The community newspaper is the best thing for communication since Shakespeare. Citizens of Opelika and surrounding areas are especially fortunate to have their weekly community newspaper, The Opelika Observer.

At the top of the front page of the Observer are the words: “By local people, for local people” and this is the way the paper is presented.

A well-rounded paper, locally owned and operated, the Observer keeps the community aware of what is going on in their neighborhood and it provides a service in many ways, such as publishing news of local weddings and obituaries, all done at no charge to the subscriber.

Social events, club and church activities, along with the most important events of the school year, not the least of which are athletics, are included.

Weekly articles are written by writers who understand and appreciate the life style of the South and are dedicated to the betterment of the community..

Information concerning local elections is always available, as is news of any business in the area, and there is Ann Cipperly’s Southern Hospitality food page that is second to none.

Today, when so many newspapers have owners who live far away, it is often difficult to get the accurate view of a local problem. Letters to the editor are published by the Observer and can clear up any misunderstandings.

The printed newspaper as we know it, except for the community paper, is changing. The Birmingham News, long a staple of Alabama readers, now has gone digital along with many other daily papers and is printed on paper only on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

News Week announced that it is going digital totally at the end of 2012. No more picking up a copy at your news stand, even if you could find a news stand which is becoming about as rare as a telephone booth.

We all have Norman Rockwell pictures of what our newspaper means to us – the picture of the retired gentleman still sitting at the breakfast table, having his second cup of coffee and reading his morning paper or the young executive sitting on a park bench at noon eating his sandwich and reading his paper.

Enjoy your community paper and make use of it. Use it for publicity for your charitable and club activities, your yard sales and bake sales and other fund raising projects. If you need publicity for any civic event, let the Observer help you.

Nothing is more satisfying than coming home from work at the end of the day, putting your feet up and reading your newspaper.

One newspaper story that will warm your heart is the one about the stay-at-home mom who had four very active children (two were twins) under the age of 5. When the husband came home and supper was over, he took charge of the children and she went into the bathroom, locked the door, filled the tub with warm water and bubble bath and read her paper for an hour. She said this saved her sanity!

A year’s subscription to The Opelika Observer is a real bargain at only $39 — which includes delivery. A subscription is a perfect gift to a family, the couple next door or the family who has just moved away, or to a student away at school. The price is the same whether for a local subscription or out of town.

Community newspapers will be your tie to your community and will not only fill a void left by the daily paper, but will bring you closer to your community and those in it.

Support and enjoy the community paper.

 

Bita Bullet is the pen name of a local anonymous writer who can be reached at opelikaobserver@att.net