Writer wrong; paper does 'excellent job' in Harlem, Grovetown

Editor:

I am writing to take strong exception to Ron Roberts letter of Oct. 5. I have had the opportunity to see The News-Times in action both up close, as a former member of the Harlem City Council, and from away, as an out-of-state resident like Roberts, checking in to read about my hometown.

From both these points of view, The News-Times does an excellent job of covering Harlem and Grovetown a much better job than we have seen in the past. Staff writers Donnie Fetter (a fellow Harlem High School alum) and Valerie Rowell do an excellent job of being present at every event they know about. I have even seen them there on their own time, just enjoying being in that community.

While I will grant that the sports section does seem a little thin on Harlem football, I have found that in sports and seasons in which Harlem is competitive regionally, they get the same coverage as Greenbrier and Evans. There is only so much room in the paper, and I for one would rather read an article about a winning team than one that is really struggling. I also doubt that those guys playing their hearts out on the football field want to read large headlines about their struggles.

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I have had many conversations with publisher Barry Paschal (also a Harlem alum) and know he cares deeply for Harlem and Grovetown and does his personal best to ensure that they are fairly covered. Keep up the good work, and Ill gladly continue to read!

Craig Brooks

Knoxville, Tenn.