Winter is here, the perfect time to curl up with a hot beverage (coffee, tea, hot buttered rum) and a good book. I’m currently enjoying “Red Sparrow,” the Jason Matthews spy thriller that became a 2018 film starring Jennifer Lawrence. It’s my choice for the January installment of the 2023 Grant County Library Reading Challenge, which encourages participants to read a book that’s been made into a movie.

As we reported in our Jan. 18 edition, the library is challenging local residents to read one book a month for the whole year. February’s challenge is to read a book set or written in your home state; in March, the idea is to read a celebrity memoir; and so on through December, with prize drawings held quarterly. Librarians Chris and Dovie tell me they’re getting a strong response from Grant County readers, who seem to love the idea. 

At this point, I’m going to pause to toot my own horn a little: I’m the one who gave them the idea. When I told them I was taking a 12-month reading challenge I’d seen on Instagram, they decided to adapt it for Grant County. (That obnoxious thumping noise you hear is me patting myself on the back.) I’m delighted that so many local readers have decided to take the challenge. The only problem is, now I’m locked into completing both challenges — and I don’t think Chris and Dovie are going to let me off the hook! 

In case you missed it, last week’s edition featured stories on the furor over a Grant Union Junior High School teacher’s sexually suggestive class assignment, the abrupt retirement of Grant School District Superintendent Louis Dix after less than a year on the job and the resignation of two school board members, plans for a possible taxing district to raise money for the Grant County Sheriff’s Office and the Grant Union Wrestling Tournament.

In this week’s paper, watch for stories on the continuing standoff over an open seat on the John Day City Council, the headline musical act at this year’s Grant County Fair, the first baby of 2023 and a court decision setting aside the conviction of a woman who stole $70,000 from the Prairie City School District.

As always, I want to take this opportunity to thank our subscribers for their support. We can’t do this work without you!

— Bennett Hall