Arkansas
Residents of an east Arkansas town have been without water for the past 2 weeks due to below-freezing temps
HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark. — Residents of an east Arkansas town have been without running water for the past two weeks after the state was hit by below-freezing temperatures, and the outage has forced them to line up for bottled water, fill up jugs or take showers at a truck brought in by the state.
The outage affecting about 1,400 residents of Helena-West Helena is the second in the past year for the small town 52 miles (84 kilometers) southwest of Memphis, Tennessee, located along the Mississippi River.
The town faced a similar crisis last summer, when the same part of the city was without water in June.
Local officials are racing to fix leaks throughout the city and restore water to residents, but they say they’re facing the longer term challenge of overhauling a system with an infrastructure that dates back decades.
“The issues we’re facing now have been building up for decades,” said John Edwards, a former state lawmaker and executive director of an industrial park who’s been tapped by the mayor to assist in responding to the water crisis.
The outages are affecting one of two water systems for Helena-West Helena, which was two separate cities until 2006. One of the wells serving the system failed during the winter weather that hit the state, under pressure from leaks and dripping pipes.
“It’s hit or miss,” Russell Hall, director of the Phillips County Office of Emergency Management said. “One house might have halfway decent pressure, and another house might have a trickle, depending on gravity and other things.”
The state National Guard has brought in a water truck to provide potable water, and a 16-stall portable shower was brought in for residents to use. Each day, distribution sites for the water have seen a steady line of people filling up on water to use for their homes.
“It’s very difficult when you get up in the morning and you can’t take a bath, you can’t shower,” Mack Williams, 59, said as he picked up bottled water from a county distribution site. “You’ve got five, six, seven, eight people in the house, it’s very difficult.”
Gerald Jennings has been using a yellow bucket to catch rainwater to boil, then use to bathe and flush toilets. He said he knows of others doing the same thing.
“I’ve got to use what nature gave me, which was the rain,” the 58-year-old retiree said as he stood outside his home. “We got lucky that it was raining during this particular time.”
Laprece Stayton, a 40-year-old beautician, was picking up water at a distribution site. She said she had running water at her house, but it was low pressure and coming out “a little yellow, a little discolored.” She’s boiling water or not using it at all.
She said she was doing ok because she feels she is not affected as badly as other people and that she did not blame any single person for the issues.
“It’s no one’s fault,” she said. “If you have a car, you can’t keep a car for 60 years without having wear and tear on it. Pipes are going to have wear and tear on them.”
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders last week urged a state commission to expedite a $100,000 emergency loan for the city to refurbish two wells and replace valves in the city’s water system. The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission has since approved what is the second $100,000 loan the panel has issued the city since last year’s crisis.
Sanders called the loan “part of my administration’s larger efforts to help the city refurbish its water system and prevent future system failures.”
Hall, the county’s Emergency Management director, said he doesn’t know when the water will be restored. He said citizens in general have been understanding of the emergency water distribution process.
“I’m sure that people are frustrated,” Hall said. “Three-quarters of my 911 dispatchers do not have water at their house right now. They have to come to work and still have to go through with their daily lives.”
The bigger question facing the city is how much the long-term fix to its water system will cost, and who will pay for it. Edwards said it would cost about $5 million to fix the failed well and make fixes to the water plant and other wells that would help keep the city from landing in the same crisis in six months.
The city’s water outage comes as other towns face problems with their aging water infrastructures. Several other cities faced water shortages in Arkansas during the winter storm. And in neighboring Tennessee, the rural town of Mason was without water for a week after freezing temperatures broke pipes and caused leaks in its neglected system.
Residents in three rural communities in far eastern Kentucky along the Virginia border have also been without water for more than a week after freezing weather.
“What’s happening here can and will happen in other places,” said Edwards, the director of an industrial park assisting during the water crisis. “We’ve got a lot of utilities in this state that have aging problems, and I hope this will be a cautionary tale for what officials in other communities can do to avoid being in this circumstance.”
Arkansas (2-8) at No. 10 Texas (7-3), Nov. 22 at 3:30 p.m. EST.
