SMACKOVER, Ark. – Teachers and staff at Smackover High School received a special lunchtime visit Wednesday, Aug. 12, as the Arkansas Army National Guard stopped by to show its appreciation for the educators preparing for another school year.

SGT. Payten R. Tompkins, with the Arkansas Army National Guard Recruiting Office, brought Chick-fil-A sandwiches for the faculty and staff and briefly introduced himself to the group.

Tompkins has served with the National Guard’s recruiting office in Magnolia but recently transitioned into the recruiter role covering the El Dorado-Camden area. As he begins serving the area, Tompkins said he hopes his role will extend beyond simply recruiting young people to join the Guard.

Instead, he emphasized his desire to empower young men and women to serve their communities in whatever capacity they choose.

Advertisement

Tompkins also wanted to use the visit as an opportunity to recognize the teachers and staff for the work they do each day.

He expressed his appreciation for educators and noted that the work of teaching is often underappreciated despite the tremendous impact teachers have on their students and communities.

The visit came as the Smackover School District prepares to begin another school year. Smackover High School Principal Cody Cranford praised his faculty and staff for the work they have put in to prepare for the upcoming year.

With teachers and staff working behind the scenes to get classrooms, programs and students ready for another year, Wednesday’s lunch served as a small gesture of appreciation for their efforts.

Advertisement

As the new school year approaches, Smackover School District is looking forward to another successful year, supported by a faculty and staff committed to serving its students and community.

EL DORADO, Ark. – Christmas is coming early to historic downtown El Dorado as Murphy-Pitard Jewelers invites the community to celebrate the Christmas in July festivities, taking place Thursday, July 23, through Saturday, July 25.

Following the success of last year’s event, Murphy-Pitard is bringing the celebration back with an even greater focus on festive fun, holiday planning, and the excitement of brand-new jewelry arrivals.

Throughout the three-day event, customers will have the opportunity to get a first look at the store’s newest collections, recently hand-selected at market, while shopping the best selection before the holiday season begins.

“The response to Christmas in July last year was incredible, and we couldn’t wait to bring it back,” said Amanda Pitard, owner of Murphy-Pitard Jewelers. “It’s such a fun way to celebrate with our community, introduce the new pieces we found at market, help customers start their Christmas wish lists early, and remind everyone it’s never too early to start planning for the holidays. Whether you’re beginning your Christmas shopping or simply enjoying the festivities downtown, we hope you’ll stop in and celebrate with us.”

Advertisement

Guests can enjoy holiday treats, festive decorations, Christmas music, and plenty of Christmas cheer while exploring the store’s newest arrivals. Murphy-Pitard Jewelers is proud to join the Downtown Business Association and Main Street El Dorado, celebrating Christmas in July as downtown businesses spread holiday cheer with festive activities and create a fun shopping experience throughout historic downtown El Dorado.

Customers are encouraged to create their Christmas wish list during the event for a chance to win a $500 Murphy-Pitard Jewelers shopping spree through a special Christmas in July Wish & Win giveaway.

For the first time, Murphy-Pitard Jewelers is introducing a special Christmas layaway program during Christmas in July. The three-day offer allows customers to reserve gifts with 0% down, NO interest, and five equal monthly payments, making it easy to plan ahead for the holidays while securing the store’s newest arrivals. (Restrictions apply. See store for complete details.)

Additional highlights include Santa Savings, featuring select merchandise specially marked for the event, as well as a visit from Summer Santa on Saturday.

Advertisement

Murphy-Pitard Jewelers’ Christmas in July will take place during regular business hours:

• Thursday- Friday, July 23- July 24: 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
• Saturday, July 25: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

For more information about Murphy-Pitard Jewelers, visit the store in historic downtown El Dorado, call (870) 863-8818, or follow Murphy-Pitard Jewelers on Facebook for event updates and sneak peeks of the newest arrivals.

EL DORADO, AR — Representatives from Paradox Data LLC opened the doors of their Industrial Road facility to Union County residents on Thursday, July 9, 2026, hosting an informational tour and community Q&A session. The event was organized to directly address public questions following the viral spread of a recent regulatory filing involving the local digital infrastructure company.

