Behind the Headlines

By Danielle Portteus

Social media sites have increased in popularity, especially in the last year. Before beginning at the Evening News, I had a Facebook page.
I really wasn’t into MySpace.
And, to be honest, I wasn’t too keen on blogging.
It’s been about two and a half years since I starting with the Evening News and the paper has significantly redesigned the way to reach out to readers.
I’m not totally sold on blogging. I think I prefer using Twitter to communicate quick ideas to readers. I use the medium a lot when I attend government and school board meetings.
I think Twitter is a great way for me to get out little pieces of information that readers won’t get in a story, as well as some of the core decisions made in real time.
As soon as Bedford Public Schools board of education announced Jon White’s retirement, I posted it on Twitter.
If I need to find someone who has recently lost a job, I send out a Tweet and within minutes, I have a direct response from someone locally who is interested in sharing his story.
It’s amazing how fast something like that spread. Like friends on Facebook, I can follow whomever I want on Twitter. Sometimes there are mundane daily tasks posted like what someone had for breakfast, but then there are other times… like the death of Michael Jackson, that I found information out almost instantly.
At first, I wasn’t sure how I would like using Twitter, but after using it for about six months, I’m sold. It’s my preferred social media site.
The Evening News has a Twitter page featuring breaking news and daily headlines. My co-worker Paula also frequently posts on the site.
Check us out: me (newschic); Paula (MonroeOnaBudget) or the Evening New (monroenews)
I’m sure you’ll get addicted too.

By Danielle Portteus

Just read the report from 2008 on water quality from the South County Water System. Everything checks out. Some small traces of lead were found, but at 0.4 parts per billion, it was far smaller than the maximum of 15 parts per billion that would be declared unsafe to drink.
Water was tested monthly from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2008.
Drinking from the tap is perfectly safe. There is a recommendation to let the faucet run for 15 to 30 sec. before filling up a glass.

Tornado warning now in effect for Monroe County MI

– Paula Wethington

A severe thunderstorm warning has been posted for Monroe County, Mich.

Detroit Weather Service.

– Paula Wethington

A severe thunderstorm watch is currently in effect for Monroe County, Mich.

National Weather Service in Detroit

– Paula Wethington

The Lake Erie mayflies are making their annual visit.

I saw several mayflies this morning in downtown Monroe.

– Paula Wethington

I was at Munson Park today for the balloon release in memory of Nevaeh Buchanan.

The Monroe Evening News had a photographer on scene, as did most of the Toledo and Detroit news media outlets. You’ll see those news reports in the Sunday papers and on the local newscasts this weekend.

In the meantime, these are some of the pictures I took as the people balloons were on standby, waiting for the procession.

As the vehicle approached, the crowd of people lined N. Custer Rd. and released their balloons as the hearse passed by. After the balloons were sent up to the sky, everyone stood at the road in silence.

This was a very family-oriented gathering with lots of young children in the crowd. The park was a great place for the kids to play or have a picnic while the families waited for the balloon release.

This event evolved on the MonroeTalks forums Thursday night so this was arranged on short notice, but word got out out pretty well. I talked with a few people who said they learned about it from reading the newspaper articles Friday and today. It also was listed on various facebook pages and twitter feeds.

I didn’t have any balloons of my own, but one of the MonroeTalkers gave me a bag of balloons to open at the appropriate time. That’s why I don’t have any pictures of balloons flying — I was busy trying to get my balloons to fly to cue.

That’s OK, there were lots of other cameras at the park. You’ll see better photos in the area newspapers tomorrow. There’s also been discussion about the MonroeTalkers who had cameras posting their photos on the web.

– Paula Wethington

A very interesting thing happened on the MonroeTalks forums Thursday night.

The MT members started putting their ideas together for a balloon release in memory of Nevaeh Buchanan, and via the Internet came to a consensus on the details.

The summary can be found here: Balloons for Nevaeh Saturday.

