Restoring the River Bottoms and Free Pumpkins for Young Readers
Biggers, AR · October 5, 2026
A cool river breeze rolled across the bottomlands over the weekend, leaving clear skies for the week ahead. Keep an eye on local timber lanes and the regional library stacks as October shifts into gear.
The Lead
Fall preparations across the Current and Black river bottoms reached a key milestone this week as state wildlife crews and volunteers completed clearing essential boat lanes and access trails through the Dave Donaldson Black River Wildlife Management Area. The sprawling 25,000-acre bottomland preserve right in our backyard is also advancing a major greentree reservoir restoration. Over past decades, rigid impoundment levees held standing water too late into the summer growing season, stressing mature pin oaks and overcup oaks that sustain massive flocks of migrating mallards each autumn. New hydrological designs replace artificial choke points with free-flowing spillways that work with the rivers' natural pulse rather than against it. For waterfowl hunters and conservationists turning down Duck Levee Road this season, the upgraded drainage ensures healthier timber and reliable water when the migration peaks later this fall.
Today's Outlook
- High 76°F · Low 55°F — Clear
- Grab a light jacket for the crisp morning before mild, sunny skies take over.
What's On Around Town
Today
Youth Pumpkin Book Giveaway Randolph County Library (111 W Everett St), Pocahontas, 9:00 AM–6:00 PM · Free Check out five books and pick out a free fall pumpkin.
Heritage & Culture Exhibits Eddie Mae Herron Center (1708 Archer St), Pocahontas, 10:00 AM–3:00 PM · Free Explore two centuries of local culture inside the historic 1918 schoolhouse.
Tomorrow
- River Room & Pearl Shelling Displays Randolph County Heritage Museum (106 E Everett St), Pocahontas, 10:00 AM–4:00 PM · Free
Spotlight & Story
- Old U.S. Highway 67 Concrete Strip
- Paved between 1928 and 1930, this two-lane Bates-profile concrete roadway through town carried travelers along the historic Southwest Trail corridor. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, its original hand-poured slabs quietly outlasted nearly a century of heavy river-bottom traffic.
Biggers Daily Digest — compiled from local sources as of 6 AM. For breaking updates, follow your local newsrooms.
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