Page 3 - Arkansas 811 Magazine 2021 Issue 2

Publisher’s Perspective
Recently, after a failed attempt to change Arkansas’s dig law, written to include enforcement for violations occurring without regard to utility type, I was reminded of a story that occurred at a Special Olympics some time back. Nine contestants, all physically or mentally challenged, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the race to the finish and win.
All, that is, except one little boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and looked back. Then they all turned around and went back... every one of them. One girl with Down’s syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, “This will make it better.”
Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line.
Everyone in the stadium stood, the cheering went on for several minutes. People who were there are still telling the story... Why? Because deep down we know this one thing: What matters in this life
is more than winning for ourselves. What matters in this life is helping others win, even if it means slowing down and changing our course.
That willingness to change our course is certainly critical as we’ve recently learned. Everybody is for keeping our communities safer. The challenge is how we go about getting it done. Being opposed to an idea for no other reason than we’ve always been opposed to it is not the mark of a forward thinker. It will require courage to openly discuss issues of exemption, methodology or effective enforcement.
This is serious business. What we can do together will be easier and better than what we can do by ourselves. There will be much discussion at the Arkansas Damage Prevention Summit scheduled for July 19 – 21, 2021 about the importance of fair and effective enforcement. Do not be deceived into thinking that silence on the subject somehow means support for the effort.
Right here in Arkansas, stakeholders are at a crossroads. We must remember damage prevention is not about who is right nor who is wrong. It is about what is right and what is wrong. And what is right is finding a way to get it done and in the best interest of all stakeholders. What is right is the willingness to sit at the table and discuss how best to secure our children’s future. For almost 15 years, I’ve seen stakeholders sit down together (some reluctantly) and find ways to make it work in states where many stakeholders proclaimed it couldn’t be done. Obviously, the way to get it done before it is introduced in the House or Senate is to go back, lock arms and walk to the finish line together.
Can this be done in Arkansas? I don’t know... I only know it is necessary.
Roger Cox President ACTS Now, Inc.
2021, Issue 2
Arkansas 811 Magazine • 1