October Anniversaries

10/1	5 YRS	Cathy DiMaio	Delaware State News
10/1	2 YRS	Cynthia Eckert	Okeechobee News
10/4	5 YRS	Richard Sullivan	Delaware Prinitng
10/5	14 YRS	Maria Orozco	Valley Printing
10/11	37 YRS	Sheryle Sussman	Delaware State News
10/11	19 YRS	Kimberly Lewis	Delaware Prinitng
10/12	18 YRS	Christopher Williams	West Valley
10/12	3 YRS	Daniel Conde	Valley Printing
10/16	17 YRS	Thomas Bugbee	Delaware Prinitng
10/17	6 YRS	Kenneth Parks	Delaware Prinitng
10/17	1 YR	Najman Najman	Valley Printing
10/23	16 YRS	Armando Ramirez	Valley Printing
10/23	6 YRS	Terry Webb	Valley Printing
10/24	1 YR	Mary Planeta	West Valley
10/24	1 YR	Susanne Stilson	East Valley
10/25	2 YRS	Miana Moreno	Valley Printing
10/25	1 YR	Michelle Moore	Delaware State News
10/31	15 YRS	Cynthia Eldred	Delaware State News
10/31	1 YR	Clay Satterfield	Delaware Prinitng

October Birthdays

10/2	Robertina Sanchez Aguilar	Valley Printing
10/4	Terrance Thornton	North Valley
10/9	Glenn Rolfe	Sussex Weeklies
10/10	Kelsie Knight	Corporate Services
10/11	Andre Monk	Delaware Printing
10/13	Cecilia Chan	West Valley
10/14	Sylvia Windsor	Dorchester Banner
10/14	Ronald Bassett	Salisbury Independent
10/17	Charlotte Morin	West Valley
10/21	Daniel Conde	Valley Printing
10/23	Cheryl Harden	West Valley
10/24	Benjamin George	Delaware Printing
10/25	Heather Cregar	Delaware State News
10/26	Karen Metro	North Valley
10/27	Darel Laprade	Delmarva Publisher
10/27	Terri Rodgers	West Valley
10/31	Timothy Mastro	Delaware State News
10/31	Christopher Caraveo	West Valley

Readers Are Happy With The Daily News-Sun

From the Daily News-Sun in Arizona’s West Valley…

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR KEEP IT UP

Thankful for changes

Whatever you are doing with the Daily News-Sun lately, please keep doing it! I love all the new different stories I’m reading.

Thelma Swenson

SURPRISE

Okeechobee Said Farewell To Debra Wieland

Okeechobee News ad consultant Debra Wieland left the newspaper in August to pursue a new opportunity. The newspaper staff honored her with a gift basket.

Barbara Celebrates 35 Years

Major Accounts Advertising Consultant Barbara Bryan had a great day on June 23 this year AND 35 years ago, too.  This year, Barbara celebrated her 35^th anniversary with INI.  After enjoying lunch with Major Accounts Advertising Manager Tim Gary, she returned to the office to be surprised by an even bigger celebration including the entire advertising team.  There was cake, balloons and a special gift of a beautiful engraved silver box.  Congratulations Barbara on a successful career with INI! 

Comings & Goings

In the last 6 months the Delmarva Sales Teams have celebrated some new arrivals and said farewell to a valued team member.  In late February, Barbara Anne Jones joined the Delmarva team as the new Events Coordinator just in time for the inaugural Delaware Outdoor Expo and the second W3 What Women Want Fest.  You’ll see plenty more new events throughout Delmarva as Barbara Anne puts her stamp on this new effort for the Delmarva Group.  

And, as was reported in an earlier Press Lines Karl Krauss joined the Delmarva team as an Advertising Sales Manager in mid-June.  Please join us in welcoming both Barbara Anne and Karl to the company.

