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Lynne and I acquired THE RECORD in August of 1995. With the first issue I began
writing a small piece called THE EDITOR'S CORNER. Some times this piece addresses
serious issues and events, at other times it is more chatty and light. If it were an
ideal world the piece would always be about fishing. The following are those pieces
published in the last half of 1995.
Jerry West |
| August 23, 1995 The messages have been getting back to me for two months since I made the deal with Leslie to buy the paper. What are you going to do? Is the paper going to change? Are we getting some kind of left wing rag? Are we getting a right wing rag? What wing are you anyway? Is the format changing? Is the price going up? And so on and so on the questions kept coming every time I talked to someone. Well, take a look. The format is a little different, but not much. The politics are in what the writers write, and the paper is open to all view points as long as the facts are there. My own views will be most prominent in my column VIEW FROM THE WEST which has been running in THE RECORD off and on for some time now. As for the price, up its gone. I decided that fifty cents was an easier amount to deal with. For those who think that the fifteen cent increase will assure my fortune they can rest easy, the entire amount is being passed on to the carriers and vendors. My goal with the RECORD is to build a community news paper that will not only cover the local news, but provide a vehicle for community members to communicate and to express their journalistic and literary talents. We have a lot of gifted and clever people in the Sound communities, and it is my hope that the RECORD will be able to feature their work for all of us to enjoy. The local news in the RECORD can only be as comprehensive as the information that we are able to discover. If you have a news story, give us a call. If you can write news stories, that is even better. And, on a last word, I wish to thank Leslie and Gerry Hunter for their work over the last eight years, and I am really glad that they did not sell this paper to an out of towner. |
| September 06, 1995 Take a look again, more change! As you can tell we have decided to modify the format a bit more and switch to a tabloid size paper from the old broad sheet. Now, do not confuse tabloid size with tabloid paper. We are a tabloid in physical dimensions only, and are not aspiring to be a clone of THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER or whatever other Neanderthal class dirt scooper you may prefer. Not us, we are aspiring to be a Renaissance class dirt scooper. The reason for the change is simple: money and the environment. Pretty good, eh, two birds with one stone. When we went to the printers last time we learned that broad sheets only use about 80% or so of the photographic plate, leaving the rest as waste. The tabloid, however, is the exact same size as the plate, so no waste. We changed the format instantly. We are also happy to report that we are merging with the TAHSIS TOTEM which was being published monthly in Tahsis by Dan Reid. Now Dan will look after the Tahsis end of business for THE RECORD, and we hope to have considerably more Tahsis content in the paper. If you noticed in our masthead on this page we have added some funny looking address for the paper. These mark our place on the Internet where the world can now find THE RECORD on line. When we have the home pages fully operational people from Borneo to Bermuda will be able to tap in and read our latest articles, check out our advertisers, and learn a few things about Nootka Sound. |
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October 04, 1985 Well, the phone rang, I got stopped on the street, and a letter even came in, all about the last issue. We figured that it would get some response, and it did. Now, everyone wants to know who is this Algy? Some want to shake his or her hand, and some I am sure just want to shake vigorously which ever part they can get a hold of first, ear lobe, nose, hair, liver, whatever. Well, I do have to dispel some of the speculation right now. For those who think that it is I writing with the funny name, think again. Bob Dylan said it best, "no, no, no, it ain't me babe..." No matter what you may think about the Algy column, and there are some points that I could take to task, you must admit that it has generated a fair bit of public interest and got a few juices flowing in our usually quiet political environment. I suspect that this issue will also get a few remarks. Although there was no real gut grabbing story to plaster on the front page, there is a good bit of thought provoking material inside. Algy of course fires again, and Karen takes Gerry Furney to task over his scheme to milk public money out of our Village Council for his own political ambitions. We also have some detailed coverage of the last two Council Meetings by Lynne and Suzanne which I found to be interesting reading, and which I hope will provide some public insight into what goes on at the top level of municipal government. |
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October 18, 1985 Well, after reading the Around Town column by the RCMP I feel like we bearly made it through the past two weeks. Too bad that they don't have some kind of bozo trap to help them with a bunch of the other problems that they have to chase around the village. This issue saw an avalanche of material pour in. I am still knee deep in unused goodies as I send the proofs off to the printer. We have some good columns again, and more controversy too. The Village report on reorganization came in just after dead line, so you can look forward to more coverage of that in the next issue. Outside circulation is growing apace. My east side associates tell me that commuters can now pickup THE RECORD at both Mohawks in Campbell River, and at the Chevron convenience store. More outlets are planned for the near future. I mentioned in my last Corner that I would probably get a few remarks about the last issue. I did, and the dust has not settled yet. Rumor has it that certain parties visiting in an unnamed village down the inlet got so upset about an article that it became more important than the issue at hand. Oh well, maybe we will find another story here. Hats off to Gold River Council for not getting sucked in by Gerry Furney's solicitation for funds. I particularly liked the suggestion that we give him the surplus hats and shirts from the Yellow Ribbon Campaign. |