How to watch: ABC
Key stats
Texas Offense
Overall: 370.7 yards per game (80th in FBS)
Passing: 246.6 yards per game (50th)
Rushing: 124.1 yards per game (103rd)
Scoring: 27.6 points per game (68th)
Texas Defense
Overall: 318.3 yards per game (23rd in FBS)
Passing: 235.1 yards per game (92nd)
Rushing: 83.2 yards per game (6th)
Scoring: 18.3 points per game (15th)
Arkansas Offense
Overall: 470.0 yards per game (13th in FBS)
Passing: 264.6 yards per game (33rd)
Rushing: 205.4 yards per game (18th)
Scoring: 34.1 points per game (25th)
Arkansas Defense
Overall: 426.5 yards per game (123rd in FBS)
Passing: 245.3 yards per game (108th)
Rushing: 181.2 yards per game (115th)
Scoring: 32.3 points per game (121st)
Texas ranks 25th in FBS in defensive third down percentage, allowing opponents to convert on 33.8% of third downs.
Arkansas is 129th in the FBS with a -10 turnover margin, compared to Texas’ 12th-ranked +8 margin.
Texas ranks 119th in the FBS with 65.3 penalty yards per game.
Arkansas ranks 114th in FBS in red zone defense, allowing opponents to score on % of trips.
Team leaders
Texas
Passing: Arch Manning, 2,374 yards, 19 TDs, 7 INTs, 62.7 completion percentage
Rushing: Quintrevion Wisner, 375 yards on 97 carries, 3 TDs
Receiving: Ryan Wingo, 655 yards on 40 catches, 6 TDs
Arkansas
Passing: Taylen Green, 2,537 yards, 19 TDs, 10 INTs, 62.1 completion percentage
Rushing: Mike Washington, 913 yards on 140 carries, 7 TDs
Receiving: O’Mega Blake, 678 yards on 51 catches, 4 TDs
Last game
Texas fell to Georgia 35-10 on Saturday, Nov. 15. Manning led Texas with 251 yards on 27-of-43 passing (62.8%) for one touchdown and one interception. Wisner had 37 rushing yards on nine carries, adding two receptions for 10 yards. DeAndre Moore Jr. recorded 75 yards on five catches.
Arkansas lost 23-22 to LSU on Saturday, Nov. 15. Green passed for 165 yards on 11-of-19 attempts (57.9%) with no touchdowns and two interceptions. He also carried the ball 17 times for 70 yards and one rushing touchdown. Washington had 85 rushing yards on 13 carries and one touchdown, adding one reception for six yards. Raylen Sharpe put up 65 yards on four catches.
Next game
Texas hosts No. 3 Texas A&M on Nov. 28. Arkansas hosts Missouri on Nov. 29.
FAYETTEVILLE – Malique Ewin scored 21 points, making 8-of-9 from the field – including his first career 3-pointer – and 4-of-4 from the line, while Karter Knox posted his second double-double of the season, with 17 points and 10 rebounds, to lead the 21st-ranked Razorbacks to a 115-61 victory over Jackson State Friday night at Bud Walton Arena.
Arkansas also got outstanding performances from D.J. Wagner (16 points on 6-of-6 shooting with seven assists) and Billy Richmond III (14 points with three highlight-reel dunks in the first half. Meleek Thomas added 13 points while Darius Acuff Jr. and Isaia Sealy each scored 10 points.
Arkansas put the game out of reach with a 24-0 run that spanned the end of the first half into the start of the second. The Hogs also had a 22-6 run midway through the second half to lead 89-33 with 9:50 left.
The Razorbacks shot 63.9% from the field for the game – 74.2% in the second half – thanks to a season-high 16 dunks. (Arkansas entered the game with 24 dunks in the first five games combined.)
Ewin had five of the 16 dunks and the senior made his first career 3-pointer. (He is now 1-of-2 from deep for his career.) Richmond and Knox each added three dunks.
Tamarion Hoover led Jackson State with 19 points, making 4-of-9 from 3-point range.
Up next, Arkansas will travel to Chicago to face #5 Duke for the CBS Thanksgiving Classic on Thursday (Nov. 27). Tipoff at the United Center is set for 7 pm (CT), and the game will be televised on CBS.
FIRST HALF: ARK: 47 – JSU: 19
- Arkansas went on a 14-2 run to race out to a 22-9 lead. Jackson State was 1-of-9 from the field over the stretch.
- After Jackson State made a 3-pointer to cut their deficit to 12 (31-19), Arkansas closed the half on a 16-0 run to lead 47-19. The run started before the Tigers’ triple and was a 20-3 run over the final 6:43.
- Arkansas shot 53% from the field while holding Jackson State to 21% shooting.
- Jackson State had nine turnovers thanks to seven Arkansas steals.
- Billy Richmond III led Arkansas with 10 points, including three dunks.
- The last time Arkansas held an opponent to fewer than 20 points in the first half was UMES last season (11/26/24) with 15.
SECOND HALF: ARK: 68 – JSU: 42
- Arkansas opened the second half on an 18-4 run, including an 8-0 spurt at the start of the frame.
