I wrote about the challenges of running a newspaper in a small town a couple of weeks ago.
One new one came about since our change from locally subscriber requested to total market coverage. It is from local readers who don’t want a newspaper in their post office boxes for such reasons as it piles up or they would rather read it online.
I’m sorry, folk. Unfortunately, in order to keep our postal permit and rates low, we cannot pick and choose which boxes get newspapers. It is all or nothing.
Luckily, the majority of you are pleased to get the local news and are finding yourselves getting more educated about local issues that concern you.
I saw recently a discussion on social media about a story we ran reporting an upcoming reduction in sheriff’s deputies for unincorporated areas of the county. This certainly will affect issues of crime in our area, as well as snow crises.
Putting pressure on those making the decisions about this may help prevent this from happening. Talk to Riverside County 3rd District Supervisor Chuck Washington’s office. He, too, is concerned. (See story on page A1.)
If ever it is a time to reach out to our politicians, it is now. We’re seeing a tremendous surge of that going on because of current Washington politics.
At the local level, your voices succeeded in replacing two incumbents in 2015 at Idyllwild Water District, and causing three other directors and its general manager to resign. (You know that when an employee such as GM Tom Lynch leaves without giving proper and respectful notice, he didn’t belong there in the first place.)
Because of your voices, we now have GM Jack Hoagland in place who provides transparency and is forthcoming. And some of you whose voices spoke out against that board and GM volunteered to step up to the plate and take seats on that board. That’s a good democratic republic at its finest.
So, keep putting your voices out there.
• • •
We’ve had a bit of respite from the snow lately with some wonderful rain storms and a few clear, sunny days. But, just as what occurred last year, our staff didn’t escape the hazards of winter.
Between rotten, long-lasting colds and slips on the ice, we’ve felt a bit crippled here at the office, and I heard a few groans when we saw the forecast of snow again this weekend.
Not only might that mean digging out of berms, power outages or icy surfaces, but hordes of folk coming up to play in the fresh snow, blocking our driveways, trashing our turn-outs and private property, creating traffic hazards, and showing general rudeness and disrespectfulness.
A team of concerned citizens organized to address these issues following my appeal in this column some weeks back. We all will look forward to hearing their progress soon.
Go, snow team. Keep your voices heard; even when the weather is good. Maybe like we did with the Fire Safe Council and the Art Alliance, we’ll set standards for other communities in need of help.
Here at the TC, we all keep plugging along, doing our best to bring you the news of the town, and providing fax, graphic design and photocopy services, and vehicles to advertise your businesses, properties, legal notices, etc.
We all have each other’s backs, taking each obstacle as a challenge to quash.
Becky Clark, Editor
