In the continuing battle for “Hub of Northeast Arkansas” supremacy that we here at Ridge Writer like to call ‘Keeping up with the Jonesboros’, Paragould has apparently had Jonesboro in check thanks to the new Community Center Park on US 49 South. The park’s aquatic center, pictured above [click for large view], features several pools and large slides as well as two indoor pools with a retractable roof. The rest of the park includes several softball and soccer fields and a large convention facility.

Jonesboro officials haven’t liked the fact that city residents find it necessary to drive the 15 minutes up Highway 49 to Greene County’s flagship city to get summer fun, so they want to build a similar facility in their city.

The City Council will meet tomorrow to consider a resolution to hire a consultant so that a feasibility study can be created. The contract is expected to be valued at $45,000.

In 2002, Jonesboro Parks & Recreation conducted a study that concluded an aquatic facility was the primary local need but that the cost would prohibit such a facility from being constructed. Per The Sun, the only municipally owned pool is at the Earle Bell Community Center and was constructed in the 1930s.