- From the 15-minute mark to the 9:29 mark, Arkansas out-scored the Tigers 22-6.
- Arkansas had zero turnovers in the second half with 14 assists. Arkansas forced 11 second-half turnovers.
- Ewin scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half. He was 7-of-8 from the field.
- Arkansas scored 68 points in the second half. The last time it scored at least 60 in a half was getting 60 in the first half versus Maryland-Eastern Shore last season (11/26/24).
NOTES:
- Arkansas’ starting lineup was Darius Acuff Jr., D.J. Wagner, Karter Knox, Trevon Brazile and Nick Pringle. It was the first time for this starting lineup and the fourth starting lineup overall.
- JSU’s Dorian McMillian scored the game’s first points, a layup at 18:23. Nick Pringle scored Arkansas’s first points with two free throws at 18:05.
- Arkansas’s first subs were Meleek Thomas and Billy Richmond III.
- Arkansas is 13-0 all-time versus Jackson State.
- Arkansas improves to 142-6 all-time when scoring at least 100 points. Coach Calipari is 48-0 all-time when scoring at least 100 points.
- Coach Cal is now 18 wins shy of 900 as head coach of a Division I program.
- Arkansas entered the game 8th in the NCAA in fastbreak points (23.6 ppg). The Hogs had 34 fastbreak points, compared to four by the Tigers. The 34 fastbreak points is the most in a game since the stat has been tracked (2011-12) with the previous high being 32 vs Southern this year and UCA in 2021. (HogStats.com)
For more information on Arkansas Men’s Basketball, follow @RazorbackMBB on X, Instagram and Facebook.
It’s been a wild week for Texas Football. First, they were dominated by the Georgia Bulldogs. Then speculation over Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian job status became so overwhelming, Sark had to make not one, but two public statements.
Texas has a very, very slim chance at the college football playoff, but a lot has to go right for that to happen. Whatever happens around them, all the Horns can control is their own performance. Texas has to win, especially against a 2-8 Razorbacks team that has seen their coach fired this season.
If the Longhorns don’t win at home against the Hogs, Texas is staring down a 7-5 record that will turn this season from disappointing to complete disaster.
There are some interesting matchups in this game and the Hogs have some good players dotted around their lineup, including quarterback Taylen Green. But ultimately, the Longhorns have to focus on themselves.
Texas’ offense has been inconsistent all season and the running game has been the worst in decades. Many of the causes stem from an offensive line that has struggled in almost every game. The Horns defense has been good at times, but they have also been picked apart like they were last week in Georgia.
Sarkisian and his team need to look inward if they want to salvage what so far has been a very disappointing 2025.
Tommy Bresee Prediction:
Following the Georgia blowout, the confidence around the Longhorns is at a season-low. Arkansas comes into Austin this weekend, with a 3-7 record but one of the most dangerous QBs and offenses in the country. Taylen Green is capable of taking over this game if the Texas defense isn’t prepared to keep him in check. However, returning to home turf should bring the Longhorns defense back to level.
On the other side, there is little reason the Texas offense shouldn’t have a great day. Arch Manning has been incredible the last month and this is a defense that has allowed most every QB they’ve played to have a career day. I expect the same from Arch Manning here and the Texas offense is able to score in bunches. That, combined with my belief the defense will have a bounce back performance makes me think the Longhorns are able to get a rather comfortable win here.
Final score: Texas 38, Arkansas 24
Jamie Gatlin Prediction:
After a disappointing loss at Georgia last weekend, Texas is back in action on Saturday afternoon against Arkansas. This game represents the perfect bounce-back opportunity.
Through ten games, Arkansas is 2-8. The Longhorns will need a much better performance from Arch Manning and the offense. If Manning can return to form, then this is a game Texas should win easily.
Final score: Texas 28, Arkansas 14
Trey Luerssen Prediction:
Does this Texas team heart? Texas has certainly shown heart at times this season. Comebacks at Kentucky and Mississippi State have certainly shown the Longhorns are quitters. But against Georgia, there seemed to be a few white flags raised after the Bulldogs surprise onside kick in the fourth quarter.
But that’s within a game. What about when the season-long goal is dashed? When the preseason No. 1 team in the nation is all but eliminated from the CFP with two games to go? Does Texas have the heart to go beat a team they should destroy, while all the noise of coaching rumors and fan angst swirls around them?
I saw this team does have heart. I think they might play their best game of the year on Saturday. Free of the pressure of expectation, Texas can just go out and play.
Final score: Texas 42, Arkansas 24
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