As people join our teams, sadly some leave.  Wanda James, Advertising Support Manager for the Delaware State News, decided that the time had come to retire and spend more time travelling with family and friends.  The team celebrated her retirement on August 4^th with a surprise party of cupcakes, ice cream and fizzy drinks.  Wanda’s pal from her days at Gannett and now INI Advertising Sales Manager, Karl Krauss, also surprised her with a decorative “HOME” clock.  Wanda will be terribly missed!

Time to Retire at 89?

The Okeechobee News staff said a fond farewell to longtime front desk staffer Jean McNeeley on Aug. 4. Jean is off on a new adventure, life in “The Villages,” a Florida community for seniors that is a self-contained city.

Okeechobee News staffers held a potluck luncheon in Jean’s honor on Aug. 3. Gifts included a sunhat, an adult coloring book, a wine glass with a lid and straw … and something to fill it with.

Jean will be much missed by Okeechobee News staffers and customers, but as she neared her 89^th birthday she decided it was time to retire and join “the kids” in The Villages.

Katrina Sullivan Celebrates 5 Years with INI

Delaware State News Advertising Manager Katrina Sullivan celebrated her 5^th anniversary with INI in late July.  The Advertising team surprised Katrina with a celebration featuring gourmet cupcakes and seasonal watermelon.  Katrina also received a gift certificate from her favorite local fashion boutique.  This has been a stellar year for Katrina who was also honored in June as the “Young Professional of the Year” by the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce.  Way to go, Katrina!

This Bud's For .....................................

This Bud’s for…the Arizona classified team, Juliann Segura, Debbie Kelly, Dawn Stilson and Delarita Ford.  You girls are the BEST team ever. August was a very long stressful month and your hard work and dedication to all the papers in the valley has shone through.  Thank you to each one of you for being the best.

Sandi Perry

This Bud's For ............................

This Bud's for Bonnie Mankin - When we switched to the new 15” size for the Delaware State News and weeklies, it was Bonnie Mankin who guided me through the challenges of setting up new sizes for the Worship Directories, CA Pages, etc…  If it wasn’t for her, I would have been lost!  Thanks Bonnie for all of your patience and help through this trying time.  You always have my back and I will never forget that!  You have been my rock and it has been a great pleasure working with you!  Vicki Rosado

Thanks,

Vicki Rosado

Community Ad Consultant

Independent NewsMedia Inc. USA

From the Editor

FROM THE EDITOR

With conscientious journalism, we will overcome

By Terrance Thornton

Independent Newsmedia Those of us here at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA believe the printed word still means something.

It seems public discussion of meaningful issues has been made difficult --- if not impossible --- thanks to partisan politics, personal attacks and inaccurate information.

The result is not healthy for a democracy. Citizens are wary of getting involved in public issues. They don’t attend meetings. They don’t educate themselves on the issues facing their communities.

Bad discussion leads to bad decisions made by governmental bodies. Citizens feel left out and neglected. They turn away from the democratic process.

That’s not good.

Local newspapers, however, have always played a key role in nurturing democracy --- and I’m convinced they remain as important as ever. Indeed, there is no more important time for a local newspaper to matter in communities around thenation. Scottsdale is no exception.

Our goal --- our mission -- at the Scottsdale Independentnewspaper is to provide that service and be that newspaper to residents of Scottsdale.

Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA, publishers of theScottsdale Independent, is a unique publishing and printing company that supports every American’s First Amendment rights and encourages and assists citizens in exercising those rights responsibly.

We’ve published a local newspaper in one form or another in Scottsdale for over three decades. But it’s this unrelenting dedication to that ideal that has lead us to prosper where others have stumbled.

Continual improvement is our constant goal, and we are always looking to improve our impact on those who care about the community of Scottsdale.

But we’re in this together. We need your help in order to accomplish our mission of building a weekly newspaper and online product that accurately refl ects the great community you call home.

