda Overbey on Mon, 2014-01-13 16:19

Next stop: Pottersville!

The queen of daytime was known for her instincts about what people liked and needed... until 1998. That's when Oprah lost touch with the public. She failed to predict that Beloved wouldn't be loved, and it lost like $60 million. Much like Cougar in Top Gun, she lost her edge; she was holding on too tight. I think I've been Oprahfied. I've consistently talked about housing problems in Conway. You've read my posts about local slum lords and poor living conditions and that our working poor are spending an extremely high percentage of their minimum wage on housing. I thought you'd care because I care. I just can't walk away. It's time to dig into the hard discussion on housing. Are we afraid that concentrating low income housing in certain areas will increase crime in those areas? On the flip side, are we afraid that if we scatter subsidized housing to different parts of Conway, property values will decrease in those areas? You can find facts to back up both sides. How bout this, regardless of the economics, children should have a safe neighborhood with decent housing, Mr. Potter. The new Central Landing construction at the old airport will change that landscape by 2017. What does Chateau Mobile Village look like in 2017? Does it remain? If it goes away, where will those residents live? In Cowtown? In the Helen Street/Club Lane area? Oakwood? Are we willing to have some open discussions about this? Our diverse community, home to both the gay pride parade and the open carry gun celebration, deserves some attention be paid to the housing and safety of all its residents moving forward. Cue: It's a Wonderful Life Submitted by Rhonda Overbey on Fri, 2014-01-17 15:10

You can thank Huckster for Uncle Sugar

Is it possible that someone considering running for the biggest office in the land thinks one of the most threatening issues facing the United States is whether or not a woman can control her libido? (I'm sorry America. It looks like the Huck is on the loose again.) When I first noticed #Uncle Sugar trending on Twitter, I knew it would be bad. See, it's a cross between Uncle Sam and Sugar Daddy. Cute, huh? I'd like to think the Reverend didn't run that past Janet before he went live with it but I could be wrong. I won't go into any detail, because it doesn't need more airtime, but this early in the POTUS race, this type of comment gets lots of momentum and the prospective candidate gets false hope. Gov. Huckabee, don't tell me that I'm a victim of my gender and I won't attempt to educate you on how it takes two to tango and - putting the shoe on the other foot - if men were in control of their libidos birth control wouldn't be necessary. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/huckabee-dems-tell-women-they-can-t-control-their-libido Submitted by Rhonda Overbey on Thu, 2014-01-23 15:30