By Dave Helisek
Contributing writer
Community is a nice term to describe a group of people living in proximity and under the same laws. I always think of community in broader terms, as in a group of people looking out for the best interests of the surrounding area. Community to me also means the same group of people trying to do the best for their area and neighbors.
With times as rough as they are now we have chances to help our community in small but meaningful ways nearly every week in our little town. Mainly I'm speaking about the fundraiser dinners that occur frequently in our town. Emmanuel Church has its monthly dinners going on now; the food is always good. The Boy Scouts also have their monthly chili dog fundraiser at Manchester United Methodist Church; good dogs and nachos at a good price. St. Mary's has just ended their unique potato and fixings meal on Wednesdays during Lent.
This week will be the last fish fry held at the American Legion for this year. After a rough first week,the fry has come together very nicely. The Manchester Area Friends group and Stockwell’s Dinner & Catering Tonight have banded together with other community groups to continue a community of Manchester tradition.
The fish fry has been around for 30 years; it was held on Main Street at Emmanuel Church for a few years and was sponsored by the Manchester Knights of Columbus for many years, and most recently by St. Mary's Parish. It always has been good to break the winter blahs and see the members of our community come together at this event.
This year the Manchester Area Friends invited other groups to come in and help with the dinner. So far the after prom committee, the Manchester High School Class of 2011, the Manchester Community Schools Foundation and the Manchester Knights of Columbus responded. The profits from the fry go back into our community, so lets have a great turnout this Friday.
Also coming up this week will be the annual tootsie roll drive sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. It is a statewide event that raises monies for the care of the mentally impaired citizens of our communities who must be institutionalized. It is a great cause for those that can't help themselves.Finally, in our little town there will be solicitations occurring to help support the annual Community Resource Center/ Chamber of Commerce golf tournament. This money goes back into our town and other articles will cover it in more depth. It is tough times, but if we help each other and support our town, we all benefit in the end.
Monday, March 30, 2009
The future is uncertain
On Friday, as the five-0-clock hour approached, I was eagerly anticipating a weekend of relaxation and rest with my friends and girlfriend. However, those plans were quickly interupted with constant bombardment of gloom and doom news concerning the future of newspapers. Everywhere I went, friends and family kept asking me about my job and questions like, "Have you heard The Ann Arbor News" is closing? These comments, coupled by comments here locally about how the pressure is on us now to get more local news in the Enterprise, has created an interesting combination of stress and insomnia.
Yes, I am aware of what is going on in the world of journalism today. Yes, I am aware that newspapers are closing and journalists continue to lose their jobs. Is there anything I can do about it? I thought about this question as I laid awake in my bed last night, tossing and turning and trying to fall asleep.
I, as well as my collegues in Heritage Newspapers, work tirelessly to bring news to our readers as often as we can. With layoffs, more responsibilities are loaded onto the laps of editors, making our jobs tougher. What do we face in the future? My guess is as good as anyone else's.
I am certain, eventually this economic downturn will turn around and newspapers will see better days, I just hope its soon.
I will be the first to say, fear of the unkown is a scary thought. Hopefully, it won't continue to keep me up at night.
Yes, I am aware of what is going on in the world of journalism today. Yes, I am aware that newspapers are closing and journalists continue to lose their jobs. Is there anything I can do about it? I thought about this question as I laid awake in my bed last night, tossing and turning and trying to fall asleep.
I, as well as my collegues in Heritage Newspapers, work tirelessly to bring news to our readers as often as we can. With layoffs, more responsibilities are loaded onto the laps of editors, making our jobs tougher. What do we face in the future? My guess is as good as anyone else's.
I am certain, eventually this economic downturn will turn around and newspapers will see better days, I just hope its soon.
I will be the first to say, fear of the unkown is a scary thought. Hopefully, it won't continue to keep me up at night.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Pictures to purchase
Alot of people have been asking for over a year now on how to purchase pictures published in The Enterprise. First, I must apologize that it took us this long to begin uploading pictures for purchase. There were several factors hindering our ability to upload photos to the Micapture on our Web site. Beginning this week, photos featured in the news, community and sports sections will be available for purchase at www.manchesterenterprise.com
For questions on photo purchases, e-mail editor@manchesterenterprise.com
Thanks
~D.L.
