The Snoop

Last week the staff of the Douglas County Herald placed a filing cabinet outside adjacent to the lobby entry.  The cabinet is a safety precaution and is intended to be a place for us to deposit newspapers for customers to pick up, as well as a place for customers to drop off requests, news items…

We are all tested throughout life.   Perhaps a test occurred when a parent died or a medical doctor announced a diagnosis of cancer.   Maybe it was news of a serious automobile accident, or injury to a dear friend, a loved one, or child.    No matter where we live or what we believe,…

by Michael Boyink / mike@douglascountyherald.com   “‘Tis surprising to see how rapidly a panic will sometimes run through a country.  All nations and ages have been subject to them.  Britain has trembled like an ague at the report of a French fleet of flat-bottomed boats; and in the fourteenth [fifteenth] century the whole English army, after…

by Michael Boyink / mike@douglascountyherald.com Awareness. Defined as “knowledge or perception of a situation or fact” or “concern about and well-informed interest in a particular situation or development.” One of the job benefits of being a newspaper editor is that I am often approached by private parties, public relations firms, or corporations wanting to get the…

The Douglas County Herald is frequently the recipient of anonymous letters.  These letters may express a grievance against a public official, an annoying neighbor problem, an opinion about a county or city action, or a complaint against a school administrator or teacher –– letters tackle a host of topics.   Most generally, the anonymous write-ups…

Remember our landline phone fiasco? The landline that took four phone calls, nine people, and Facebook to get installed here in Ava? We canceled it. After three months. Mainly because our employment arrangement changed. Initially, MsBoyink and I were working different schedules. Since I don’t carry a cell phone, I wanted the landline in case…

“They’re just so convenient.” I heard that recently on the radio. The DJ was talking about Amazon “Smart Plugs”.  If you haven’t been paying attention to the recent home automation craze, for $25 you can add voice control to any plug in your house. Alexa, turn off the front light. Alexa, turn on the coffee…

“Your opinion piece was biased.” “You should print only fact-based news, not opinion.” It used to be that newspapers were the only way people consumed news, so people were familiar with the different types of articles found in a newspaper. When I read comments like the above, I wonder people if in this day and…

After a recent school-busing related editorial, I received an email that said (among other things), “I have a Master’s degree in Education with 26+ years of experience, yet I make less than most bus drivers.” Two things. First, the numbers. According to 2019-2020 Ava Schools Salary Schedule (posted on the school website), a Masters Degree-holding…