Jeffrey Harris, founder and Chief Technology Officer of Paradox Data, who was also recently appointed Global CTO of the publicly traded computing firm Z Squared Inc. (NASDAQ: ZSQR), led the presentation. Harris sought to clarify local rumors regarding the scope, timeline, and utility demands of the data center’s planned operations.

Clarifying the Z Squared “Letter of Intent” and Timelines

Addressing a widespread rumor that a massive tech campus would be built in 30 days, Harris emphasized that state and utility regulations make such a timeline legally and logistically impossible. Under current protocols enforced by state authorities and utility provider Entergy Arkansas, a minimum of 18 months must elapse before any physical groundbreaking (“shovel in the ground”) can begin on a new phase.

Furthermore, Harris clarified the current status of the corporate relationship between Paradox Data and Z Squared. Because Z Squared is a publicly traded company, it is legally required to disclose public filings, which led to the publication of a binding Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire a majority interest in Paradox. While the transaction has not officially closed, the companies are actively partnering, and Harris has assumed his overarching dual-CTO role to guide future engineering strategy.

Advertisement

Management explicitly noted that the facility is not a “hyperscale” data center, the gigawatt-scale infrastructures typically operated by companies like Amazon, nor is it a Large Language Model (LLM) training facility. Instead, the intended path involves an upscaled version of Paradox’s current local footprint, prioritizing organic growth within Union County’s existing industrial sector.

The Waterless Technology: 100% Immersion Fluid

A major focus of the presentation detailed the facility’s specialized cooling system. Unlike standard data centers that require millions of gallons of water or heavy exterior air conditioning units, Paradox is “internally cooled” using a 100% liquid immersion technique.

Facility mechanics and environmental footprints outlined during the tour include:

• Zero Water Usage: The facility utilizes no water for equipment cooling on the grounds. To maintain a strict zero-water footprint, the campus relies on self-contained temporary sanitation (portapotties) rather than connecting to standard municipal water lines.
• Biodegradable Fluid: The immersion cooling liquid used is a specialized medical-grade discovery that is non-toxic to touch or ingest. It features a 20-year shelf life, leaves no chemical waste, and naturally degrades or evaporates rather than being dumped.
• Structural Containment: To serve as a secondary safety measure, the facility’s interior is lined with Phenicon HS, a high-performance industrial epoxy phenolic novolac coating engineered specifically for heavy-duty chemical and fluid containment. This paint is commonly used on NASA spacecraft. 
• Energy and Noise Reduction: Liquid immersion naturally absorbs and drowns out computer processor noise. Exterior decibel levels are actively monitored to ensure they do not exceed the sound of a few standard household air conditioning units. Because it avoids traditional air-chilling hardware, the design operates with 40% less energy than comparable facilities of its size.

Company organizers noted that while an air- or water-cooled setup would have been significantly cheaper and faster to construct, they deliberately invested in the immersion-cooled layout to proactively protect the surrounding community from noise and heavy resource depletion.

Grid Integration, Emergency Cut-offs, and Safety Controls

Data centers often face scrutiny over their strain on the electrical grid. To address this, Harris mapped out the strict legal and corporate boundaries dictating their energy usage:

Advertisement

Arkansas State Law Requirements: Under state mandates, Paradox is legally required to fully fund any and all infrastructure or grid upgrades required to support their operations. No costs are passed on to the public grid or local taxpayers.

• Entergy Curtailment Authority: Entergy Arkansas retains the absolute authority to throttle or completely cut off power to the data center during periods of peak grid stress or emergency weather.
• Community Power Offsets: To put the facility’s power scale in context, an average local hospital operates on roughly 15 to 30 kilowatt-hours (kWh). In the event that Entergy curtails the data center’s power supply during an emergency, the diverted electricity is large enough to power a significant portion of the surrounding municipal grid.
• Backup Generator Caps: Should the facility need to rely on backup generators, Arkansas law strictly caps their operation at a maximum of 100 hours per calendar year.
• 30-Second Kill Switch: The facility features hardwired safety overrides, enabling operators to completely shut down 100% of the data center’s operations within 30 seconds during an emergency.

Local Economic and Tax Breakdown

Project developers confirmed they are not requesting any specialized tax exemptions, municipal incentives, or subsidies from local governments. Based on current capacity and future scaling milestones, the direct tax projections provided to the county include:

Moving forward, Paradox organizers stated they are adopting an “open-book” policy to maintain public transparency. The company has committed to openly sharing ongoing real-time power consumption metrics as well as the exact chemical composition of their proprietary immersion fluid with both local regulators and the general public. As part of this ongoing transparency effort, Harris has agreed to sit down for an upcoming video interview with South Arkansas Now to personally answer questions directly from the community. 