For questions on photo purchases, e-mail editor@manchesterenterprise.com
Thanks
~D.L.
Culinary student wins gold medal
The art of cooking has become a competitive sport for local resident Carl Provey. He describes his recent gold medal win at the Skills USA Team Banquet at Schoolcraft College in terms of a two-hour race, complete with heart-palpitating moments.
“When the two hours started, we put things in the refrigerator so we didn’t break violations. We didn’t start cooking until the last hour and 15 minutes. I baked the chicken and poached the shrimp, and when it came down to the last three minutes, my heart was pounding because I had one shrimp cocktail prepared, and had to make three more,” he said.
The Skills USA Team Banquet was held March 6. Provey said it felt good to win a medal.
“We went in as underdogs. I didn’t feel prepared. When we found out, our whole team was in shock,” he said.
Provey attends a culinary arts program in Saline for three hours as part of a co-op class at Manchester High School.
During the competition, he belonged to a five-member team that also consisted of students from Milan and Dexter. Each member of the team consisted of a waiter, head chef, utility cook, pastry chef and sous chef. They divided up the menu as to which dish they would each prepare.
All cooking supplies, utensils and pots and pans were the responsibility of the students to provide, while the college provided the ovens.
The menu included shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, lemon pepper chicken, green beans with almonds, rice pilaf and chocolate-vanilla cream pie.
Two teams competed in the event, and the teams were allowed to choose their own menu.
“In the beginning, two hours seemed like a lot of time,” Provey said. “I didn’t get nervous until the last three minutes.”
He said that he had competed in events in the past, but this was his first year for a gold medal. Another of his competitions allowed no electrical equipment to be used to make the recipes, and they group had made seafood stew.
Provey said that he is planning to continue his education. He wants to become a master chef, though he added that there are very few culinary students in the world who hold such a prestigious title.
“I’m striving to have my own restaurant, and to be a certified master chef. I am not sure how many years that will take,” he said.
His favorite dishes contain pork, and he said he likes to prepare them for his family during special occasions.
Provey is considering Washtenaw Community College, Schoolcraft and Baker College after he graduates, and he is planning to enter more culinary contests in the future.
“When the two hours started, we put things in the refrigerator so we didn’t break violations. We didn’t start cooking until the last hour and 15 minutes. I baked the chicken and poached the shrimp, and when it came down to the last three minutes, my heart was pounding because I had one shrimp cocktail prepared, and had to make three more,” he said.
The Skills USA Team Banquet was held March 6. Provey said it felt good to win a medal.
“We went in as underdogs. I didn’t feel prepared. When we found out, our whole team was in shock,” he said.
Provey attends a culinary arts program in Saline for three hours as part of a co-op class at Manchester High School.
During the competition, he belonged to a five-member team that also consisted of students from Milan and Dexter. Each member of the team consisted of a waiter, head chef, utility cook, pastry chef and sous chef. They divided up the menu as to which dish they would each prepare.
All cooking supplies, utensils and pots and pans were the responsibility of the students to provide, while the college provided the ovens.
The menu included shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, lemon pepper chicken, green beans with almonds, rice pilaf and chocolate-vanilla cream pie.
Two teams competed in the event, and the teams were allowed to choose their own menu.
“In the beginning, two hours seemed like a lot of time,” Provey said. “I didn’t get nervous until the last three minutes.”
He said that he had competed in events in the past, but this was his first year for a gold medal. Another of his competitions allowed no electrical equipment to be used to make the recipes, and they group had made seafood stew.
Provey said that he is planning to continue his education. He wants to become a master chef, though he added that there are very few culinary students in the world who hold such a prestigious title.
“I’m striving to have my own restaurant, and to be a certified master chef. I am not sure how many years that will take,” he said.
His favorite dishes contain pork, and he said he likes to prepare them for his family during special occasions.
