From the Editor's Desk

We find ourselves here at the launch of our fourth in-county issue of the Idaho Enterprise Caribou County, and as you might expect we’ve had some things go very well, and some other things go less well.  As we end this first month, I thought I’d bracket our rollout with an update from my perspective.

My topline take is that I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished in the first set of issues.  While using the Caribou County Sun’s approach as something of a model for content, we have worked to make the approach to coverage our own, and to find our own way through figuring out how to cover a number of communities and stakeholders that make up Caribou County.  Covering three main towns, plus the county itself, has turned into a more multi-faceted job than we (or at least I) had anticipated.  Luckily, a number of people have been very supportive and helpful at helping me locate resources, numbers, schedules, and event details.  In particular, the city offices in Grace, Bancroft and Soda Springs have all been incredibly receptive and friendly.  The County Clerk’s Office and members of the Board of County Commissioners have also been fantastic.  Members of the school districts in each location have also been great sources of information and material.  Many others have reached out and gone above and beyond in a number of ways, and I thank every one of you.

We have added Jody Reeves to our small but hopefully growing staff.  Jody was referred to me by the countless people who explained that his Facebook page had filled a void in local event reporting left after the Sun’s exit.  Luckily for us, he has been an enthusiastic reporter on the scene of the county’s athletes, and again, we couldn’t have put out these issues without him.  Debbie Dumont has been a great help as a local guide of sorts, and a welcome contributor. Paul Gritton, Michalene Rindlisbaker, and Wendi Young have contributed pictures that we’ve used, which are of course generous and invaluable additions to a
community paper.

Now, to the things we need to improve.  Our small staff and quick publication window (many events take place over the weekend, and our publication materials are due in by Monday) mean that errors are a real source of concern.  While nothing major has happened, we have had some typos, missing captions, and other proofreading issues get past us.  Last week, for instance, a city council report was briefly interrupted on the page by a (potentially more interesting, but still) wrestling update that had inadvertently been copied to two folders.  These kinds of errors are not fatal, but they certainly are not necessary and each one of them causes me a week of heartache (until the next week provides a fresh set of them).

We are still seeking people who may be interested in assisting with occasional small article writing, proofreading and administrative tasks, and consulting on various topics.  You can contact our office at (208) 766-4773 if you are interested in helping out.

We are in the process of working out in-person hours at our Soda Springs location.  By the end of March, we should have posted hours of operation so that someone is available in town to speak with walk-in concerns, phone requests, and other business.  For news and content issues, please email me at [email protected]. For advertising issues, contact Shelly William at [email protected].  And for subscriptions and general questions, contact Sherrie Wise at (208) 766-4773 or [email protected].  

Former subscribers of the Caribou County Sun will still receive two more weeks of issues, through the March 14 edition.  Subscription information can be found in this and any of our prior issues.  Yearly subscriptions for in-county subscribers are $55/year, and $67/year for out of county. (An earlier paper had listed $65 as the price, which
was incorrect.)

This week will also be the final full county mailing for a while, and the paper will take on its normal form of a subscriber-based paper.  We hope that you’ve enjoyed the first month of content, and might consider becoming a subscriber.  As the months and years roll on, we will undoubtedly become more streamlined with our production week, and wider in our coverage range.   We hope you’ll be there with us.