A (sometimes) tongue in cheek review of the news published this week regarding Wise County.
Normally posted every Sunday around 6:00 p.m.
For the week ending 9/2/00:
| The Story | The drought prompts the United States Forest Service to station an emergency helicopter in Decatur. According to John Beck, the "initial attack incident commander", the "helicopter allows us to be the first on the scene of a fire". |
| News worthiness (on a scale of 0 to 5) | ** |
| The Spin | And then we wait for the fire truck. |
| The Story | Within the helicopter story was a discussion of the drought's effect on vegetation. "The weight of live trees usually consists of 100 percent water". |
| News worthiness | * |
| The Spin | Hmmm. We could have sworn that stack of dead firewood last winter weighed at least something. |
| The Story | Dallasite Donald Malouf writes a letter to the editor praising Wise County residents after his car broke down within the county. Lin Holt, a local taxi cab driver, "drove us from motel to motel until we found the last room in town . . . . Twenty minutes after she dropped us off, she came back with an ice chest containing cold refreshments, cold water and fruit". |
| News worthiness | ** |
| The Spin | Even the cynical Spin feels like applauding. |
| The Story | U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and U.S. Representative Charles Stenholm come to Wise County to look at a dry field, get their pictures taken, and declare the county a disaster area. |
| News worthiness | *** |
| The Spin | The most shocking news is that the heat transformed Stenholm into a young boy. (See cover photo of the Messenger, Thursday edition, and the caption underneath. As of this writing, it can also be seen on the Messenger's home page). |
| The Story | The water level at Lake Bridgeport falls to 18 feet below normal. |
| News worthiness | *** |
| The Spin | Is it just us, or must every conversation about the lake level include the phrase "Well, back in 1980 . . . . " |
| The Story | A revamped salary structure results in County Attorney Todd Durden becoming the highest paid county employee at $79,125 per year. On the other hand, "first step" emergency medical technicians begin at $6.25 per hour. |
| News worthiness | ** |
| The Spin | Everyday we read about a huge traffic accident on 380 or 114 and we're paying EMTs $13,000 a year to respond? |