– Paula Wethington

The World Health Organization has raised the flu alert level to 6, which means pandemic.

Twitter chatter on swine flu has really picked up in the past few hours.

On a local level, the flu outbreak has forced the cancellation for 2009 of a long-standing sister city student exchange between Monroe, Mich., and Hofu, Japan.

– Paula Wethington

I have a post at Monroe on a Budget about the Nevaeh Buchanan Memorial fund for children’s funerals.

– Paula Wethington

I work on the Community Page section at The Monroe Evening News. That means that at some point, every notice for a fundraiser or benefit in Monroe County, Mich., that is sent to the newspaper crosses my desk.

I put those fundraiser notices on the MonroeTalks calendar, and I schedule them on the Community Page in our print and e-editions.

One of the developments in the Nevaeh Buchanan case is that there are  restaurant benefits taking place to raise money for one of the funds in her name … and the proceeds, at this point, are likely to be used for funeral expenses.

Some of our readers on the monroenews.com comment boards and the MonroeTalks discussion boards have been wondering about the concept of restaurant fundraisers. While most questions involve where the money will be spent, there also have been questions about the concept in general.

After all, isn’t a fundraiser event really free advertising for a restaurant?

Don’t the restaurants make money anyway on the extra traffic from customers who want to support a fundraiser?

The answer is: take it or leave it. There are always other opportunities to contribute to any cause. Feel free to donate directly to a charity or benefit fund if that is your preference. Keep in mind there also are people who don’t like product fundraisers, or mail appeals, or umbrella campaigns. To each their own.

But fundraising via corporate partnerships, in itself, is not unusual. During the past couple of years, I have noticed a significant shift in the local fundraising atmosphere toward such an approach in lieu of direct cash donations from the business.

For example, Kroger and Meijer donate to causes that customers specifically designate on their shopper card accounts.

Many of the local stores or restaurants have, in recent years, decorated their walls with paper feet, paper hearts or paper shamrocks in celebration of customers’ donations to a featured charity.

Many of the free and low-cost community events we take for granted in Monroe, Mich., simply would not happen without corporate support. The annual River Raisin Jazz Festival in downtown Monroe is one such example. On a smaller scale, the State Farm Insurance office in New Boston recently hosted a free child safety event

And The Monroe Evening News really does receive several notices each month about this or that restaurant donating a percentage of its receipts on an off-peak night to a particular charity benefit or cause. Perhaps you heard about Camp Day, which was a charity promotion at Tim Hortons that took place June 3.

Yes, these partnerships and sponsorships do result in free publicity for the businesses, restaurants and corporate partners. I frequently have to tone down the commercial spin from the original press releases when I’m typing up event and fundraiser notices for the newspaper.

But if you live in Monroe, Mich., you know that an atmosphere of service and giving is part of our community personality – whether you are a fifth-grader collecting food pantry donations, whether you are a civic club member who is leading a charity golf outing to raise funds for a scholarship, … or whether you are a restaurant owner or manager that has decided to donate some of your business proceeds to a cause.

– Paula Wethington

There is now a tornado warning in Lenawee County MI.

National Weather Service in Detroit.

– Paula Wethington

It’s kind of old news, but Scripps Howard News Service had an interesting report recently about an unfortunate incident involving Monroe-based La-Z-Boy.
Seems a supplier to the furniture-maker provided a steel part that came from a radioactive source. It happened more than a decade ago and the 1,000 chairs affected were recalled, but it points to the dangers of manufacturers who don’t adequately monitor the source of their raw materials.
The report can be found by clicking here.

–Charles Slat

Hunting with Mike, one of our BlogsMonroe network partners, has this post about Nevaeh Buchanan: Tears for an Angel.

Click on the Nevaeh Buchanan archives in this blog for links to other local blog posts, the headline archives and other places on the web where you can look up details and discussions about a tragic story in Monroe, Mich., that is getting national attention.

– Paula Wethington