This week I want to share with you some things that are happening here at the Eagle.

First, I’m very happy to announce that we’re adding a comics page to our weekly edition! Like most people, I suppose, my first connection with newspapers came through the funny pages, and I’m thrilled that we’ll be adding comics to the Eagle. We’ll have a mix of classic strips such as Peanuts and Alley Oop, more recent mainstays like Pickles and Baby Blues and new entries such as Crabgrass and Phoebe and Her Unicorn.

While comics will occupy the top half of the page, the bottom will carry puzzles — a crossword, Sudoku and 7 Little Words — plus a horoscope. We hope you’ll like it! We’re still looking for a sponsor for the new page. If you’d like to get your business or organization’s name on what’s sure to be a popular and well-read page of our paper, contact advertising consultant Kim Kell at 541-575-0710.

That’s not the only new thing around around here. A few months back, we remodeled our office. We put in new flooring, gave the walls a fresh coat of paint, moved the furniture around and even added a new seating area. We think it gives the place a more open and inviting look, and we’d like to show it off. 

To that end, we’re inviting the community to an open house on Wednesday, July 19, from 4 to 6 p.m. We’ll break out the barbecue, grill up hamburgers and hot dogs, and have plenty of cold drinks on hand. We’d love for you to join us, check out our remodeled digs, and meet the people who produce your newspaper every week. 

We hope to see you there.

In case you missed last week’s edition, we had stories on a financial dispute that threatens the future of sports co-ops between Prairie City and Grant Union high schools, a proposed law enforcement levy, Grant County’s marble-hunting craze and expanding high-speed internet access, as well as the latest installment in the Bobbie Kolada saga from our sister paper in Medford.

This week, look for stories on a plea deal in the Brandon McKrola rape case, the roster of Grant Union/Prairie City players who made the all-state softball team (both already up on our website), the post-fire renovation of 1188 Brewing Co., the final installment in the Bobbie Kolada series and more.

If you’d like to help support our independent local journalism, please consider subscribing to the newspaper. And if you’re already a subscriber, please accept our heartfelt thanks — we can’t do this work without you!

— Bennett Hall, Editor