I wanted to start this week’s column by saying thank you to the folks who took the time to stand up and speak at the Gilpin County Commissioners’ meeting last week. Each person spent part of their day coming to a community meeting and sharing their thoughts about topics that were on their mind.
In those comments, Jim Crawford spoke about the Newspaper of Record. Last week we didn’t include his full comments, so they may have been taken out of context a bit. His comments were about the history of the Weekly Register Call (WRC) and the good work they have done in Gilpin County.
Jim was also very complimentary of The Mountain-Ear. Jim shared that he reads both papers; in fact reading and subscribing to The Mountain-Ear online. And that he felt the public notices should be in both papers so everyone in the county is informed of what is going on. He also made the correction that the Tri Weekly Miners Register was published on July 28, 1862 (not 1861). That paper eventually became the WRC. Thank you, Jim for speaking up and asking me for a correction, which we are always happy to print.
Another speaker was Donna Okray Parman. Donna attends quite a few commissioners’ meetings and had truly done some homework. She shared positive comments about both papers. She shared that she felt The Mountain-Ear covered more of north Gilpin county news and shared some examples of our coverage versus WRC coverage. Donna, I thank you for pointing that out. It made me do a bit of my own homework.
Staff have been working on an “original content” list this week. We’ll share it when it’s finished and it will include how many stories we created in 2023 (overall, in The Mountain-Ear) and how many are Gilpin-related. We are constantly trying to morph to fill the needs of our readers and this will show us how we can balance our coverage more between the two counties we cover most! Thanks for the idea!
Others who spoke included Phil Gibbs and Eric Douglas, in favor of and with kid working for, The Mountain-Ear. And Bob Sweeney, against The Mountain-Ear, in favor of WRC. I thank all of you for sharing your personal perspective and taking the time out of your busy day to attend the meeting and share your thoughts. Truly, I am humbled by your words.
As well as your public comments at meetings, we always welcome your thoughtful letters to the editor.
Please view our letter policy here: We welcome thoughtful, local letters to the editor. You can submit online on our website or by email to info@themountainear.com. Letters may be edited for length (less than 500 words) and content (rude, vulgar or obscene). Letters must include local name and address, to be considered for publication in the next available edition. We reserve the right to refuse to print letters.
You can submit to me at info@themountainear.com or online at https:// www.themtnear.com/submit-letter-or-guest-opinion/
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