One Moment Please... Are we there yet?

By Jason Sethre
jason@fillmorecountyjournal.com

Fri, Aug 24th, 2012
Posted in All Commentary

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All throughout this past summer, during trips here and there I think I heard, “Are we there yet?” from my children enough to earn a cameo appearance on the next sequel in the series of National Lampoon’s Vacation. Yes, my cheeks and chin have grown enough in recent years for me to be a stunt double for Chevy Chase, but that’s not my fault. My wife feeds me too well, and I lack self-control. But, I digress.

Well, we survived the summer months balancing daycare and all of the other summer activities that seem to saturate our days and weeks.

So, now the Fillmore Central kids are back to school as of this past Monday.

“We are there,” I can finally say. The kids are back in school, full of routine and studies.

And, with the school year back in full swing, there are a number of exciting things that I want to share with our readers relating to all that we have to offer at the Fillmore County Journal.

Scholarship

As of three years ago, the Journal started awarding a $500 annual college scholarship to one graduating senior in Fillmore County who met the eligibility requirements. Each year, we have selected one student from the pile of applicants, which has never been an easy decision. Our entire staff partakes in the process to determine who should earn this scholarship.

If you know of a person graduating from high school in 2013, please let them know about this scholarship opportunity. There is an advertisement appearing in today’s Journal with more details about the scholarship opportunity, and you can find an entire application on our website at fillmorecountyjournal.com.

Journal Student Writing Project

Now in its 14th year, our assistant editor, Jade Sexton, will be working with all of the high school English departments in Fillmore County, including Chatfield, Mabel-Canton, Fillmore Central, Lanesboro, Kingsland and Rushford-Peterson, to put together an all-star team of student writers.

Each week throughout the school year, our area students touch on local and national issues from their perspective. And, every week, I guarantee that this feature is one of the most read features of the newspaper. I have seen past student writers take on very sensitive subjects with such poise and grace. With these commentaries, our area students give us a glimpse into the future of what great contributions they will make to our world as they graduate into the next phase of their lives. I’m looking forward to another enlightening year, along with Journal readers.

Athlete of the Week

Something new this school year will be a feature focused on the “Athlete of the Week.” Each week, starting in September, our sports reporter Paul Trende, will recognize one athlete in all of the six school districts in Fillmore County that has achieved a special accomplishment. I cannot thank Paul enough for continuing to breathe new life into our sports section each week. I have received many e-mails from coaches and readers showing appreciation for Paul’s keen sense of detail pertaining to every game and every player pouring their heart into each game. I look forward to seeing individual talent and accomplishments highlighted each week in the pages of the Journal – another enhancement to our newspaper.

Social Scenes

This doesn’t relate to the new school year, but I’ve been given just a little extra writing real estate to tell you about a new feature we started roughly a month ago. By now, you’ve probably noticed a special page titled “Social Scenes.” This new feature is dedicated to highlighting birthdays, weddings, engagements, birth notices, anniversaries, military service announcements, and anything else worth celebrating, such as retirement! We have always had the happy ads in the classifieds section of our newspaper, but we felt this presentation format brought the happy ads together with those special announcements that appeared elsewhere in the newspaper. This new feature brings it all together in one place. We hope you’ll enjoy the new format, as well.

Download a Writing Project Scholarship Program application here:

http://fillmorecountyjournal.com/uploads/ScholarshipApplication2012-2013.pdf

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