BITS & PIECES: Just kiln time

By JOEL PHELPS | The Arkadelphian

[Tap, tap] Is this thing on? [microphone feedback] Testing, 1, 2, 3. Can you hear me? [polite nods] Good, good. How about you folks in the back: you good? [a distant whoop]. All right, great. Glad you all could make it out to hear this important announcement. Ahem. A lot of you are still talking about that big incinerator that was hauled across South Arkansas this week, and you’re still asking the same question about lithium batteries. I get it, I get it: watching videos is more fun than reading, and reading Billy Bob's rant on Facebook is easier than digesting a few well-formed, fact-based paragraphs. [Chairs scrape the floor, footsteps shuffle away, the exit door creaks open and shut] When I first saw a comment, on another media site's Facebook page, about this kiln being used to burn lithium batteries, I did what any journalist worth his salt would do: I went straight to Britt Scheer, the head honcho at the Veolia facility in Gum Springs, and I asked him, point-blank, "Is this kiln going to be burning lithium batteries?" He was quick to respond: "We have no plans to process lithium car batteries. It's not going to be used for that." We reported this on Monday, May 8, two days before the kiln hit the road from Crossett. Still, it wouldn't be enough to halt the misinformation already swirling, as rumors are typically as unstoppable as a 300-ton steel tube rolling down a highway. But, hey, I did my part. Next week we’ll have another candid conversation with Mr. Scheer and put him in the limelight. Hopefully his words don't fall on deaf ears. Thanks for coming out to see the show. [two audience members jeer] I’ll be here all week.

We had the pleasure of meeting Arkansas journalist Steve Brawner in person at the kiln parking. He wrote a highly informative piece about it for Talk Business & Politics.

Our friend at magnoliareporter.com reports that Arkadelphia legend Rex Nelson was clipped by a truck in Atlanta, injuring a hand, his hip and tibia. CLICK HERE to read Mike McNeill's full report.

Wednesday, May 31, is the deadline to assess personal property. If you haven't done so already, click the Clark County Assessor's Office banner advertisement at the top of any article and follow the prompts.

Twitter no longer supports arkadelphian.com's hosting service. The web development company sent its customers an email recently notifying us that, despite their best efforts to negotiate with Twitter, the social media giant wouldn't budge. Until now, when we clicked "publish" on an article we had the option to share to Facebook and/or Twitter. We nearly always posted immediately to Twitter, scheduling much of our work to Facebook at a time we feel most people are checking their feed. Now, we would have to go through a separate process to post our work to Twitter. We may boycott that platform and try something else; the decision hasn't yet been made.

If it's said at a public meeting, it's fair game.

There will be a Memorial Day ceremony at the Clark County Courthouse gazebo, located on the south lawn. Guest speaker this year is Greg Sporier of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs. We plan to have more details about the speaker for an upcoming article, but for now mark your calendars for 11 a.m. Monday, May 29.

We’ll be out of pocket today through Sunday for some much-needed R&R. To slightly skew the words of Doc Brown: "Where we’re going, we don't need phones."

Joel Phelps is editor and founder of arkadelphian.com. Opinions expressed in Bits & Pieces are his own. Reach him at [email protected], but don't expect a reply this weekend. Cute shoes.

Categories: Voices

Tagged as: Bits & Pieces