A little bit about us

Our unique structure is designed to maintain our independence from corporate interests, political leanings or even our own viewpoints because my opinion --- or the ones possessed by those above me --- have no place in the practice of conscientious journalism at the Scottsdale Independent newspaper. We pay taxes like any other company, but there are no shareholders, no dividends are paid, and all after-tax profits are reinvested in serving our mission. We are held in sacred trust by a rotating group of five trustees who believe in our mission and are pledged not to benefit personally from their involvement. We have thought this out and believe steadfastly we are ready to become what others were before us: the local paper of record.

Your thoughts matter

We at the Scottsdale Independent are dedicated to the idea our profession is explicitly protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and with that charge comes great responsibility --- one we don’t take lightly.

A major focal point of our pledge to readers hinges on ensuring the ability for an everyday citizen to voice his or her opinion on matters of the day. Our pledge to readers promises that we will:

• Operate our newspapers and websites as members of a sacred public trust;

• Report the news with honesty, accuracy, purposeful neutrality, fairness, objectivity, fearlessness and compassion;

• Use our opinion pages to facilitate community debate, not to push our own opinions;

• Provide the information citizens need to make their own intelligent decisions about public issues;

• Help our communities become better places to live and work, through our dedication to conscientious journalism;

• Treat people with courtesy, respect and compassion; 

• Provide a right to reply to those we write about;

• Disclose our own confl icts of interest or potential conflicts to our readers;

• Correct our errors and to give each correction the prominence it deserves (on pg. 1 if that’s where the error was).

Get involved in your community

A great community deserves a great newspaper.

I want you to tell me and our staff what is going on around you and what needs to be reported on at scotts-daleindependent. com and in the Scottsdale Independentnewspaper.

Not only are we committed to reporting the news of Scottsdale fairly and accurately, but we also want our product to reflect the community and its citizens. We want your news and photos of school events, clubs, organizations, church activities and more.

If you feel passionate about something, let others know by running your opinion in our newspaper designed specifically to serve your needs. You can email them directly to me at tthornton@newszap.com or you can send them to our general email, which is received by everyone on our editorial team at scottsdalenews@ newszap.com.

Newspapers are available digitally

Reprinted from the 9/6/17 issue of INI’s weekly Peoria Today.

Newspapers are available digitally

The Internet has become a useful tool and Independent Newspapers has been in the forefront of using the technology.

The company has had a website with links to its newspapers for many years. A few years ago Independent Newsmedia began offering e-subscriptions.

That medium continues for the Daily News-Sun, acquired by the company in July 2016, but the weekly newspapers in the West Valley under the Independent umbrella are offered digitally in another way.

If you want only an e-subscription to the Daily News-Sun the cost is $65 per year, $16.25 per quarter or $5.50 per month.

With an e-subscription readers can see the entire newspaper online as it appears in the print version. An e-subscription has a number of advantages centered around reader convenience. You will see the paper as you do now — except you will not feel the newsprint in your hands or have your fingers turn black from the ink on the page.

Readers with e-subscriptions can view their newspaper before it hits their driveway in the mornings. You also have the advantage of having previous editions archived, so if you were looking for something that was in the newspaper a few weeks ago you can look it up on the archives rather than drive to the office to get another hard copy.

For those who use the website links in news copy or advertising, the e-subscription will also help by providing a live link for all website addresses within the pages — in all news stories, calendars, advertisements and classifieds.

Readers who are away from home for a period of time can also save the step of calling or coming to the office to temporarily stop delivery of their newspaper while they are gone. With an e-subscription, there is no delivery to stop. Plus,readers will then have access to their paper when they are in the cooler climates. All you need is a computer.

Those readers who like the feel of the paper in their hands but want the conveniences of the e-subscription, you can have your cake and eat it, too. You can have an e-subscription and retain your home delivery by subscribing to the Daily News-Sun print edition, which includes a complimentary e-subscription.

To sign up for either print or e-subscription, call 623-972-6101 or visit www.

yourwestvalley.com.

