Papers’ role in community recognized

This week newspapers large and small across the country are celebrating National Newspaper Week.

The observance — the 81st annual — aims to recognize newspapers, their employees and the contributions they make to the communities they serve. It is sponsored by Newspaper Association Managers.

While it’s nice to have a special week to commemorate what newspapers provide, serving the community and reporting on what happens in Boulder City is what we do every day with award-winning results.

It seems fitting that this year’s theme, “Community Forum,” which highlights newspapers’ roles as government watchdogs and places to get community news, comes on the heels of one of the biggest events in our community: Art in the Park.

This past weekend thousands of people descended on the four downtown parks to shop, stroll and socialize. We are happy to see that community events are returning to our parks, streets and buildings, and we look forward to sharing details about them with you.

We have been working diligently to keep up with the ever-changing situation in our community since March 2020 when the pandemic hit in full force. And while we have not yet returned to our office on a regular basis, we haven’t let that deter us from reporting on the community. I assure you that we are here to serve and inform the community.

It’s a duty that has been handed down since Boulder City’s earliest days and one we take seriously.

We were reminded once again about the importance of community news last month at the annual Nevada Press Association convention. While there, we read about Hall of Fame member Elton Garrett, who our junior high is named after.

Garrett was a newspaperman with the Las Vegas Evening Review-Journal who started reporting on the birth of the city in 1929. Two years later, he moved to Boulder City to become managing editor and a one-man news bureau for the Boulder City Journal, an edition of the Review-Journal.

Among his duties, Garrett wrote a column titled “Nuggets of Boulder Color” that chronicled the town’s history through stories about folks building the dam.

Today, we launch a new series of articles, “Boulder City Nuggets,” that carries on that tradition.

These “Nuggets” are little gems that showcase the people who help make our community run. They are store clerks, bank tellers, restaurant employees, hair stylists and others — people you rely on to get things done. Those who you may see every day but know nothing about.

They are crucial, treasured parts of our community, just as you are.

This newspaper is a forum for the community, a place where ideas and views can be exchanged.

That exchange is a vital part of what we do, so we invite you to become involved. It’s easy. You can share an opinion through a letter to the editor, share details of an upcoming event or suggest a candidate for an upcoming Boulder City Nuggets feature. All you have to do is email us at news@bouldercityreview.com. Or, you can call me directly at 702-586-9523.

Recognizing newspapers as a community forum this week is a well-intentioned goal, but for us it’s our everyday mantra.

Hali Bernstein Saylor is editor of the Boulder City Review. She can be reached at hsaylor@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523. Follow @HalisComment on Twitter.