Erin Tierney-Heggenstaller, executive editor
Reader Chelsea stopped by to say “hello” after running into Dee Dee dropping off papers at a Springfield Dari Mart. A bright, happy person, she gave me an unintended boost of energy on a Wednesday morning while working on my “things to do” list. She said she loves all the local photos of people in our paper, and it’s so rewarding to hear feedback that our intentions are resonating in print.
A friendly face from Creswell popped by our newsroom last week — first to say “hello” and to handle a classified ad, and again to drop off some See’s Candies to the Chronicle crew. Don has always been a great supporter of The Chronicle — a kind disposition and a wealth of knowledge, it was a pleasant and sweet drop in to interrupt the daily grind. … It’s also been a pleasure to reconnect with Bill in Creswell around the unhoused conversations underway in Creswell.
Sean ragged on me with a wink and a smile while I was out covering an event, after forgetting to call him back when I was out of town. The mayor called to remind me to pick up my Dessert for Dinner box from Catholic Community Services, but I was in Atlanta that weekend — a woeful scheduling error in which my appetite for sweets suffered greatly. That’s alright; I made up for it with several trips to Juvenal’s Bakery this month and by picking up a pie from Main Street Sweets for my first wedding anniversary.
Nobody asked, but it was a Butterfinger cream pie and the first bite nearly brought me to my knees.
Enjoyed meeting up with Michelle for coffee at Blue Valley Bistro, catching up on all things The Chronicle and Creswell. She also taught me a pro trick for getting rid of those annoying little ants that are taking over my kitchen — sprinkle the sills with cinnamon! So far, so good, but where do those grubby little jerks come from, anyway?
You may have noticed some new bylines in our publications. Last week, we welcomed Amanda as our new full time news reporter. A fresh graduate of the University of Oregon’s journalism tract, she’s served as the copy chief for the Daily Emerald, the editor in chief for Envision magazine, copy editor for Align magazine, copy chief for Ethos magazine, and a writer and copy editor for Green Eugene. She’s been busy getting coffee dates with leaders in our communities. If you’re reading this and want to be on her list, feel free to drop her a line.
Rebecca has also joined our team as a Cottage Grove-based writer. A longtime resident of the Grove, she’s got her finger on the pulse with writing and photography skills to boot. We enjoyed lunch together this month catching up at the Brewstation.
We’ve also welcomed Sophia as our summer intern. She comes with experience working with Align magazine and The Student Voice. She’s set to be a senior in the fall at the UO, and has already proven a strong asset to our summer lineup of staff. She’s cooking up a piece on Bohemia Mining Days for next week’s edition.
The proverb that says “many hands make light work” applies directly to the Class Acts: Graduation Magazine that hit the shelves last week, with many hands in education helping The Chronicle produce the annual publication. Coordinating hundreds of senior portraits and coverage of graduation events couldn’t have run smoother with the help of Tim, Mandy, Sheena, Mona, Jenny, and Angela, Brian and Patty, Rex, Emerald and Wendy, Cailyn, and Dawn.
José stopped by to pick up a stack of a previous Chronicle edition wherein his son was featured playing the piano during a Willamalane event. It was fun to make the connection that he’s the principal at Springfield High, and I sent him off with some extra copies of the graduation magazine and coverage of the ceremonies in the paper.
Noel Nash, publisher
A recent visit to Mike’s Barber Shop in Springfield led me to meet Frank. Not throwing shade on his colleagues there, but I’ve had more compliments on this recent cut than ever before. … Our most recent Roast, Toast, & Boast event gave me the chance to speak with Molly, a health and wellness consultant. I’m notoriously a poor eater, and have been testing fruit and vegetable chewables to compensate. … It also was a pleasure to meet Alby and Sara, the two flutists who played during our RTB event. They will be appearing at Flutestock on July 14-16 in Elkton. … Adam and I exchanged several emails recently to discuss magazine distribution strategies. … Lonnie was a new contact I’ve met through BNI; he stopped buy the newsroom to discuss advertising. … I chatted with Taylor recently regarding nonprofits, and Annette was a huge help at the Cottage Grove post office. … I appreciate Courtney of LCSO helping me out with the weekly call logs for the June 22 edition. … Kristin, Amanda, Jakob, and Kellie are all folks who patiently helped us review options for new Customer Relations Management software.
Pierre Weil, reporter
June was the end of high school coverage and the beginning of summer coverage for me. The end of high school sports was Thurston heavy, with the girls track team taking third at state. I chatted with Breanna, star of the team, and head coach John. … After track wrapped up I had the pleasure of covering the entire championship run of the Thurston baseball team. After the Colts won I interviewed three of their star players, Maddox, Grady and Connor, and talked to head coach Dennis again. … Just as it seemed like the high school season was over, some news came out of Springfield High. Miles, coach of the SHS football team for the last four years, stepped down and Frank, former Marist HC, took over. I talked with both, and both are excited for the direction of Springfield’s football program. … As summer coverage started I took a crack at some stories outside my normal comfort zone. I had a blast rafting down the river with Lenny, owner of Oregon Whitewater Adventures, as we chatted for the outdoor guide story. Then I interviewed Meg, the current owner of Busy Bee Cafe, and Betty, former owner, for a story on the diner’s reopening. … Finally, while helping out our new intern, I was able to chat and meet Conner, an SPD K9 Officer, and his K9 partner Kirby, while they were at Silke Field prepping for SPD’s K9 Competition. Zak was also a pleasure to speak with. He helps us coordinate coverage around SPD events.
