Written by Mallory Paine
Three years ago, the Woodbury Bulletin newspaper shut down, leaving the community without a professional local news source. It has become increasingly difficult for residents to find information about important topics, including information for upcoming elections. The local news then became the responsibility of the active high school papers: The Current Uproar at Woodbury High School and The Ridge Review here at East Ridge. With the recent election season, the community was looking for information on local government.
In a recent article, the Ridge Review reported on a new resolution passed by the Woodbury City Council suspending the contracts with school resource officers (SROs) in the high schools, and then later reinstating them. During the research process, the Ridge Review reached out to the Woodbury City Council for comment. The paper initially used the email provided on their website, but received no response after two weeks. Unable to find the individual city councilor email addresses on their website, the Ridge Review was provided them by a community member. The paper again waited two weeks and received no response.
Four weeks from the first attempt at contact, the paper left a voicemail at the city council office. This finally yielded a response from the city clerk, who offered the opportunity to set up an interview with the mayor. The day before the interview, the Ridge Review received an email canceling the interview altogether on advice of the city attorney. The City Clerk instead suggested that we instead review the relevant published agendas and video recordings.
This sudden reversal left the staff of the Ridge Review frustrated and wondering about the accessibility of the city council in general. As a newspaper, it is our job to use information from multiple sources and viewpoints, but the Woodbury City Council was not offering that opportunity in a timely manner. The Ridge Review will continue to monitor the SRO issue in our city’s schools because the council regards it as an “ongoing matter.” We are dedicated to making local news accessible for all age levels in our community and hope that our local government will join us in that mission.
