REMARKS: SIGNAL WILL BE TAKING A NEW DIRECTION THIS FALL

You could call this an obit for the obits. After seven months on the job, the time has come to re-evaluate where we are and where we want to be going.

The Jackson USA Signal is in its seventh year of existence. It has always striven to fill a particular niche in northern and western Cape County. We want this publication to be a viable alternative weekly newspaper for area readers, yet without competing against our flagship publication, The Southeast Missourian.

For this fall, some changes will begin to appear in the USA Signal. For one, today is the last issue obits and birth announcements will appear in the paper. These continue to be available in the Missourian. An effort will also be made to eliminate the recycling of Missourian stories and photos as much as possible.

What will appear in their place? That depends much upon our readers. We will be depending more on the submissions of readers. Of course historic photos are always most welcome. We just received a small batch of wonderful old photos from Dona Fellows of Millersville. These are always popular. Any old photos brought in will be handled with the utmost care and returned to the Jackson office for the owner to retrieve as quickly as possible.

As of today the USA Signal is also encouraging area writers to send in poems, short stories, art work and other works created by local writers/artists. I have several mediocre short stories of my own ready to use, but I hope we won't have to resort to that! (The reader could interprete that as a threat of sorts; submit good fiction or be forced to read mine!)

We also hope to find at least two regular columnists. Community newspapers have traditionally been greatly boosted by community correspondents/columnists. The Scott County Signal, which I also edit, has two Chaffee, two Scott City and one Delta columnist. Topics vary from local history to local goings-on today, to personal bits of wit and wisdom, to favorite passages copied (with full credit given) from other works. We will be contacting a few individuals we suspect might make great columnists. Anyone with an interest is encouraged to contact us. Jackson city residents are certainly eligible, too -- although it would be great to get individuals from Millersville, Oak Ridge, Fruitland, etc., to do columns. These columns could be weekly, every other week or monthly. Anyone interested should call Cathy or Joyce at the Jackson office 208 N. High, across from old post office; 243-6635) or give me a ring at 335-6611 (Ext. 171).

We are also delighted with the "Page's Page" column by Jeni Zinner. While this particular column has merely been to focus on the four-week summer U.S. Senate Page Program, Jeni's outstanding work makes it clear that there are certainly Jackson area teens whose input would be greatly beneficial to the paper.

As in the past, story ideas are also most welcome.

News of the possible demise of the Iron Mountain Railroad is both sad and troublesome. During the past decade the picturesque antique locomotives have given the city a unique charm and a drawing power across the state and region. Businesses come to Jackson for the growth potential and other benefits; parents come to Jackson for the splendid school system; but why do weekend visitors come? In many cases (75 percent, according to Chamber Director Ken Parrett) because of the railroad. We, as a community need to support this worthwhile venture. The USA Signal encourages individuals and business owners to consider donating to or investing in the operation. (See page one story).

The chat room "reunion" at Tenkiller State Park in Oklahoma was an enjoyable experience. Putting faces (and in many cases, real names) to chat room names was interesting. We even got a chance to play real-life trivia under the stars that Saturday night. Although arriving home at 12:45 a.m. Monday, to find I'd been burglarized took some of the initial luster off of the trip, it was an enjoyable get-away.

School time is almost here. For the journalist, that signifies the renewal of life -- like a rain after a long drought. The addition of Rodney Barnes as Resource Officer in the R-2 District cannot help but be a posititve addition for the district. In today's world, a little added peace of mind should do our students a lot of good. We are confident the 1999-2000 school year will be a great one for the Jackson R-2 District, as well as for Oak Ridge and the private schools within our readership.