March 20, 2013

You may have noticed some new additions and features to The Prentiss Headlight in the last few weeks.  And some subtractions. We hope they are welcome changes, but they may not be. Just trying some new things.

Although we may need to slow down. The lunch menus for the public schools will now be published. And we did so last week, but we forgot to get them in this week…Cindy Daley is the new Food Services Manager for the school district and says her kids are constantly begging to know what’s for lunch. There you have it, kids….salivate to your heart’s content dreaming of next week’s feast…make that the week after next.

Taking requests is what we do best and one popular request is a questions and answer “Know Your Neighbor” column. Despite the fact we live in a rural area and everybody knows everybody, it is always a pleasant surprise to meet people previously unknown to us. Slowly we will get to know more about each other in the “Know Your Neighbor” column – see page 5.

If star reporter Shirley Burnham comes your way and asks you a bunch of questions about yourself, answer her, let her take your picture and don’t run away. We want to know your likes and dislikes and especially what you would do with a million dollars.

The businesses in this county have been very good to the Headlight over the years by advertising their goods and services and giving us news. Our new “Focus on Business” column is a way to reacquaint ourselves with the businesses we are so very lucky to have.

Just because you know where the local hardware store is and has been for years, does not mean you know exactly what their services are today. Each year around Christmas, the Headlight runs a “Shop At Home” campaign.  The murmers from residents is always the same. “There ain’t nothing to buy here,” they say before they head off to Wal-Mart spending the supposed saving in vehicle wear and tear and gas. “Focus on Business” will showcase what is available and reinforce the value of shopping at home.

One business we will focus on in the future will be the newly-formed Broom Pest Control Service. Several columns ago, I mentioned one industry/service the county is lacking is a pest control service. Well, want no more….Broom Pest Control recently opened for business and will help you eradicate bugs. Check out Brad Broom’s contact information in our Service Directory on page 10.

Lastly, we want this newspaper to be even more about us and less about the outside world. Page two, the editorial page on which you are now reading, is going to be a mixture of editorial and news. Editorial columns by Jim Davidson, Charlie Mitchell, and Sid Salter will probably be featured less in lieu of more local happenings.

It is now, more than ever, important that we hear from you with your likes and dislikes, your high-fives and your thumbs-downs.

Opinions…everybody’s got one. And we want to hear them. The Headlight office is a place where some of you come to air your convictions, almost pleading for something to be done. Trash dumping on the side of the road, dilapidated and unkempt buildings, tax/millage increases, anger at politicians….all these things are on your mind. Positive things too.

Let’s get an open conversation started. Write a letter, write a guest column. We’ll help you if you’re not so good with the words.

Business owners, politicians, church leaders, parents, teachers, people who throw trash out the car window…we want to hear from every single one of you about anything, well almost anything, on your minds.

Now, for perhaps the most fun addition to the paper…the crossword puzzle, see page 9.