Tell me about it

It’s not uncommon, when I meet someone and tell them what I do for a living, for them to ask me some version of: “Is there ever anything to write about in Carroll County?”

The question always makes me chuckle. The answer, of course, is yes. There’s plenty to write about here. Those of us who call this county home are blessed to live in a vibrant community, where people care about each other and are constantly interacting and working to make Carroll County even more special than it already is.

There are more events here than you can shake a stick at. Last weekend, I attended an anniversary celebration at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. This week, there’s a ribbon cutting Tuesday afternoon in Eureka Springs, a check donation to the Carroll County Youth Literacy Foundation later that afternoon in Berryville, a visit by U.S. Rep. Steve Womack to the Eureka Springs Community Center on Thursday morning, a ribbon cutting for the city of Berryville’s new Business Park with Womack in attendance Thursday afternoon, the grand opening of Good Shepherd Humane Society’s relocated Berryville thrift shop on Friday, a visit by medical residents to Mercy hospital in Berryville on Saturday morning, the 14th Annual Carroll County Bible Reading Marathon at locations across the county Saturday, a Recon fishing tournament Saturday afternoon where the sister of fallen Navy SEAL Tommy Ratzlaff of Green Forest will be honored, a free document-shredding event that same day put on by the Berryville Lions Club and Equity Bank and the Carroll County Celebration Choir’s Spring Concert on Sunday in Eureka Springs.

In between, there’s a Berryville City Council meeting Tuesday night, local schools are in the middle of preparing for graduation, the state high school soccer playoffs are underway, trap shooting teams are competing, the proposed wind farm project in Green Forest continues to be a topic of discussion, the Berryville Library is a hub of activity and events, there’s always something newsworthy happening with the Eureka Springs city government, the Ice Cream Social will be here before we know it … and on and on and on.

All of that is enough to keep a community newspaper — or two — pretty darn busy. And we couldn’t be happier about that. It’s a lot of work, but it’s a labor of love for me and for the other folks who contribute to our newspapers. The only part that really bothers me is that I know all those events and happenings I just reeled off are just some of the things that are going on and deserve our attention. I could keep two or three full-time reporters busy. But the economic reality is that’s not feasible.

When I came to Carroll County in the summer of 2014, this newspaper had a publisher, a managing editor, two full-time reporters, a photographer, a sports editor and a page designer. Now, I serve as editor, publisher, sports editor and page designer. I’m also taking more photos now. We also have a full-time reporter in Rick Harvey, a couple of outstanding people in office manager Melody Strodtman and ad coordinator Rhonda Worrall and my co-owners David Bell and Steve Johnson and driver Mary Kay Abbott. All of us work very hard to produce quality newspapers for the people of Carroll County.

But we can’t be everywhere at once and we don’t always know what’s happening if someone doesn’t let us know. That’s where we need your help. Please tell us if you have an event that we need to know about. Send us your wedding announcements and your anniversaries and your milestone birthdays. Call us if you have a news tip. Help us keep the community informed. And, if you want to see this newspaper thrive the way I know it can, consider advertising with us. The more revenue we can generate, the more we have to spend on staffing and printing and all the things that can help us make a really good newspaper even better. And advertising doesn’t just help us; it can also help your business grow. That’s a win-win.

I love Carroll County and I love our newspapers. I can’t work 24 hours a day, but I promise I don’t mind working 10 or 12 or even 15, if that’s what it takes to do this job right.

My personal cell phone number is 870-654-5321. That’s not something I typically share with just anyone, but I’m sharing it with every one of you who reads this column because I want to hear what’s important to you.

My email address is at the bottom of this space each week.

Call me. Text me. Email me. Tell me about the news that’s important to you. Let’s keep each other informed and let’s continue to build a community newspaper we can all be proud of.

••• Scott Loftis is editor and publisher of the Carroll County News. His email address is SLoftis@CarrollCoNews.com.