Getting the hang of it

Close Call It’s another late night putting the paper together, but each week becomes a little less stressful, and this week turned out to be downright incredible. Going into the evening before we go to print, we had nothing really significant for the front page. I realize we can’t always have breaking news, since this is a small town and there isn’t always something exciting going on. But after a few great front pages, it’s always a letdown to run standard stories.
So, I wasn’t really excited about this week’s edition. Then I called a man, a native American actually who I’ve met a few times covering events on the reservation, who had left me a message saying he got pictures of a water truck that ran off a bridge into the water of the White River. Knowing it was my best shot at a good front page, I called him at 9 p.m. and he finally answered. He arranged to email the photos and I felt a little better. I thanked him for thinking of us and he said “You’re welcome, by the way did you know the Randlett gym burned down this weekend?”
I didn’t know that, but I knew they were holding the Bear Dance there Friday night, and asked him if anyone was hurt. He said no, the dance was rained out, and within minutes of returning home, he received a call that the gym was on fire. He sent me photos of the place on fire. Flames on the front page—ALWAYS good. So he gave me the scoop and I was reminded that making that one last phone call often pays off. Watertruck in the water