Mayor Norris, no longer a Pickleball skeptic, cuts ribbon on Maumelle's new, eye-catching blue Pickleball courts. Now an enthusiast, he planted a seed for another first-rate idea during his remarks.

Jay C. Grelen, Moniteur de l’Arkansas

Mayor Caleb Norris, an admitted skeptic of the Pickleball craze, cut the ribbon at Maumelle’s newest and only city-owned outdoor Pickleball courts on Tuesday.

After the mayor thanked all who helped, Shatara Batemon of Parks and Recreation offered guidance on the use of the courts.

For the sake of timeliness, Moniteur de l’Arkansas has posted raw, unedited video from Thursday’s (June 6, 2024) grand opening. We apologize for any unflattering angles, grunts, or other matters. Same for the subtitles,

In his remarks, Mayor Norris floated the idea that a nice finishing touch to the Pickleball courts, built on the site of old tennis courts, would be a mural on the back of the Community Center, which is a drab and imposing wall that overlooks from the north. Moniteur de l’Arkansas hereby volunteers to help.

Here’s what Pickleball is not: Pickleball does not involve a ball that is a pickle nor a bat that was a cucumber before its life ended in a jar of vinegar and seasonings. (© Moniteur de l’Arkansas, 2024)

That’s why today’s video report includes Moniteur de l’Arkansas’ unexpected, impromptu, and happy conversation with Wagner General Contractors’ very young Pickleball project manager. He’s a friend I met through his wife when we worked together in Governor Asa Hutchinson’s communications department. She came on board to help during the 2021 legislative session. Her father was a catfish famer; guess what her family served at the reception after their wedding!

Before this fearless 27-year-old took on Pickleball in Maumelle, he won the bid to build the enormous and beautiful addition to the Arkansas State Supreme Court building on the grounds of the state capitol. He was project manager. He was 24 then

While he was in the neighborhood back then, just to ensure he stayed busy, he also won the bid to remove and refurbish all of the antique mahogany windows at the capitol, including the windows in Governor Hutchinson’s office and the Governor’s Conference room, the north wall of which is all windows. That project involved removing and reinstalling expensive floor-to-ceiling drapes.

One day as we were heading to lunch in the capitol’s basement diner (I supplied the sweet tea), I asked how he handled tension that arose as he supervised employees who were older and who had far more experience in construction (and in life).

His reply was one word: “Respect.”

Moniteur de l'Arkansas comforts the afflicted and afflicts the afflicters. If you’re an afflicter, buckle up and batten down. We’re here. If you’re afflicted, breathe easy. We’re here. We also write stories that have nothing to do with affliction.

This is Jay Grelen. I hope you remember me from my Sweet Tea column in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The state’s largest newspaper published the column for seven years on the front page of its Arkansas section on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. That was a while ago. The newspaper business has changed. Now I’m a newspaper refugee clutching his manual typewriter and trying to stay afloat. I worked in the newspaper racket for 35 years, including stints at the Denver Post, the Lexington Herald-Leader, the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate, and the Mobile Register. My last stop was a 10-year stay at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. In 2017, Governor Asa Hutchinson hired me as his senior writer; after nearly six years with Governor Hutchinson, I sharpened pencils and fixed bathroom faucets as chief of staff to the mayor of Maumelle (where I’ve lived for 21 years).

In August 2023, a year to the day after he hired me, Hizzoner Caleb Norris promoted me to Maumelle’s Chief of Staff Emeritus.

Arkansas Monitored’s Official Seal of Maumelle, featuring Hizzoner.

I have returned to writing for a living, and I am participating in the much balleyhooed rebirth of local journalism. The first mission of Arkansas Monitor is to chase the elected foxes away from the public henhouses, which belong to the constituents who voted them into office. Subscriptions are free, but paid subscriptions are available and welcome Before the end of the year, we will launch the literary Birdsong County Whistler exclusively for subscribers who choose the paid route.

I hope someone has noticed the ever evolving name of this publication. We went from Maumelle Monitor[ed] to Arkansas Monitor to Arkansas Moniteured to the current appellation, Moniteur de l'Arkansas. It’s been an crisis of identity, which is all the rage these days.. At any rate, we have settled on a name, which reflects our French roots and our Southern global sweet tea perspective.

Thank you for reading, whatever you think of the name and however you choose to participate. Jay C. Grelen, Moniteur de l'Arkansas, Maumelle, Arkansas.