Provey is considering Washtenaw Community College, Schoolcraft and Baker College after he graduates, and he is planning to enter more culinary contests in the future.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Decisions, Decisions
I am debating on whether or not I want to make my way over to the Manchester Area Friends' Lenten Fish Fry tonight at the American Legion. I am not a huge fan of fish, but being Catholic, no meat on Fridays leaves me with limited choices.I do need to go over there and take some pictures.
I also gave up anything sweet for Lent. Anyone that knows me, knows I am a sucker for sweets. It has definitely been a challenge not to indulge on my cravings for chocolate or ice cream or cookies. And yes, to be honest, there have been some days where I forgot that I wasn't eating these delicious foods till Easter.
I guess it could be worse. My brother's fiancee has given up a lot tasty food than I have for the next several weeks. Good luck with that.
D. Lai
I also gave up anything sweet for Lent. Anyone that knows me, knows I am a sucker for sweets. It has definitely been a challenge not to indulge on my cravings for chocolate or ice cream or cookies. And yes, to be honest, there have been some days where I forgot that I wasn't eating these delicious foods till Easter.
I guess it could be worse. My brother's fiancee has given up a lot tasty food than I have for the next several weeks. Good luck with that.
D. Lai
Friday the 13th not so ordinary
It’s a rarity to have a Friday fall on the 13th day of the month. In fact some consider leaving their home on Friday the 13th can bring bad luck. And I’m not talking about the kind of bad luck campers at Crystal Lake faced in the classic horror series penned by Victor Miller.
The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute estimates that more than 17 million people are affected by a fear of the day. Throughout the periods of history, from ancient to present, people have feared what they didn't understand. They turned and even depended on many things to explain various phenomenon happening around them. From religion to science, people have tried to satisfy their puzzled minds. Some, however, accepted these phenomena and simply took up practices to protect themselves from them.
Known as superstitions, these curious rituals have continued to fascinate us, and some are still even practiced by some people. Since the 13th day of the month fell on a Friday for both February and March, I decided to research the origins of some of our more popular superstitions.
Have you ever found yourself knocking on a piece of wood when telling a story or telling someone “God bless you” when they sneeze?
When some of us mention something good that has happened or that we expect to happen, we knock twice on a piece of wood (or some plywood with a thin layer of fake 'wood' or plastic with a wood design.) Why do we do this? Once, in the tides of time, trees were thought to be the homes of the gods. To be granted a favor, a person would nicely ask their diety and touch the bark of the tree (first knock). Then knock once more to signify a polite 'Thank you' (second knock).
As far as blessing someone when they sneeze, that origin began during the sixth century. It was customary to congratulate people who sneezed because they were expelling evil from their bodies. Later, when a great plague took hold of Europe, and people began sneezing violently, the Pope passed a law. Since sneezing meant that the person was going to die of plague, people were required to bless the sneezer.
Besides the obvious consequences, warnings of walking under a ladder have always been one of my favorite superstitions. In ancient times, a leaning ladder against a wall (with the floor and the wall) or opened (with the floor) forms a triangle. Some people believe the triangle was considered with symbol of life or the Holy Trinity; if one walked through a triangle of any kind, they were tempting the fates.
The same principle applies to breaking a mirror. Before the invention of mirrors, man gazed at his reflection or "soul," in pools, ponds and lakes. If the image was distorted, it was a mark of impending disaster.
The "unbreakable" metal mirrors of the early Egyptians and Greeks were valued items because of their magical properties. After glass mirrors were introduced, it was the Romans who tagged the broken mirror a sign of bad luck. The length of the prescribed misfortune, seven years, came from the Roman belief that man's body was physically rejuvenated every seven years, and he became, in effect, a new man.
Fear of Friday and the number 13 are also rooted in ancient Christianity. Scholars believe that Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden on a Friday, Noah's flood started on a Friday and Christ was crucified on a Friday. Christians also noted that the number 13 represents the 13 disciples at Christ’s Last Supper including his betrayer, Judas Iscariot.
After watching one of my favorite movies, “Dumb & Dumber,” I remember a specific scene in which Lloyd (played by Jim Carrey) tells Harry (played by Jeff Daniels) to throw salt over his left shoulder after spilling it on the table. Where did this superstition come from?
