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Beebe, Arkansas

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Beebe
City
Flag of Beebe
Flag
Official seal of Beebe
Seal
CountryUnited States
StateArkansas
CountyWhite
Area
 • Total4.3 sq mi (11.2 km2)
 • Land4.3 sq mi (11.2 km2)
 • Water0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation
246 ft (75 m)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total4,930
 • Density1,146.5/sq mi (440.2/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
72012
Area code501
FIPS code05-04600
GNIS feature ID0081843

Beebe is a city in White County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 4,930 at the 2000 census, making it the second most populous in the county after Searcy. Mike Robertson is the current mayor. The city is home to a branch campus of Jonesboro-based Arkansas State University. It was named for Roswell Beebe, a railroad executive responsible for bringing the rail line that currently runs through the city.

Geography

Beebe is located at 35°4′17″N 91°53′31″W / 35.07139°N 91.89194°W / 35.07139; -91.89194 (35.071378, -91.892073).Template:GR

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.3 square miles (11.2 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 4,930 people, 1,930 households, and 1,397 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,142.1 people per square mile (440.6/km²). There were 2,115 housing units at an average density of 490.0/sq mi (189.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.87% White, 5.86% Black or African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.55% from other races, and 1.58% from two or more races. 1.34% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,930 households out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.6% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,252, and the median income for a family was $41,307. Males had a median income of $31,143 versus $20,881 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,989. About 6.6% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.0% of those under age 18 and 17.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The city's education corridor is among the most prominent aspects in Beebe, with the city's public schools grouped in an extensive campus situated across the street from Arkansas State University Beebe. Significant additions have been made to the campus since January 1999, when a powerful tornado destroyed nearly complete new school buildings and historic residential areas surrounding the downtown area. The public school district grew in 2004 when schools from nearby McRae were consolidated into the district, which today serves most of southwestern and south-central White County — proceeding westward to El Paso, eastward to Garner, and to other communities in between. Beebe's district also includes the headquarters of a four-county educational service cooperative named for noted former U.S. Representative Wilbur Mills, and located on the city's Main Street.

Privately-run day care and preschool services are also available in Beebe. In addition, Lighthouse Pentecostal Church in eastern Beebe provides religious-based K-12 and post-secondary education.

Founded as the Junior Agricultural School of Central Arkansas in 1927, Arkansas State University Beebe's campus has evolved and grown to become a center for long-distance learning and technical trade programs in central Arkansas. The school has been affiliated with the Arkansas State University System since 1955. State Hall, the campus' administration building constructed in 1949, is among both the oldest buildings on the campus and in Beebe's educational community. In the fall of 2005, ASU-Beebe had the second highest enrollment among Arkansas's two-year colleges and universities, trailing only Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock. ASU-Beebe today is the parent campus to branch campuses in Searcy (at the former Foothills Vocational-Technical Institute) and Heber Springs, and an educational center inside Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville.

The Accrediting Commission International for Schools, Colleges and Theological Seminaries is located in Beebe. It approves standards for fundamentalist institutions, such as Trinity Valley Baptist Seminary and College, based in Kennedale, Texas.

Blackbird down

Beebe made international news in early January 2011 following the mysterious death of more than 5,000 blackbirds over the community. Arkansas state wildlife authorities first received reports on December 31, 2010 shortly before midnight. Further investigation revealed the birds fell over a one-mile area of Beebe, with no other dead birds found outside that concentrated zone. The birds showed signs of physical trauma, leading one ornithologist with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission to speculate the blackbirds might have been killed by lightning or high-altitude hail.[1]

References

  1. ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110102/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_dead_birds_arkansas
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