We need your news

Many kids have three favorite things about school; June, July and August. This time of year they get itchy to get outside and play.

Many of us teachers get an itch too. We start worrying about what kind of job we’re going to get for the summer.

When I was 14, I was chomping at the bit to find a job. By Senior year, it became a necessary evil. Working wasn’t so bad, but trying to find someone who was willing to hire you for 12 weeks, THAT was torture. Filling out applications, going to interviews.

Yesterday I interviewed for the new publishers of the Charter Oak-Ute NEWSpaper and the Schleswig LEADER. And much to my relief, Missouri Valley Times-News, Inc. decided to hire me for this summer. They’d also like me to try to send as much news and photos as I can in the mean time.

Of course, I have a lot of school year left and I can only do so much. We have a lot of Yearbook deadlines to go at Boyer Valley. But especially this summer, I want to help make this the best newspaper possible.

So, if you live in the Charter Oak, Ute, Ricketts, Schleswig, or Soldier areas and have an idea for a story, your own write-up, or photos... please let me know.

If you would like to visit my web log at “http://tedscolumn.blogspot.com” you can click on the link on the top-right of the page:

Where it says “Click here to send me a news tip for the COU NEWSpaper or Schleswig LEADER.”

Of course, right now you can still contact Sandy at the Ute office: 712-885-2247

Or, let Ann, Cathy, and Michelle, at the main office in Mapleton know: 712-885-2247

Fax 712-881-1330

mpress@longlines.com

You can also drop things off at the Hoffman Agency in Charter Oak, the NEWSpaper office in Ute, the LEADER office in Schleswig, or of course the PRESS office in Mapleton.

I’d love your feed back on this column. If you ever want to write a letter to the editor about it, just send it to mpress@longlines.com or leave it at one of the locations above. If you want to comment about anything on my web log, all you have to do is click on the “Comments” link that’s underneath each post

Also on that web site, just under the drop-down jump menu is a guest book.

If you visit online, please, say hello, leave a comment, and (only if you want to) your e-mail address.

You can search through two years of my columns online. One way is to click on the month & year links on the right side under the heading “Archives.” But there’s another easy way to search by topic. It’s the handy navigation bar on the top of the page.

If you’re interested in starting your own online journal, that navigation bar has a way for you to sign up. It’s free, and there are templates that they walk you through so it’s easy too. Think of it as your way of getting that “15 minutes of fame” Andy Warhol promised us all back in the 60’s.

If you’re interested in seeing any of my artwork and photography, reading about how I came to be a cheerleading coach, or keep up with what the Youth Fellowship (LYF) is doing at St. John Lutheran in Charter Oak, you can “jump” to other blogs that I have by using a simple drop-down menu on the right side of the page:

I hope you enjoy surfing the web and reading this column.

I know that Missouri Valley Times-News, Inc. and the staff in Mapleton want the Charter Oak- Ute and Schleswig newspapers to be the best that they can be. I’m looking forward to doing my part this summer, but remember the success of these papers depends on all of us. Please send us your news.