By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
A while back we mentioned that we were going to be bringing you more content from the Associated Press. It was an investment we thought was worthwhile, even if we didn’t use it every week. We think it’s worth the cost because we want to give our print readers news from the state level that we don’t otherwise have the human resources to provide. The AP, however, does have those resources, and they are a well respected and well vetted news source.
You’re going to see some of that content in this issue, as we share information with you about the GOP gubernatorial primary, resources made available to foster care, and – on the national level – news about a Kentucky man sentenced in the January 6 riots. No matter how you feel about the candidates, or the events surrounding January 6, it’s important information to know. The AP newsroom provides that information – in the case of the January 6 conviction what the arguments were and how the judge ruled – and you are free to feel about those arguments and rulings however you like. But you can hold that opinion knowing you’ve had access to the objective facts and the words used by the participants.
In the case of the governor’s race, how you personally feel about funding and financing of campaigns is up to you – but the AP story, once again, can offer those facts and assertions to help you develop an informed opinion instead of just an opinion.
This isn’t going to be a regular thing. Local news will always take precedence – but if you enjoy this addition you can find these stories on your own at apnews.com those weeks we don’t run them in our print edition.
You may have also noticed that we’ve added a semi-regular religion column from Sling ‘n Stone Ministries. It’s one of the items that, while not hard news, we feel matches the interests and values of our readers. We’d love to have contributions from other ministers and ministries as well, and if your church has events coming up, please let us know so we can add them to our community calendar.
We’d also like to know how you feel about these additions to our content. If there is something you want to see more of, let us know. Our first commitment is always going to be to local news – crime, government, community events, etc. – but we realize the operative term in community newspaper is “community” and we want to both serve ours and help build it up.
We’re going to have more manpower to help with that too, very soon.
We’ve already added a sports and education writer. Miranda Lewis is doing a fantastic job of helping expand coverage in those two areas, as well as jumping in anywhere she’s needed, including helping with our website and – at least this week – delivery! We couldn’t be happier with the work Miranda is doing, and have to give her a big thank you for her help. I’ll forever be grateful to her mother for pulling me aside and saying, “you know, my daughter likes to write.”
Miranda will be joined beginning this week by Amy Oakley. Amy, who is studying journalism at the University of Kentucky, is joining us as an intern for the summer and will be helping with coverage of various community events, as well as some local government coverage when I’m not available.
I’m throwing her in the deep end with fiscal court and Grayson council this week, so look for her coverage on those in next week’s edition.
Condolences
Finally, we need to offer our condolences to one of our regular contributors.
For those of you who appreciate our agriculture news, you’ve probably already noticed you didn’t see Rebecca Konopka’s column this week. Rebecca, our local agricultural extension agent, suffered a tragic loss last week. As many of you may have already heard – the extension agency has released a statement – Rebecca lost her husband Philip. Philip, who served as extension agent in neighboring Lewis County, lost his life following an automobile accident on the AA highway Wednesday morning.
There was no question that there would be no column this week. We knew that immediately. It’s the last of her concerns, and the last of ours.
I cannot claim to be a close friend of the Konopka family, but I’ve found Rebecca to be very kind, very helpful, and a great resource to myself and the community. Her columns have been a feature since the start of our newspaper, and are not only an integral part of our commitment to focus on content relevant to readers in Carter County, they helped inform it.
Our prayers are with her, her family, and the extended professional families of both agencies.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com