Advertisement

EL DORADO, Ark. — Union County leaders have unanimously approved a one-year pause on new data center development following an emergency Quorum Court meeting that drew what officials described as the largest crowd the court has ever hosted.

Union County Judge Mike Loftin called the special meeting for 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 30, inside the Union County Quorum Courtroom. The meeting came amid growing public discussion surrounding proposed data center development, crypto-mining, power use and the possible effect of large industrial computing facilities on county resources.

South Arkansas Now livestreamed the meeting as county officials and residents discussed the issue before the court voted on Ordinance No. 1795.

Following the discussion, every member of the Quorum Court voted in favor of the ordinance.

Advertisement

The measure establishes a one-year moratorium on new data center development in Union County. The pause is scheduled to run from July 10, 2026, through July 9, 2027.

The ordinance also contains an emergency clause, allowing the county to put the measure into effect without waiting through the usual timetable applied to standard ordinances.

County leaders said the pause will give local officials time to study the possible effect of large data centers on water, electrical demand, public utilities, emergency services and surrounding property. It will also provide time for the county to consider zoning rules, operating standards and other safeguards before additional projects are permitted to advance.

The vote does not mean data centers will receive automatic approval when the moratorium expires. County officials will use the coming year to determine what local requirements may be needed and whether future development proposals can meet those standards.

Advertisement

Proposed Union County Campus Draws Attention

The public discussion follows the announcement of a proposed data center project known as the Union County Campus in El Dorado.

Z Squared Inc., a Fort Lauderdale-based computing infrastructure company, announced June 25 that it had entered into a binding letter of intent to acquire a majority ownership interest in Paradox Data LLC.

Paradox Data is the company connected to the proposed Union County Campus.

According to information filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the proposed transaction has not closed. It remains subject to due diligence, final agreements, required approvals and other closing conditions.

Advertisement

The company describes the Union County Campus as a proposed development for artificial intelligence and other high-performance computing needs.

Z Squared reported that the site currently has an eight-megawatt utility connection. The company said its long-term plan could include a combination of utility power and on-site natural-gas generation using industrial turbines, with a target of as much as 150 megawatts of continuous power.

Company documents describe a site that could span as much as 170 acres and identify an approximately 10-acre parcel currently under a binding purchase contract.

Those figures represent the company’s development goals and projections. The full campus has not been completed, and the proposed acquisition of Paradox Data has not been finalized.

Advertisement

Residents Pack Emergency Meeting

Tuesday’s emergency meeting filled the courtroom with residents seeking more information about the possible project and the county’s plans for regulating large data centers.

County officials said the gathering was the largest crowd the Quorum Court had ever seen.

Residents and officials discussed the need for clearer standards before development moves forward. Concerns raised during the broader public discussion have included transparency, electrical demand, water use, public safety and the possible effect on nearby homes and property.

One resident told South Arkansas Now that the adoption of the ordinance provided some relief because it gives the county time to examine the issue. However, the resident said community members remain cautious and plan to continue following developments closely.

Advertisement

Loftin also explained during the meeting why he believed an emergency session was needed rather than waiting for the court’s next regular meeting.

The unanimous vote gives county officials a defined period to collect information, speak with specialists and decide what rules should govern any future data center proposals.

What Happens Next

During the one-year pause, Union County officials are expected to study possible regulations addressing where data centers may be built and what requirements developers must meet.

Those discussions could include land-use rules, power and water needs, noise, fire protection, emergency planning, environmental concerns and the effect a project could have on nearby residents.

Advertisement

The county may also examine how other Arkansas communities are responding to the rapid growth of data centers and whether similar ordinances could be adapted for Union County.

The passage of Ordinance No. 1795 does not permanently prohibit data centers. Instead, it places development on hold while county officials work to create a clearer local process.

For residents who packed the courtroom Tuesday, the vote represents an initial action rather than the end of the discussion.

County officials will now have one year to decide what protections, limits and development standards should be in place before the moratorium reaches its scheduled end on July 9, 2027.

Advertisement