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November 01, 1995 Time is something I used to have when I was just busy. It seems like only a day ago that I was writing this column for the last edition, and now here I am again, knee deep in bits and pieces of material and up to my eyeballs in photographs. This place has become a triage for stories and other items of journalistic interest. The newsprint mill closed too soon. I am beginning to feel like I alone could have taken up the slack in the market. There is newsprint everywhere here. I even have newsprint scratch pads. We have added some more writers to our list of contributors and regular columnists, and a few more in addition have indicated that they would like to do some writing too. All of the people who give their time to cover events and write columns for the paper are the back bone of this operation, and I feel very fortunate that there are so many talented and enthusiastic people in our communities who want to participate in making this an interesting, entertaining, and provocative publication. My Algy denials for this issue are Miriam Trevis, Warren Hall, and Bob Aubry. They are not it. I did not have the time to write a column for this edition, but if I would have it would have been on Remembrance Day. I am glad to see that John Leach took up the torch. As we sit in the midst of comfort and ease in the best country in the world it does us good to reflect on those who gave everything to secure our luxury. |
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November 15, 1995 In my thirty some years of writing since I was the Sports Editor of my high school newspaper I have written news stories, commentary, inflammatory rhetoric, humor, travel articles, travel brochures, and multitudes of letters, essays, research papers and so forth. I can not, however, remember ever writing a food column. My mom will probably embarrass me with this statement when she digs around in her memorabilia and sends me a copy of some hamburger review or such that I have forgotten that I did when I still believed in the Easter Bunny. In the past year she has already sent me odds and ends to remind me that I was once an alter boy, sang in the church choir, and taught Sunday School, and other little tid bits that show me that the guys I sat through all those afternoons in Confirmation class with are now Deacons in the church. Anyhow, I am particularly fond of food in all of its forms and nuances, known for being rather eclectic in my application of culinary styles in the kitchen, and a gastronomic adventurer in my habits of dining out. So, while having dinner in a fine little restaurant in Duncan the other day, a real find, I decided why not try my hand at writing a restaurant column. Hence, in this issue is born my new column TABLE SERVICE, which will have almost nothing to do with tables, only a little with service, and a lot about food. I thought about a rating system, something like two forks means it was passable, five forks and crossed knives means just one step short of manna from heaven, a toilet bowl means your lucky to make it that far without upsetting the karma of six dozen other diners. But then I said no. If I like it and survive I'll say it in words, no symbols. If I needed the toilet bowl why waste the ink and space, I'll find some place better to write about. |
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November 29, 1995 The last edition got a lot of feed back, primarily stirred up by Suzanne's comments on the state of the Plaza. Many voices were heard, both pro and con, and two rebuttals were received for publication in this issue. No matter where you stand in this debate you must admit that it has brought one of Gold River's more nagging problems into focus. That is the problem of vandalism which has seemed to plague the Village off and on for all of the years that I have been here, and probably many more before that. The question is what are we going to do about it to finally bring it under control? Cpl. Bellwood suggests that we form a Citizen's Watch to patrol the Village, and points out that this program has been successful in other communities on the Island. I think that the idea has some merit, and I urge everyone who is concerned with the needless and wanton destruction of property that we are being forced to endure to contact the RCMP and get involved. I also think that is time that some parents in the Village get a grip on reality and take charge of their children. For every young vandal on the prowl there is a parent somewhere who is negligent in their responsibilities. On a more positive note THE RECORD is expanding circulation again with this issue. We now have outlets in both Port McNeill and Port Alice, and hope to have correspondents in those communities in the near future. |
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December 13, 1995 The Christmas Season is upon us and this is the last edition of the year. I had a few shots that I wanted to take here this time at various events around the Sound, but then decided that nothing was so important that it should over ride the spirit of the season, so peace be with all of us as we celebrate the holidays. The first four months of editorship at THE RECORD have been highly rewarding to Lynne and I. Busy would be a mild word to describe the work involved, but the satisfaction of watching yet another issue come of off the presses is more than I ever anticipated. Of course none of it could happen without the support of the many people who contribute their time and abilities to create the columns and articles which make the paper what it is. To them a hearty thank you is only the beginning of the gratitude that they deserve. To Suzanne especially for the extra help, thank you very much. Also an important part of our operation are the distributors in the various communities, and the carriers in Gold River. Rain or shine, and soon snow, the carriers get out 500 papers every edition within hours of its being in town. I would like too, to give a special Hats Off to Kathleen Parnanen, Grade 6 teacher at Ray Watkins Elementary. In an era when literacy rates are dwindling and writing looks like a vanishing art, I receive some real gems from her class which you will find in this issue. I have always thought that the ability to read and to write coherently was the one thing that everyone should learn in school. It is obvious that Kathleen thinks so too. |
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