Speaking Personally, Five years of this whirlwind

“Together, we’re like Sharknado in a trailer park. We can do anything.”

 

My husband Ron said those words to me as we folded toddler laundry and discussed a crazy, out-of-the blue opportunity. Five years ago, we had a chance to buy a local newspaper, this local newspaper. Ron’s words-- inspiring, irreverent, and fittingly chaotic – somehow perfectly sum up this adventure. It was also a more relevant pop culture reference then.

 

The issue in your hands is our 250th edition. Ron and I have been bringing you the Howell County News for five years today. 

 

Five is a pleasing, round number but before I say another word, I must first pay tribute to the eighteen years of hard work that made this possible. Former owner and publisher Kim Rich started Howell County News from scratch in 2001 and ran this publication with such class and integrity that her reputation opened doors for Ron and me from day one. Thank you, Kim, for trusting us with the legacy you built. 

 

Back to the Sharknado. 

 

The chaos has been relentless. In the beginning, I would stay up all night typing court news and other public records. For the first two weeks, we didn’t even have a delivery driver. Ron and I, with our two young children, delivered all the rack papers ourselves.

 

Now, we have office staff, reporters covering both Mountain View and West Plains, sports stringers, haulers, and columnists. We have twice as many children than when we began. 

 

Somehow, I went from someone who had never even used the word “byline” to an award-winning journalist whose work has been recognized throughout the state and by an international society. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you accept God’s plan with reckless abandon. I don’t know how else to explain the success we have found. 

 

Newspapering can be a tough business, but people are craving authenticity. For us, authenticity has meant the use of this opinion page. When you first read about the news, you’ll get the facts as straight as we can write them. No embellishments.

 

But if I have an educated opinion about a news story, you will find it on this page. In the beginning, I shied away from giving opinions, but I soon discovered that when news stories tell the truth one hundred percent of the time, I will make enemies.

 

I’ll never forget the time I asked some routine questions about the proceeds of a successful football fundraiser, and the coach’s wife called me, unsolicited, to tell me it was “none of my business.” Later, that coach stalked into my office. He threw the requested records on my desk and scolded me for investigating, “this more than the Kennedy assassination.”

 

Just as I suspected, there was nothing amiss. But the harpooner is seldom cherished by the whales (sharks?), and nothing will make me work harder than telling me something is none of my business. It’s literally the business I operate in this town. 

 

Back then, I only reported the news of that interaction. I didn’t give my opinion, and I have always regretted it. When I pursue the stories that everyone is talking about in the grocery store line and at feed store counters, those folks have already formed an opinion. I like to think my opinion adds value to the conversation. 

 

I have published many a news story that felt like unleashing a tornado full of sharks, but even my spiciest opinions seem to nestle into the heart of this community. I hope that is because they are so authentically and fervently spoken. 

 

Every person I’ve met in the past five years has given me something to help me along the way. For better or worse, I learn every day. I have a grateful heart and a mind bubbling over with interest in this county, its people, and its politics. 

 

Thank you for reading. Thank you for your support and your trust. It means everything to me.

 

If there’s ever anything I can do for you, you know where to find me. Stop by the news office, call 417-252-2123, or email editor@howellcountynews.com.