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Serving our community through our youth
That’s My Opinion –
Special Edition
By Bob Robinson
Jan. 23, 2011
County News Online started off with a bang.
In the first three days of its “announced” existence it matched and
exceeded the highest traffic my blog had ever received. If growth
continues at its present rate, traffic in the first calendar month will
more than double that achieved with That’s My Opinion.
Thank you for your support. It is appreciated.
One reader said “finally, a news site that I can look forward to
reading each day.” Several others said they love the easy navigation
and the ability to pick and choose what they want to read.
It seems Darke County is ready for a unique approach to news,
information and opinion.
If you haven’t “surfed” the site yet, here’s what you can expect to
find:
Daily Home Page posts with photos of events, features, news and
opinion. Tabs across the top will show different types of information
you can get… ranging from news and opinion to community information,
letters and events.
One service you won’t find elsewhere is our Blogs. They will let you
know the opinions of a wide variety of “pundits” from different
sources, from “Left” to “Right” and some in between. Admittedly, I get
to choose what I think is important… but you get links to the original
sites if you are inclined to check them out, and all of these sources
are listed in Resources so you can surf at will.
Want to know what our young people are thinking? Go to Teen Scribes… we
have a core group of high school students who are starting to write,
sharing news and opinions through articles and poems.
We expect this section grow considerably in the next few months.
You will also find some select articles from The Senior Scribes, which
sponsors the site through the Senior Scribes Scholarship Fund. If you
check that tab, you will also see a sub-tab for Sponsors… find out who
the individuals and companies are that are sponsoring this effort.
A new service is the inclusion of obituaries from the Funeral Homes
that have begun sending us their service schedules. If you don’t see
service announcements from a Funeral Homes in your community, let them
know we post their announcements for free. All they have to do is send
them to us.
Have an article or letter you’d like to submit? Send it to us; we’d
love to see it. We’ve posted some photos on the right side of the
pages… send us some of yours. Our only request is that they show the
beauty and uniqueness of Darke County.
Did you happen to “snap” a shot of a news event? Share it with our
readers.
You won’t find “everything” on the site… we’re small, but we’re
growing. As I’ve often said, our purpose is not to compete with other
sources of news, rather to supplement them.
Just as I did with my blog, I write and post my weekly “That’s My
Opinion” and “Verities & Balderdash,” as well as exclusive stories
and photos you won’t find anywhere else. Two recent examples are the
Community commentary by Greenville High School Principal Chris
Mortensen and a story on Marc Saluk’s presentation to the Darke County
Republican Men’s Club.
County News Online has a dual purpose. The first is to provide the
services I just described.
The second, at least to me, is the important one…
County News Online was started to generate scholarship funds for
deserving Darke County seniors planning to further their education in
some field of communications, from journalism to web pages, photography
and graphic design.
Last year, the Senior Scribes Scholarship Fund, a 501(c)3 organization,
awarded more than $4,000 in college scholarships to four Darke County
young people, as well as for one Mississinawa Valley student attending
a journalism workshop.
You get your information for free, but our Sponsors help to provide
these funds with their donations. Current sponsors are the Bistro Off
Broadway, Dave Knapp Ford-Lincoln-Mercury, Rapid Printing and
Zechar-Bailey Funeral Homes. More sponsorships are coming. When you see
them… be sure to thank them for their support.
If you know a community-minded business leader who might like to help
in this effort, let us know. We will contact them to see if they will
sponsor a tax-deductible spot on one of our pages.
You can play a part, too. Monthly contributions starting at $20 can
have a big impact on the number of high school graduates we can help to
get their college careers started. Make the donation anonymously, if
you wish, or we will be pleased to thank you with a “Sponsor” spot,
like those you see on our Home Page.
Send us an email and we’ll tell you how to get started.
County News Online’s primary role is to serve our community through our
youth. Lend us a helping hand.
That’s my opinion. What’s yours?
Bob Robinson is the
retired editor of The Daily Advocate, Greenville, Ohio, a Senior
Scribe, a Member of the Senior Scribes Scholarship Fund and Editor of
County News Online. If you wish to receive a daily notification of his
comments, opinions and reports, send your email address to:
countynewsonline@gmail.com. Feel free to express your views.
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