It seemed like such a typical Thursday morning.
By 10 a.m., the paper had been sent to press, and the staff was collectively exhaling from the week’s work. Maybe even some feet were propped up on desks.
And then the call came.
A bear was spotted on Beaverdam Road, and law enforcement and city workers were trying to surround the beast.
The beast, as it turns out, was but a yearling, likely migrating to the area in search of a new territory.
By the time The E-T staff made it to Beaverdam, a crowd had gathered. Some might have called it a posse, but it was a sizable group nonetheless.
Within minutes, we had tracked down some of the first witnesses.
He had been spotted going between houses and then in back of an apartment complex. One saw him in a field, just a few feet off of U.S. 82.
While there was always a chance the small bear might tango with a pet or even harm a small child, it seemed unlikely.
This bear was simply passing through, but he probably will not soon forget Indianola.
If he had stuck around an extra day, we might have seen a small carnival pop up and the start of Indianola’s own Bear Affair festival.
But as quickly as he came into town, it seems he had made his way out by the next day.
Anthony Ballard, the head of the state’s Black Bear Program, told us that it was not uncommon for bears to migrate into populated areas, and he said it was not uncommon to see the same bear 15 to 20 miles away the next day.
Our visit from Yogi came a week after the City of Indianola took measures to curb menacing street racing on U.S. 82 and car burnouts in multiple parking lots after dark.
Like the bear, the street racers drew heavy crowds, most of them good people simply looking for something to do in this small Delta community.
This doesn’t excuse the racing or the destruction of private property that had become rampant during the latter weeks of May, but now that the racers and the bear are seemingly gone, we do need to address the underlying issues.
Both events underscore the fact that there’s not enough commercial entertainment around here.
There’s also the issue that a good portion of Indianola’s qualified labor force, many young adults included, have been watching street racing at 4 a.m., which would suggest that many were sleeping the next day instead of working.
Indianola needs jobs, and the city needs actual good clean fun for its young adults.
We talk about the Delta’s population drain a lot, and all of this plays into it.
Go anywhere where jobs are booming, and you’ll see some semblance of a night life.
These places have entertainment districts, with restaurants, bars, hipster bowling alleys, arcade rooms and movie theaters.
Without a coordinated plan to bring more wholesome things for young adults to do here, Indianola will continue to make its own fun, which will likely be something that annoys citizens, merchants and law enforcement.
Indianola did the right thing by cracking down on street racing. There’s a fine line between entertainment and lawlessness, and 4 a.m. is too late/early for any city to endure that level of noise pollution.
But if anyone thinks our city can’t draw a crowd, many with disposable income, check out the next bear sighting.