Although some people believe that Judas Iscariot spilt salt during Christ’s Last Supper, this claim can't be proven. Salt was a very precious expensive commodity in the middle ages. It was also used for medicinal purposes. If someone spilled any salt, they were told to immediately throw it over their left shoulder to strike the nasty spirits in the eye, thus preventing sickness.Now that we know the origins of some common superstitions, walking outside on Friday the 13th doesn’t seem all that paralyzing.
The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute estimates that more than 17 million people are affected by a fear of the day. Throughout the periods of history, from ancient to present, people have feared what they didn't understand. They turned and even depended on many things to explain various phenomenon happening around them. From religion to science, people have tried to satisfy their puzzled minds. Some, however, accepted these phenomena and simply took up practices to protect themselves from them.
Known as superstitions, these curious rituals have continued to fascinate us, and some are still even practiced by some people. Since the 13th day of the month fell on a Friday for both February and March, I decided to research the origins of some of our more popular superstitions.
Have you ever found yourself knocking on a piece of wood when telling a story or telling someone “God bless you” when they sneeze?
When some of us mention something good that has happened or that we expect to happen, we knock twice on a piece of wood (or some plywood with a thin layer of fake 'wood' or plastic with a wood design.) Why do we do this? Once, in the tides of time, trees were thought to be the homes of the gods. To be granted a favor, a person would nicely ask their diety and touch the bark of the tree (first knock). Then knock once more to signify a polite 'Thank you' (second knock).
As far as blessing someone when they sneeze, that origin began during the sixth century. It was customary to congratulate people who sneezed because they were expelling evil from their bodies. Later, when a great plague took hold of Europe, and people began sneezing violently, the Pope passed a law. Since sneezing meant that the person was going to die of plague, people were required to bless the sneezer.
Besides the obvious consequences, warnings of walking under a ladder have always been one of my favorite superstitions. In ancient times, a leaning ladder against a wall (with the floor and the wall) or opened (with the floor) forms a triangle. Some people believe the triangle was considered with symbol of life or the Holy Trinity; if one walked through a triangle of any kind, they were tempting the fates.
The same principle applies to breaking a mirror. Before the invention of mirrors, man gazed at his reflection or "soul," in pools, ponds and lakes. If the image was distorted, it was a mark of impending disaster.
The "unbreakable" metal mirrors of the early Egyptians and Greeks were valued items because of their magical properties. After glass mirrors were introduced, it was the Romans who tagged the broken mirror a sign of bad luck. The length of the prescribed misfortune, seven years, came from the Roman belief that man's body was physically rejuvenated every seven years, and he became, in effect, a new man.
Fear of Friday and the number 13 are also rooted in ancient Christianity. Scholars believe that Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden on a Friday, Noah's flood started on a Friday and Christ was crucified on a Friday. Christians also noted that the number 13 represents the 13 disciples at Christ’s Last Supper including his betrayer, Judas Iscariot.
After watching one of my favorite movies, “Dumb & Dumber,” I remember a specific scene in which Lloyd (played by Jim Carrey) tells Harry (played by Jeff Daniels) to throw salt over his left shoulder after spilling it on the table. Where did this superstition come from?
Although some people believe that Judas Iscariot spilt salt during Christ’s Last Supper, this claim can't be proven. Salt was a very precious expensive commodity in the middle ages. It was also used for medicinal purposes. If someone spilled any salt, they were told to immediately throw it over their left shoulder to strike the nasty spirits in the eye, thus preventing sickness.Now that we know the origins of some common superstitions, walking outside on Friday the 13th doesn’t seem all that paralyzing.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Tourney snub exposes flaws in system
By Ed Patino
So tell me if this sounds right.
A team finishes with a 27-1-1 record, the best in the country. It wins it's regular season conference championship outright for the second time in as many years. Then, it outscores its opponents 33-7 over four games to win the conference tournament, again. The team had been ranked in the top 10 nationally throughout most of the season.
And this team is not selected to participate in the NCAA Division III hockey national tournament.
So how can a team with these credentials not make the "big dance?" If you find an answer, please tell the Adrian College men's hockey team. They'd sure like to know.
