File this story under, “Well didn’t see that coming, did ya?!” In case you missed the fast and furious rumor, I have sold The Eureka County Star. After many, many sleepless nights and a few days of questionable medical issues, my much-loved Eureka County Star is going to move forward and continue to shine under the wonderful new ownership of Rachel Dahl of Range Media from Fallon, Nevada.
Please allow me to put this news in here. Because I feel some readers will wonder about my “why” of selling. Shoot, I would want to know. I am just as curious—which means nosey—as anyone! Let me begin by saying this. I think multiple sclerosis is a very stupid, stupid, stupid disease. I give mucho-mucho love and thanks to my neurologist, Dr. Tim Louie of Swift Institute in Reno, and locally to Tamish Pena, APRN for keeping me and my silly self, upright and going this far in life: well, so far anyway. Who knew someone could get so sick as to nearly check out a couple of times without even realizing how sick one person can be? HAHA They both have pulled me back from “the brink” because, before doing what I needed to do to take care myself, I told them both, as they just shook their heads at me, “But I can’t be sick! I have to get the paper out!” So please, my friends and readers, know I would still be doing the paper forever if MS could just be seen in my rear view instead of my future.
Moving on… Rachel and her amazing team produce 6, now 7 rural Nevada newspapers. The Fallon Post is her flagship and since she started the Post she has added The Pershing Post, The Battle Mt. Bugle, The Humbolt Sun, The Fernley Reporter and The Lovelock Review. Most recently she added the RANGE Magazine to her very overflowing plate. Rachel publishes RANGE on her own, (well with her crew too) after she outright purchased all the rights to the publication from CJ Hadley. Rachel has now also started a publishing company with an eye on Nevada authors. But, as she laughed when she was telling me about it, she is very open to other books and book ideas. She has expanded and opened a book and more store in Fallon, which caters to authors and artisans from Nevada. How fitting that she now will have The Star in her stable. She is just about as rural as I am! Just about!
Rachel and I have known each other for a while now. She has been a great source to me on my newspaper journey. As has been Christine Bryner, my wonderful paginator, owner of Studio 509, my super-duper friend, Dana Fruend of Caliente Life Magazine, Wendy Wager, of the Las Vegas Review Journal who makes printing magic, Teresa Stewart, owner of the Bristlecone Tribune in Ely, and my great friend, ear and strong shoulder, Candy Castaneda in Eureka. (We women of rural Nevada and Christine in Arizona are forces like no other!)
So when the time came for me to re-re-re-re-re retire from all the things I have done in my silly amazing life? Well, Rachel was the only one I would entrust The Eureka County Star and all my wonderful supporters, readers, advertisers and friends to. Rach–I love to tell people this. Rachel is so sooooo like me: 30 years ago. She is a pistol, a house on-fire, a force to deal with—a lovely woman that is full of piss and vinegar. Yes. That is the only person I could see keeping The Eureka County Star as Eureka as it can be and also be as rural as Nevada is with her Great Basin Sun and Regional Sports Edition inserts, she has already started to deliver tucked inside The Star each week.
But wait, there’s more. Stepping into the role of local editor is a woman who I hope you will give all the help, love, stories and business to, as you have over the past years entrusted to me. Please welcome your new local contact and editor, Winnona Eversgerd. How exciting, right? Winnona is nervous and excited and ready, willing and much more than able to tackle The Star and all it will absolutely ask of her.
Then there is me. I am of mixed feelings about this next step of life for me. Creating The Star from absolutely nothing but air and my fingertips has been more than I could have ever asked for from myself, my God and my community. Truly, I can’t wait for the book about this, “trip-and-fall-get-back up-and-go-again” journey, to become my next book.
Oh YES! That is my next step. A new book to add to my other three. It’s in my brain and is going to become a thing. The story of the creating of a rural newspaper? Maybe. Working title “171 Weeks, a Rural Newspaper Comes to Life.” The life of The Eureka County Star is a true miracle when so many papers, HUGE and teeny are falling off the face of our mother earth. We’ll see. The Star has become a thing of beauty and information. Telling of yesterday, today and tomorrow. STRONG in her life that will surely be part of the fabric of Eureka County for as long as some of the other 6 papers of Eureka’s history have come and gone since 1864. She has weathered storms and come out tall and heads above the rest. I am very proud to have been the one who birthed her and to be the one who now brings her to this next stage of her life. I hope you will continue to read, enjoy and support The Eureka County Star as your paper of record and the Shining Star for all of Eureka County.
My friends say I do not tout on myself enough. That woman who beats her own drum, is defiantly not me. I do things I love and some of them are pretty cool and I just take them as they come. But! HAHAHA I must tell you I am pretty danged proud to be going out on this last announcement which is, to me, a very high note.
THE EUREKA COUNTY STAR WINS SEVEN NEVADA PRESS ASSOCIATION AWARDS
(Well didn’t see that coming either did ya?!) Newspapers in Nevada have the opportunity to become part of the Nevada Press Association Foundation. I signed on as a member of the group as the writer of “Is This You?” many years ago then rolled The Eureka County Star, my little newspaper, into my membership. Each year the Press Assoc. has a contest wherein other editors choose the best of the best of articles, pictures, advertising, editorials, cartoons and all things that make a newspaper a newspaper in Nevada—all of Nevada. This past year I entered some of the parts of The Star in some of those areas of the contest. Well who knew I would walk away from the annual Nevada Press Association Foundation Award Banquet held in Las Vegas September 26th with no less than SEVEN awards this year. You could have knocked me over with a feather. SEVEN! Your editor and your local newspaper were given a nod, noticed and awarded with seven different “atta girl” notices. What an unplanned, lovely and blessed strategy.
NOW THAT’S AN EXIT PACKAGE WORTH MILLIONS OF HAPPY MEMORIES
I hope in telling my stories of The Eureka County Star with an upcoming book, that other newspaper wanna be peeps across the country will take up the torch and see that having a local newspaper is doable and a blessing to a community. It’s really all about the grass roots of this county and truly this great country of ours. It’s that grit that we started our country with, and, what I think anyway, will always be strong and free. WE live in the best country, the best county and I live in the best community of Diamond Valley, Nevada, U.S.A. I want my next book to be a leader in that keep us free with the press movement. Kinda big headed of me isn’t it? Steven King wrote in his book The Shawshank Redemption and Morgan Freeman said as Red, the character in the movie of the book, who never stopped believing in life; “You gotta get busy living or get busy dying.”
Hey! I am not dead yet. HAHAHA I am still a writing fool with words falling out of my happy fingertips like has been happening all my life.
WHAT ABOUT “IS THIS YOU?”?
I happily invite you to keep in touch anytime with me as I continue to write and enjoy my ITY, “Is This You?” pieces. She’s my 12-year going on 13-year-old silly, self-syndicated to no less than up to 18 newspapers weekly column, that has kept me grounded throughout my writin’ years. Talking about the life of Trina, and yours too, is my baby, and, God willing and the creek don’t rise, I will always write my lifestyle column, “Is This You?” New books and more will always be forthcoming. Because now I won’t be able to tell my doctors that I can’t do what they tell me to because I will no longer have the excuse that I have to “get the paper out!”
Oh My Stars! My email address is: [email protected]. Thank you many, many times,
See you when you see me, —Trina
