Wise County on the Web

A tongue in cheek review of the news published this week regarding Wise County.
Normally posted every Sunday around 10:00 p.m.
(Note: To make sure you are receiving the most recent update, hold down the "Shift" key while you click on reload/refresh).
For the week ending 10/5/02:

The Story	Sixteen year old Jennifer Parks of Boyd dies in a tragic car accident.
News worthiness (on a scale of 0 to 5)	********
The Spin	We wonder if the Messenger will receive any flak about printing the photo of the car wreckage on page 2 of its Sunday edition? Pros: It is a vivid reminder of how automobiles can cause tragedy. Cons: It's sensationalism. Our view (for what it's worth): It probably needed to be shown.

The Story	The county commissioners receive bids for an EMS building in Decatur. Architect Fred Cauble estimated a "total cost of between $250,000 and $300,000". When the bids came in, they ranged from $696,000 to $899,999.
News worthiness	**
The Spin	Commissioners are now concerned about the projected ambulance fuel costs of 39 to 49 cents per gallon.

The Story	The Boyd City Council approves the placement of signs on the city's borders that read "Welcome to Boyd, Texas".
News worthiness	*
The Spin	Does anyone remember the sign on highway 114 in the 1970s that read "Our town is like heaven to us, please don't drive like hell through it." (Really).

The Story	Jackey Dwaine McGill is arrested for a recent "smash and grab" burglary in Cottondale and other locations. "After a [Fox 4 news] broadcast, [the sheriff's office] received phone calls from a family member of the suspect who was able to provide information".
News worthiness	**
The Spin	That will teach cousin Jackey to take the last piece of pie at Thanksgiving.

The Story	Drug use is up in the county, especially methamphetamine use. According to an undercover source with the North Central Texas Narcotics Task Force, "many drug manufacturers are what officers call 'mom and pop' operations who use the drugs for personal use." Currently, 38% of the Wise County Jail's population of 139 inmates are there because of drug related charges.
News worthiness	*
The Spin	There has to be a better way.

The Story	The Bluebonnet Nudist resort is once again having their fun run. As we are every year, we are disturbed by this sentence: "During the race and throughout the resort, clothing is optional for women and children, but men must be nude".
News worthiness	*
The Spin	Additionally, the joining of nudity and running are not necessarily something we'd like to see.

**Special Highly Technical Research Project to be Conducted Throughout 2002:**
	New This Week	Year To Date
Number of new births announced in the Wise County Messenger	10	423
Number of new births announced by parents with different surnames (or no father identified):	1 (10%)	131 (31%)

See something in the local papers that struck you funny? Then suggest a topic for The Spin.

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