Journal Editorial: Opening the lines of communication

“You’ve got to open the lines of communication,” was the message a local resident delivered to the Brandon City Council at a recent meeting.

He went on to tell city leaders that he doesn’t subscribe to the metro daily paper or the local newspaper. The metro TV stations and word-of-mouth, it appeared, are as his source for “local” news.

While all are certainly credible sources, they’re mostly concerned about the headline-making moments – things like the recent water ban and the subsequent threat to shut off a property owner’s water or a tragic house fire, for example.

But they’re not going to tell you why the pothole on Fourth Avenue won’t be repaired for two months or introduce you to the new police officer who will be patrolling our streets on a nightly basis.  

But your LOCAL newspaper – the Brandon Valley Journal – will.

So, as the Brandon Valley Journal staff begins to record the weekly news – including coverage of your local city councils, school board and the like – we’re pledging to do our part to help our city and school leaders “open the lines of communication.”

As you can see on this page of our very first issue of the Journal is a column titled, “Inside City Hall.” It’s a column you haven’t seen before, but one we felt was necessary to help “open the lines of communication.”

This is just one avenue the city is taking, and we’re working with the city on other ways to do that as well.

We first introduced you to “Inside City Hall’ in our June 28, 2017 sample copy. City engineer Paul Sanow wrote about how the success of city projects hinge on community involvement. This week, Devin Coughlin, our city parks superintendent, gives you a glimpse into his department and the territory that he and his small-in-number staff cover.

Unlike “Supe’s On,” which Superintendent Dr. Jarod Larson submits on a weekly basis to keep us in the know of what’s happening inside the walls of our school district, “Inside City Hall” will be a monthly submission. And like the school district, the city of Brandon has a Facebook page and of course, both Brandon and Valley Springs have municipal websites that are loaded with information. 

Yes, here at the Brandon Valley Journal, we’re committed to doing our part to keep you informed of the happenings inside the city council chambers of our coverage area and the school board meeting room. But to effectively “open the lines of communication,” you’ll need to meet us halfway by subscribing to your LOCAL newspaper, the Brandon Valley Journal.