Commentary

By Jim Zachary
Special to the I-R

Beyond the noise of the Beltway and the daily vilification of national media outlets, are community newspapers serving cities, counties and regions throughout the U.S.

Your local newspaper is far from being The Fake News.

Your newspaper is most definitely not The Enemy of the People.

In fact, the paper is the eyes, ears and voice of the people.

The people who work down at the paper are your friends, neighbors or maybe even your relatives.

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Vote yes on school bond issue

Ten years ago, my family moved to the high plains of Kansas. I have always loved the strong “family” atmosphere provided by our local school. I have had children attend and graduate, receiving a quality education. I now have grandchildren attending the same school.

In order for these children to receive the same opportunities to excel in their generation, our schools are in dire need of updating. Leaving the improvement of our buildings to the promises of those running our state, has proven to not be in our best interest.

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Be informed on bond proposal

The USD 112 school district is in the process of informing patrons about an upcoming bond proposal that will appear on the Nov. 6 ballot. The USD 112 school district includes the communities of Bushton, Claflin, Dorrance, Holyrood, Lorraine, and Wilson.

A community committee began the process about a year ago by touring district facilities and determining wants and needs. From that list of wants and needs, the present $8.1 million bond was established.

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One of the joys of this job is getting to know people you might not otherwise have met. Almost 20 years ago now, the telephone on my desk at the Salina Journal rang and on the other end of the line was Wilson’s George Eschbaugh. He had heard Sharon Montague and I planned to start a newspaper in Ellsworth County. He was the Ellsworth County Independent’s first subscriber.

That story comes to mind whenever I think of George. He was an amazing man, someone who encouraged others and supported his community — both its future and its past.

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By Matt Geiger
Special to the I-R

Everything in this newspaper is important to someone. It’s become something of a mantra for me, in recent years.

Weekly community newspapers are eclectic, to say the least. We publish photos of ribbons being cut at bakeries, and donations being dropped off at local food pantries. We print the school honor roll, the court report, and in-depth stories on decisions made by planning commissions and town boards. Sometimes we cover murders, abuse, and horrific car crashes, and when we do our community journalists often experience these tragedies as both reporters and neighbors — as both professionals and human beings. We cover the referendum that will determine whether a new school is built and our readers’ taxes will rise. We publish birth announcements, obituaries, and the various things that, when wedged between those two book ends, make up the lives that make up our communities.

Where’s JV tennis stats?

I do not know to whom this should be directed to but would like an answer.

As parents, grandparents and friends of all JV and Varsity Bearcat sports athletes, we go to support and cheer them on to do their best, win or lose, at home and away games. They all go out and play their best to honor their school and have some fun, too. There are always stat reports from JV football, volleyball and cross country in our local paper. So where are the stats of the matches and accomplishments and rewards received for our JV tennis athletes?

Let’s show all our Bearcat athletes the same support.

Jan Prochaska

Ellsworth

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By "The Cowboy" Jim Gray
THE WAY WEST

Maj. George A. Forsyth was content to ride at the head of his column of “Scouts” while his Chief of Scouts, Grover Sharp, and his second in command, First Lt. Frederick L. Beecher searched for signs of Dog Soldier warriors.

Beecher and Sharp rode side by side 50 yards ahead of Maj. Forsyth at the head of the command. As the post quartermaster at Fort Wallace, Kan., Lt. Beecher worked closely with famed Indian scout and interpreter Medicine Bill Comstock.

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Sherry Brennan
Others Say

Growing up, I hated being on “food stamps.”

I hated being walked into a welfare office and inspected, queried to make sure we were really our mother’s children. I hated standing in line at the grocery store, knowing we weren’t going to be paying with cash, but rather with coupons that would brand us as “poor” to anybody who noticed.

And yet I loved the fact that we had food!

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John Schlageck
Insight

Folks who inhabit tiny towns like Alton, population 98, remain viable because of civic pride and a willingness to give back to their community. For this little village, whose greatest claim to fame remains that of being the birthplace of Russell Stover, civic responsibility is just that — an old, established concept that compels people to work, play and live together in harmony.

Young people study so they can use this knowledge to better their community, school teachers volunteer outside the classroom and farm families donate their time and energy. These contributions help keep their communities moving steadily along like the parade entries in the recent “Summer Jubilee” in this north-central Kansas town.

By "The Cowboy" Jim Gray
THE WAY WEST

Nineteen-year-old Jack Peate was charged with raising civilian scouts to join Forsyth’s Scouts in the Saline and Solomon valleys north of Fort Harker.

That region had suffered a terror-driven raid in August of 1868. Through Peate’s efforts the majority of 32 men signed up to fight Indians at the fort. However, Gen. Philip Sheridan had charged Maj. George A. Forsyth with the task of raising 50 experienced frontiersmen. Having fallen short of the target, Peate returned to the Saline valley.

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