Editorial - Congraduations -- may the circle remain unbroken

Eureka Springs School District voters, residents of the Western District of Carroll County, deserve an "A+" for their unprecedented support of building a new high school for future students who live west of the Kings River.

More than 1,000 voters braved icy conditions and slogged through blowing snow to the district's lone polling station to voluntarily commit their share of a reported $20-million indebtedness that may span 30 years for a new campus, and other expenditures.

That the current facility was inadequate is beyond debate, nor was the possibility of renovating it ever seriously debated. Where do we go from here?

Eureka's high school students already rank highly when compared with the rest of the state. We can only assume they will do even better in the future.

Along with continued academic excellence, what else shall we reap as reward for this daring venture? If promoters of the project were clairvoyant, new families will be drawn to settle, and invest, here. The possibility of mass mayhem from either, according to police, an unsecurable campus, or, the fire department, spillage of hazardous materials from passing trucks, will be averted.

The intermingling, at a football field's distance, of older teenagers with younger students will be transformed from a detrimental influence, as cited as a reason for separating the middle school from the high school years ago, into an opportunity for older students to be role models for their less experienced academic colleagues.

The enhanced natural lighting of the new school will result in brighter graduates who will enhance the local work force, ignoring that many bright Eureka Springs graduates move away in order to find real jobs. Ample parking will be provided for attendees coming to town for sports events. How's that draw working out at Leatherwood Fields?

I hope it all works out as advertised, and promoted.

Some Eurekans say the past decade was one of the most extreme in history. The first month and a half of 2010 may give those who think we're due for a breather reason to gasp at what apparently lies ahead.

The state's largest Historic District is undergoing rapid change. We've doubled the number of parking meters downtown; given the green light to a cell spire that's taller than the city's iconic concrete Jesus; put up even more billboards on Planer Hill; and the average utility and tax costs for individual household budgets continue to climb.

We are, as we boast and boost, an "extraordinary escape" ... from reality?

For all that, let's not lose sight of our amazing generosity. We may not always make the wisest decisions but we do champion inspired motivations. We try to take care of those who are "circling the drain."

We may spar and snip among ourselves, but we rally to benefit those of us in immediate need. The auctions, the balls, the memorial or medical bank accounts, the fundraisers and a police department that jumps into Table Rock Lake in the middle of winter for the Special Olympics, all speak volumes about the character of this caring community.

It also says we're sometimes more adept at reacting than, perhaps, planning. The new high school was sold as a better building. The way it is utilized could tell us if we're serious about building a better future for us all.

There were a lot of players in this game and they all had their angles, some noble and some base. The Citizen worked to publish a diversity of opinion on the matter. Some was venal; some inspired. The best came double-barreled. Rick Burry reminded us that if we dare to weigh the well-being of other people's kids then we're in real trouble, and School Board President Rusty Windle took it to the highest level when he said other people paid for his and most of his children's education and he's willing to do the same for the next generation because it's "the circle of life." May it ever be.

-- Vernon Tucker