Now I know what you're thinking. Ed, you're a jersey-wearing, flag-waving Adrian College alum, so how can you be objective here? Yes, I'm an Adrian guy through and through, but even the Bulldogs' detractors have to acknowledge something isn't quite right about a 27-1-1 team staying home.
Especially when you look at some of the records of those who qualified for the tournament. The No. 1 seed, Plattsburgh State, has 24 wins. Five teams have fewer than 20 wins (Gustavus Adolphus, Elmira, Neumann, Hobart and Babson), and two of them have 10 or more losses.
The selection process for Division III college hockey is a tricky thing. There are only 11 spots in the tournament, six of which go to conference champions and five are at-large bids.
Ah, the first issue ... at-large bids. Adrian's league, the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association, does not have an automatic qualifier to the tournament. But why? There are eight teams in the league. They play a regular season and conference tournament like the others. In Adrian's case, it won both titles this season, and last season when it finished 26-3 and was shut out of a bid.
Adrian's football conference, the MIAA, didn't have an automatic qualifier back in the day, but that's because they only had six teams. It now has seven teams, and the champion gets an automatic NCAA berth.
On a side note, the MCHA is currently working on a way to get the "AQ" for next year, though 2010-11 sounds more likely.
So we've established that the MCHA champion must earn an at-large berth. Here's another question: What more does Adrian have to do? Did I mention they won 27 of 29 games? In the program's two-year existence, the Bulldogs are 53-4-1. They've led the nation in offense, defense, goals-against average, and boast three of the nation's top scorers.
Another sticking point is strength of schedule. Okay, Adrian does play in a league where only two or three other teams finish with winning records. Its strength of schedule, which according to most NCAA pundits, ranks near the bottom of the country. That, they say, is why Adrian is beating up its competition so convincingly.
Here's where I have to defend my alma mater. This year, Adrian coach Ron Fogarty made some offers to "upper-caliber" teams from the East Coast. Only Neumann accepted. Is there a fear that Adrian will beat these "powerhouses" and disrupt the establishment? It makes you wonder. And if schedule strength is weighted in, how strong is Babson's conference if they can win it with a 13-13-1 record? Yes, a .500 team is in, while a .931 team is out.
That would be like telling the Manchester wrestling team that it went through a weaker region, so the Dutchmen (33-4) would stay home while six or seven teams from another district got to compete in the team state tournament.
Under this rule, stories like Boise State and Utah in college football, and Davidson in basketball last year would never exist
For the record, Adrian has done nothing illegal. There are no probations, sanctions or recruiting violations against the Bulldogs. In two years, all they've done is win. And all they've done is watched the national tournament from the sidelines.
So go ahead, NCAA, have your little tournament. And since we're in the mood to put asterisks next to everything, put one next to this year's "national champion." They didn't compete in a tournament with the nation's best team in it.
So tell me if this sounds right.
A team finishes with a 27-1-1 record, the best in the country. It wins it's regular season conference championship outright for the second time in as many years. Then, it outscores its opponents 33-7 over four games to win the conference tournament, again. The team had been ranked in the top 10 nationally throughout most of the season.
And this team is not selected to participate in the NCAA Division III hockey national tournament.
So how can a team with these credentials not make the "big dance?" If you find an answer, please tell the Adrian College men's hockey team. They'd sure like to know.
Now I know what you're thinking. Ed, you're a jersey-wearing, flag-waving Adrian College alum, so how can you be objective here? Yes, I'm an Adrian guy through and through, but even the Bulldogs' detractors have to acknowledge something isn't quite right about a 27-1-1 team staying home.
Especially when you look at some of the records of those who qualified for the tournament. The No. 1 seed, Plattsburgh State, has 24 wins. Five teams have fewer than 20 wins (Gustavus Adolphus, Elmira, Neumann, Hobart and Babson), and two of them have 10 or more losses.
The selection process for Division III college hockey is a tricky thing. There are only 11 spots in the tournament, six of which go to conference champions and five are at-large bids.
