Dawn on Willapa Bay

       We don’t often watch the ‘local’ television news, known as the “Nightly Murder and Mayhem Report” in our household.  It seldom holds much relevancy for us and usually leaves us horrified and depressed – definitely not worth the time or expenditure of emotion required to stay tuned.  We do, however, look forward to each Wednesday’s edition of our local newspaper.  The Chinook Observer does a fine job of keeping us informed about people and issues close to home – matters we care about and sometimes feel we can do something about.
       Yesterday’s issue was no exception.  In fact, it was a stellar example of the Fourth Estate at its best in Home Town, America.  The front page alone covered more news relevant to us than a month of local TV news.  These were the headlines that jumped out at us: 
              What will it mean to be a National Heritage Area? – A Sense of Our Place 
              Naselle School Super Moving on After A Year 
              Spray Our Weeds?  We’ll sell to the Nazis!  
              Local Reservist Learns The ABCs of War in Iraq 
              Multiple Dems in the Hunt for Baird’s Seat
     Wow!  And that’s just the front page!  When visitors from “the big city” ask what goes on around here and don’t we get bored, I just hand them the latest issue of the Observer.  It usually only takes one visit; the next time they ask to see it so they can “catch up.”  And in all the years of visitors, we’ve never had anyone ask to turn on the six o’clock news!