David Brown
Two weeks. The first two weeks I wasn’t on a newspaper’s payroll since May 1985. That’s all it took for me to get bored not having a weekly deadline and want to start writing a column again.
I’ve genuinely enjoyed my first two weeks in a row of not working since I was 19 years old – it helps to have grandchildren and dogs who can't get over that I'm home all day – but I’ve never been particularly good at leaving well enough alone. Truth is, there are lots of stories for readers in Cherokee and surrounding counties that still need to be told, and I’m not quite finished telling them yet.
This time, however, it’s going to be a little different. That’s because after more than 23 years, I’m no longer publisher of the Cherokee Scout. Instead, I’m just a columnist writing from my own perspective, not that of the newspaper. That will actually allow me more freedom to talk about the issues that are most important to all of us who live and work in God’s country.
Some folks might ask why I would come back in any capacity after my former position was eliminated last month. The answer is because I love the Scout, of which math says I have dedicated 38.3% of my life. The people who still work there are like family. Every community needs its local newspaper – and my faith commands me to build bridges, not burn them down.
I’m also exited about the chance to contribute occasional in-depth, long-form articles to newspapers across the region. One of the biggest challenges in journalism today is finding the time to explore and investigate important local concerns in detail, which was my first love as a young reporter. Keeping my toes – and fingers – in journalism is also an excellent way to sharpen my writing while I work on a children’s book (complete with a song-and-dance routine that’s a cross between Blink-182 and Ms. Rachel) and finally try to finish the thriller novel I started in 1989.
The Scout covered my exploits while playing baseball at Murphy High School. It was there when my best friend held art exhibits. Photographers covered my youngest daughter’s four years on the homecoming court and my oldest daughter’s mission trips. The obituaries of the people closest to me are recorded in these pages. The local newspaper simply means too much for me to not want to help in some way.
There were plenty of unfortunate things to report on during my time as publisher – Olympic bombing fugitive Eric Rudolph was infamously captured less than three months after I started, the decade-old Department of Social Services’ scandal is still being felt in the county’s higher property tax rate and earlier this year the sheriff resigned under pressure from the district attorney – but that tide thankfully seems to be turning.
After years of disharmony, local governments are starting to work together again. Grants are bringing a new wastewater treatment facility to Andrews and completing a project that will make downtown Murphy look, and drive, better than ever. A new superintendent is bringing optimism to the county’s public schools. Some strong leadership is in place for the future.
There’s a lot to look forward to in the next couple of years, and I’m happy to have the opportunity to keep telling you all about it. Thanks for reading.
David Brown is a columnist for the Cherokee Scout. Email column ideas, ask questions and make suggestions at dbrown@cherokeescout.com.