Ah, the first issue ... at-large bids. Adrian's league, the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association, does not have an automatic qualifier to the tournament. But why? There are eight teams in the league. They play a regular season and conference tournament like the others. In Adrian's case, it won both titles this season, and last season when it finished 26-3 and was shut out of a bid.
Adrian's football conference, the MIAA, didn't have an automatic qualifier back in the day, but that's because they only had six teams. It now has seven teams, and the champion gets an automatic NCAA berth.
On a side note, the MCHA is currently working on a way to get the "AQ" for next year, though 2010-11 sounds more likely.
So we've established that the MCHA champion must earn an at-large berth. Here's another question: What more does Adrian have to do? Did I mention they won 27 of 29 games? In the program's two-year existence, the Bulldogs are 53-4-1. They've led the nation in offense, defense, goals-against average, and boast three of the nation's top scorers.
Another sticking point is strength of schedule. Okay, Adrian does play in a league where only two or three other teams finish with winning records. Its strength of schedule, which according to most NCAA pundits, ranks near the bottom of the country. That, they say, is why Adrian is beating up its competition so convincingly.
Here's where I have to defend my alma mater. This year, Adrian coach Ron Fogarty made some offers to "upper-caliber" teams from the East Coast. Only Neumann accepted. Is there a fear that Adrian will beat these "powerhouses" and disrupt the establishment? It makes you wonder. And if schedule strength is weighted in, how strong is Babson's conference if they can win it with a 13-13-1 record? Yes, a .500 team is in, while a .931 team is out.
That would be like telling the Manchester wrestling team that it went through a weaker region, so the Dutchmen (33-4) would stay home while six or seven teams from another district got to compete in the team state tournament.
Under this rule, stories like Boise State and Utah in college football, and Davidson in basketball last year would never exist
For the record, Adrian has done nothing illegal. There are no probations, sanctions or recruiting violations against the Bulldogs. In two years, all they've done is win. And all they've done is watched the national tournament from the sidelines.
So go ahead, NCAA, have your little tournament. And since we're in the mood to put asterisks next to everything, put one next to this year's "national champion." They didn't compete in a tournament with the nation's best team in it.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Writing to us
Last week, public unrest concerning a letter to the editor published in the Feb. 26 edition of The Manchester Enterprise caused quite a stir. Though the Enterprise is not retracting this letter, I, as editor, felt the situation could be used as a springboard to better explain how letters to the editor are handled.
The particular letter I am talking about involved concerns over the Enterprise’s lack of coverage of the competitive cheerleading team and overabundance of coverage of the football team. Though the letter’s author did not indicate his intention to not have it published, that intent was conveyed to the editorial staff after the fact.
Letters to the editor are a tricky beast in themselves –– any newspaper no matter how big or small will tell you the same thing. It is our policy to accept any letter submitted no matter how positive or negative its tone may be (including letters that question or complain about the Enterprise or its staff).
Because any letter to the editor represents the opinion of someone and because these letters are published on the opinion page, the duty of the editor is not to question or censor someone’s opinion.
However, once a letter comes to our office, it is our responsibility to fact check the letter for accuracy (if the letter is addressing a particular person, place or business), edit the letter for length and grammar as well as coherency.
It is also our policy now, following this incident, to confirm the author’s intent of the letter. To this effect, I acknowledge better communication between the letter’s author and my office could have prevented this private letter to the editorial staff from being printed.
In the future, we request all letters that are brought to our office before, during or after business hours, be signed by the letter’s author. The letter must also include the author’s printed name, address and phone number. Every attempt will be made to contact the letter’s author before publication. If the letter is a complaint or a personal observation about an individual, place, or business, the letter’s author must return the newspaper’s phone call confirming authorship before the letter can be published. If any of the above mentioned criteria are not meant, the letter will be given a nice home in our “dead letters” file.
This is our policy moving forward.
Also, any author who submits a letter to the editor with defamatory undertones will not be published. Those letters that may include blatant accusations of a person, place or business, must have documented proof to support their argument. Careless letters of malicious or facetious intent (including letters about any staff member of the Enterprise) will not be tolerated.
On a separate but similar note, I feel also compelled to address the myriad “thank you” letters we receive.