Independent’s weekly newspapers — Sun City Independent, Sun City West Independent, Surprise Today, Peoria Today and Glendale Today — are distributed in their communities free of charge. They are also available in digital format, also free of charge, on the website, www.yourwestvalley.com.

Happy e-reading!

Philip Haldiman can be reached at 623-876-3697 or phaldiman@newszap.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Appreciates the DNS Monday

Thank you so very much for starting the Monday Daily News-Sun again!

Received the newspaper Monday, and everything I read was very pleasing.

What a wonderful sports section that was published, and being able to read everything going on in the Valley and around the world, just made my day!

Keep up the good work staff!

Frank Caroddo

SUN CITY

Getting Ready for Irma

Justin Hall, a local handyman who mows the Caloosa Belle yard, and his dad put up the storm shutters at the Caloosa Belle office on Friday, September 8 in preparation for Hurricane Irma.

Richard Dyer's 30th Anniversary

Arizona's east Valley office celebrated a milestone last month, marking Richard Dyer's 30th anniversary with Independent Newspapers. Richard's co-workers threw him a picnic-themed potluck and decorated the office with handmade congratulatory posters as well as balloons. Congratulations, Richard! We're proud of the fine work you have done covering the community and representing the company, and we're pleased to call you our co-worker and friend!!

 

 

 

FROM THE EDITOR: Sharing Opinions Promotes Issue Discussion

Reprint:  Sun City West 9/6/2017 Issue

Like few times in American history, there is quite a bit of discussion about the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. 

President Donald Trump’s visit to Phoenix Aug. 22 ramped it right back up in Arizona. After violent and fatal protests in Charlottesville, Virginia earlier this summer, demonstrators were out in force in downtown Phoenix. Like most demonstrations these days, that one got a little unruly and police had to take action to keep it from getting out of hand. 

That brought calls of how the city of Phoenix “failed” the protesters, denying them their First Amendment rights. All that can be avoided if more people would exercise a different type of First Amendment expression of their freedom of speech — writing letters to the editors of local newspapers. 

Letters to the editor give you the opportunity to share your thoughts on community issues or more broad subjects, or simply to share something special with your neighbors. 

Letters can also take on an entertainment value. Independent regularly published letters from Sun City resident Joe Zweben, who offered some everyday ideas — some practical, some not so much. But those letters never failed to entertain. 

Part of the mission of Independent Newsmedia is to encourage public debate of issues. After having the privilege of getting to know some of you in the past years I have been reporting on Sun Cities community issues, I can see there are no shortages of ideas and opinions out there.  

We want to help you share those with your neighbors. 

Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing, but it is useless unless it is exercised.

The philosophy of Independent Newsmedia is that people, at times, need a chance to speak out on public issues. Our goal is to provide a forum for local opinions, ideas, solutions, praise and, of course, complaints. 

Letters published in the Independent will be those that are focused on Sun Cities issues. Those wil a more broad perspective (region, county, state and national) will be published in our sister newspaper, the Daily News-Sun. Please keep in mind letters are for the discussion of public issues, not personal attacks. While some criticism of people involved in public issues is legitimate, we try to make sure comments center on the individual’s public performance. 

We take very seriously our responsibility to edit letters for the newspaper carefully to make sure the printed comments stay within the bounds of fair play.

We edit letters for clarity, fairness and length (a rule of thumb is to keep letters at 300 words). 

Please let us know if you think we can do a better job. 

All letters, except those considered to be libelous, will be published. So please do not be bashful about sending in letters for fear there will not be enough room to publish them all. Opinion items not published one week will be held over for the following weeks’ editions.

We strive to fulfill our mission to facilitate community dialogue and hope you enjoy reading what your neighbors are thinking, and contribute some material of your own.

Rusty Bradshaw can be reached at 623-445-2725 or rbradshaw@newszap.com.