It should be a busy time being a reporter for a Lamar newspaper these days.
As The Joplin Globe noted in its Sunday edition, rumors are rampant about O'Sullivan Industries and a meeting is being set up between company officials and state officials to discuss the situation.
As I reported earlier today, after a long wait, former Barton County Memorial Hospital finance director Kim Schlup is finally coming to trial later this month on theft charges for allegedly embezzling money from the hospital.
The annual Lamar Free Fair is scheduled for later this month and feature possibilities are plentiful.
This coming week marks the 60th anniversary of the day Lamar's most famous native son President Harry S Truman made a decision that changed the world forever when he gave the order to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
That's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to stories:
-As reported on this blog, accused double murderer Micah Holman has an upcoming court date in Lamar.
-How are companies like Thorco, Epoch, and Finley Engineering doing?
-What is the financial situation facing the Lamar R-1 School District as we near the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year?
Yes, there are stories that go on even when the hospital board is not meeting or meth labs are not being busted.
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How ironic is it that the lead story in the Saturday Democrat was "Missouri economy adds over 10,000 jobs?" Of course, that was a news release, word for word, with no credit given from the Department of Economic Development. A sidebar explaining how this fits in with the reality in Barton County would seem to be a must.
Below that story was another word-for-word release from the department, in which a person appointed by Governor Matt Blunt has someone who works for him write a story praising the governor and the state legislature. This is taken directly from the article. "The final passage of the Missouri Quality Jobs Act along with Gov. Matt Blunt's signing of tort reform and workers' compensation reform into law provides new ways to create and attract jobs while also creating a fairer climate for business."
That may be so, but that is strictly opinion, and the way it is presented gives it the appearance of having the Democrat stamp of approval (the newspaper, not the party). More of the same is featured later in the article.
The only Lamar story on page one involves changes in the railroad crossing south of O'Sullivan Industries. That is worthy of page one, but it should definitely not be the sole Lamar article.
The front page also features a long article about the Golden City Park Board, definitely worthy of inclusion in the newspaper, but not on its front page.
You should be right Randy, BUT don't expect too much.What should of been front page news 4-12-05 didn't even get ink put to paper! Lamar's biggest attraction, H.S Truman becoming President 60 years to the day went without notice!I even called 2 days before to remind them. My fault! I didn't include an article for them to report verbatim
ReplyDeleteThey also missed the boat last year on the 60th anniversary of Truman's return to Lamar to accept the vice presidential nomination. On a related topic, the Davises have kept the original Truman Pageant from being performed again because I wrote it. I would sure love to see that performed again before some original people who were in it are no longer available to play those roles.
ReplyDeleteBut you've got to remember to expect NOTHING from them....they are after all "The Democrap"
ReplyDeleteAlso the front page article about the new rail road crossing was about 4 days late. That was something that should have been put in the briefs about a week earlier. I ran those darn things twice in 1 day not realizing that they were there.
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