Unfortunately, it is the policy of the company that letters which address thank you’s to several businesses for their contribution to a fundraiser –– be it a nonprofit group, school or community-sponsored event –– are not a letter to the editor. Letters thanking businesses for their financial or in-kind donations are considered “thank you” ads and are not free (the amount for these ads varies depending on the size of the ad requested by the paying customer).
I understand this policy can be frustrating for some groups. However, please understand the newspaper is a business just like a restaurant, grocery store, pharmacy or gift shop is. And just like these businesses, the newspaper needs to make money in order to remain viable. Otherwise, these letters provide free advertising to businesses, which has not been pre-negotiated with our ad department.
The policy for “thank you” ads has been a policy that has been in place long before I took over as editor.
Letters thanking individual residents or letters that do not list off businesses by name, are considered letters to the editor and will be published for free.
For those who may have questions or concerns about how to submit letters to the editor, feel free to contact me at dlai@heritage.com. The deadline for letters is Monday at 3:30 p.m. for the current week’s edition. Letters that are submitted online or in person after 3:30 p.m. Mondays will be held for the following week.
These policies are to ensure my staff and I continue to bring our readers a quality product.
The particular letter I am talking about involved concerns over the Enterprise’s lack of coverage of the competitive cheerleading team and overabundance of coverage of the football team. Though the letter’s author did not indicate his intention to not have it published, that intent was conveyed to the editorial staff after the fact.
Letters to the editor are a tricky beast in themselves –– any newspaper no matter how big or small will tell you the same thing. It is our policy to accept any letter submitted no matter how positive or negative its tone may be (including letters that question or complain about the Enterprise or its staff).
Because any letter to the editor represents the opinion of someone and because these letters are published on the opinion page, the duty of the editor is not to question or censor someone’s opinion.
However, once a letter comes to our office, it is our responsibility to fact check the letter for accuracy (if the letter is addressing a particular person, place or business), edit the letter for length and grammar as well as coherency.
It is also our policy now, following this incident, to confirm the author’s intent of the letter. To this effect, I acknowledge better communication between the letter’s author and my office could have prevented this private letter to the editorial staff from being printed.
In the future, we request all letters that are brought to our office before, during or after business hours, be signed by the letter’s author. The letter must also include the author’s printed name, address and phone number. Every attempt will be made to contact the letter’s author before publication. If the letter is a complaint or a personal observation about an individual, place, or business, the letter’s author must return the newspaper’s phone call confirming authorship before the letter can be published. If any of the above mentioned criteria are not meant, the letter will be given a nice home in our “dead letters” file.
This is our policy moving forward.
Also, any author who submits a letter to the editor with defamatory undertones will not be published. Those letters that may include blatant accusations of a person, place or business, must have documented proof to support their argument. Careless letters of malicious or facetious intent (including letters about any staff member of the Enterprise) will not be tolerated.
On a separate but similar note, I feel also compelled to address the myriad “thank you” letters we receive.
Unfortunately, it is the policy of the company that letters which address thank you’s to several businesses for their contribution to a fundraiser –– be it a nonprofit group, school or community-sponsored event –– are not a letter to the editor. Letters thanking businesses for their financial or in-kind donations are considered “thank you” ads and are not free (the amount for these ads varies depending on the size of the ad requested by the paying customer).
I understand this policy can be frustrating for some groups. However, please understand the newspaper is a business just like a restaurant, grocery store, pharmacy or gift shop is. And just like these businesses, the newspaper needs to make money in order to remain viable. Otherwise, these letters provide free advertising to businesses, which has not been pre-negotiated with our ad department.
The policy for “thank you” ads has been a policy that has been in place long before I took over as editor.
Letters thanking individual residents or letters that do not list off businesses by name, are considered letters to the editor and will be published for free.
For those who may have questions or concerns about how to submit letters to the editor, feel free to contact me at dlai@heritage.com. The deadline for letters is Monday at 3:30 p.m. for the current week’s edition. Letters that are submitted online or in person after 3:30 p.m. Mondays will be held for the following week.
These policies are to ensure my staff and I continue to bring our readers a quality product.
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