Viewpoint:? A Tongue in Cheek Look at What Our Readers Say
? I love our monthly excursion into what readers tell us about how they feel about the paper (see page 5). Most criticism doesn’t bother me but sometimes I get a little concerned that some of the responses are planted by people from other papers. This is because whoever answered the questionnaire hadn’t been reading OUR paper.
?? Now mind you, the people who get this questionnaire receive it on a letter notifying them that their subscription is about to expire. So that means they have been getting the paper for at least six months, or for 26 issues of the Greenhorn Valley View. This is the minimum on which to base their opinions and thoughts.
?? Honestly, some of the responses mystify me. This month several people said they love the history we print but then we got someone who wanted more history. If we printed anymore history National Geographic would come after us. With much thanks to Cheryl Johnson Huban we have run at least one history article every week for, well, for years and years. So that was a little confusing.
?? As you probably read, someone wanted us to publish the CCMD website (here you go: coloradocitymd.colorado.gov). Then they suggested we tell people ‘What is actually happening’ at the meetings. The meetings happen twice a month and twice a month we tell you what is actually happening.
?? Not that the metro district runs perfectly but the board is filled with five people who are concerned with doing their best for Colorado City. Most of the problems the district has could be solved by $10-$15 million. That is what’s really going on. A very small customer base trying to keep up with an ever-growing mountain of infrastructure problems compounded by increased government bureaucracy. Where is Bill Gates when you need him?
?? Someone asked if we could expand coverage of events in Walsenburg, Gardner, and maybe Westcliffe. We would love to but we have trouble getting some local organizations to let us know what is going on. I’ll also take this as an opportunity to encourage you to go to www.greenhornvalleyview.com, where we have a wonderful calendar that has the events we know about.
? There are a lot of interesting events in nearby towns and we will expand the Happenings page as we gain information on these. As always, we welcome information about local events.
? The same person suggested an opportunity for people to send in political questions and have a Republican and Democrat answer them on the same page all year long. We did try a point-counter point kind of page for a few weeks, but the two panelists had trouble agreeing on the questions let alone the answers. I try and do a similar thing during the political campaigns when I send the two candidates the exact same questions and ask them to respond. I am convinced the easiest place to make a difference Is local elections.
?? Someone indicated they are tired of recipes, government contacts and recycling information week after week. I’ll go along with the government contacts and recycling info, and we will try to cut that down. The recipes are now recipes and home and garden and that’s probably how that will stay.
? The idea about local artists and authors is a good one and we do try to talk to anyone we discover that has an art ability or is an author. Several years ago, we did a series of stories on local artists, it may be time to do that again. We try to interview authors as soon as we find they are an author.
? We’ve had about four or five articles in the last 12-18 months about why we have a contract post office. Hopefully, every story you read about a local person has something that is inspiring or a feel[1]good aspect to it. There are a lot of wonderful people in the valley and we look for ways to bring their stories to you.
? Speaking of “feel good” we have a tarantula migration/looking for love story this week. Does that count?
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