There are lots of buzz words that float around, some take hold and become part of our normal vocabulary, others rise and fall quickly. The current industry buzz word for our type of newspaper is hyperlocal, in that we focus on a concentrated community and geography. But to us, it is just how we have been doing business for a long time.
One of the things that makes Lincoln County such a great place to live is the great number of resources, businesses, and organizations that inhabit the region. We still have a working waterfront, downtown storefronts, bustling arts and food scene, grocery stores, hardware and lumber merchants, medical professionals, architects, manufacturing, and a hometown utility provider. The breadth of disciplines and level of knowledge contained within our relatively small footprint provides a great resource from which we all can learn.
To this end, we welcome a new column to the paper this week. Titled “Tech Talk (In Plain English),” this column is written by a local telephone, internet, and streaming television provider, Tidewater Telecom. Intended to be a monthly column, we hope you enjoy some technical tips written in a way that does not require a decoder ring or a degree in engineering to decipher. You can read this introductory column on page 12A.
Columns make up one part of the hyperlocal focus of this paper and have been a permanent fixture of the newspaper along with correspondents. Long before Facebook, email, or even the internet, correspondents and columnists have shared the people side of Lincoln County through our pages. Distinguished visitors (you can read about how Babe Ruth frequented the area through correspondent details in our archive), house parties, and college students or those in the military returning on leave have all been highlighted before.
Today, “Marilyn Beane’s World” still brings smiles to our readers’ faces. We are still exposed to delicious new recipes and food ideas from Ilga Winicov Harrington through “Thrifty Good Food.” Arlene Cole still faithfully reports the weather from Academy Hill each and every week as well as working on columns about Newcastle’s history.
Also putting in hours to ensure the area’s rich history is remembered are Calvin Dodge with his amazing details of Damariscotta and Laurie McBurnie, who pulls together some of the Nobleboro history articles from the past. Pete Hope and Don Loprieno check in from time to time to share their focus on the Pemaquid peninsula.
Lori Crook speaks from the village of Round Pond, capturing all kinds of community tidbits with the traditional correspondent voice. And we were delighted to welcome Mary Dunn, of Whitefield, back into our pages.
Our monthly pet page also has some regular contributors, with features from Dr. Christine Welch, L.D. Porter, Katherine Dunn, and Sarah Caton providing commentary and advice all focused on animals and pets. Nancy Holmes also writes about critters as well as the wonders of nature.
Last and certainly not least, “Waldoboro Voices” by Rebecca Cooney takes us on a personal experience with each one of the people she interviews. Her work is incredibly time consuming and provides an intimate look into community members of all types.
Sure we had plenty of news – the local meetings and events of the kind we report today – but our volunteer contributors vastly outnumber our staff reporters and their focus is on sharing the fabric of this community.
It is with great appreciation that we thank all of our columnists and correspondence, their work really puts the local in this newspaper. And we welcome the good folks at Tidewater for joining us to bring you technical tips each month.
Do you have a skill, perspective, or local happenings to share? What other kind of columns would you like to see in the paper?
Please let us know. We are always looking for fresh ideas and voices from the various communities in Lincoln County.
