As towns across rural Arkansas continue to bleed population, the most obvious victims often are the churches. I recently saw an online plea for funds to help keep up a Presbyterian church building at Helena, a once-beautiful city on the banks of the Mississippi River that has been losing residents for decades.
I met Eric Jackson in the winter of 1979. I was a college student at the time. I was also sports editor of the Daily Siftings Herald at Arkadelphia. That meant I could spend race days at Oaklawn Park in the press box. It was a dream assignment for a 19-year-old aspiring journalist from just down the road.
In a letter to the editor back in February, one writer had this to say about me: "I don t resent his commentary about Gov. Sarah Sanders, former President Donald Trump or any other Republican. But I do resent his negative comments while giving the impression he s writing from a Republican perspective. Rex, you re now a Democrat. It s time to quit pretending."