On this page you will find a letter from Lois Cole. Lois and I were school mates at good ole Gassaway High School and both considered “town kids” as we grew up in our small community.
We lost contact with one another most of our adult lives and only recently, when Lois returned to her hometown, did we have the opportunity to renew our friendship.
Lois does a lot for the community, She has intovative ideas and is extremely reluctant to take no for an answer. That sometimes she ruffles the establishment’s feathers… that’s probably one of the reasons we are still friends.
Well, enough reminiscing… Lois’s letter asks a direct question. Have things changed in our community or am I getting old and complacent about covering them? I think the real answer is… a little of both.
I do think there are some positive trends. I recently read an article that said that the statewide overdose death rate had substantially decreased. That news caught me a little by surprise. I think some of the reason is those who are prone to take drugs are being more careful. I also think law enforcement looks differently at such occurrences than they used to. Education has also played a major role. Regardless of the reasons, things have changed and that is reflected in what we print.
Other factors also contribute. It seems harder to get the news, particularly in a timely fashion. In the past, law enforcement agencies were our best sources. Now for whatever reason, we seldom hear from any agency.
We have always, even in our darkest days, strived to present good news along with the bad in our pages. We have heard our readers when they say… “we hate to get the paper. All that seems to be in it is bad news.” With that in mind, we have always strived to print good news along with the bad. It is our job to keep our readers informed so we can’t ignore the tragedies that occur in our communities. But there are a lot of good thinks that still happen in Braxton County or get their start here… we want to report them as well.
So, yes Lois, I think some things have changed for the better. Obviously, that doesn’t mean other negatives have not come forward for us, as a society, to deal with. So, for 50 years our philosophy hasn’t changed. Lots of things around us surely have.
Now Lois for the answer you want to hear… yes, I am getting older and I don’t run all the EMS and fire calls that I once did and that may contribute to the more positive tone you find in our pages. But, we still work hard to maintain our responsibility of keeping our readership informed!
