Hurricane Valley Journal

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The Hurricane Valley Journal is a weekly newspaper in Hurricane, Utah. Established by Ryan Carter in August 1997, the paper was purchased by Derral Eves just three years later. That marked the beginning of change. Eves took the publication from once a month to twice monthly, with more articles, columns and writers. Most notably the paper has evolved into a weekly paper from the monthly it once was. Circulation has increased to approximately 10,000 copies serving all of Hurricane Valley, including Hurricane, La Verkin, Toquerville, Virgin, Rockville, Springdale, Hilldale, Apple Valley and Coral Canyon.

[edit] Background

In October 2004 the Journal made the jump to a weekly publication. The Journal’s most veteran writer is Julia Campbell, who began writing for the paper in July 1998 after reading its first few issues. Earlier, she had thought about starting a local Hurricane newspaper herself and was excited to see Carter’s new publication focusing just on Valley news and people. While at the Journal office to place a business ad, she met Carter and mentioned that she enjoys writing. Carter phoned Campbell days later and invited her to join him in writing the paper. According to Campbell, Carter had been authoring the entire newspaper, with story contributions from city officials, community leaders and local organizations. Campbell’s first stories for the Journal featured new Hurricane Middle School principal Roy Hoyt (now HHS principal) and Stan Stewart, teacher of the year at HMS. She also covered local parks and recreation and the Washington County Fair – the kinds of stories the Journal continues to publish. Campbell plans to retire from the Journal next year, getting ready for an LDS mission the following year with her husband, Rod Campbell. Campbell gives credit to Carter for the foresight to start the paper and set its direction. And to Eves for continuing and expanding on that vision, she said. “I’ve appreciated the people I’ve worked with and Ryan for getting me started,” Campbell said. “It’s so rewarding to hear people say, ‘I just loved your story’. It’s so fulfilling to be able to write and feel that I’m contributing somehow to society.” From its beginning, the Journal has been a valuable resource for preserving local history.

The story of Keith Scholzen, Pat Harris and Rock Tucker taking sixth place in a national shooting competition was preserved in its pages in August 1998. In October 2002 the restoration of Lookout Point made the pages of the Journal. One hundred fifty people showed up to support the Hurricane City Historical Preservation Commission and the Sons of Utah Pioneers as they dedicated the Hurricane Bench Fort. In December 2004, the generosity of Hurricane Valley residents was displayed when Madison Hall, a student at Three Falls Elementary, decided to collect clothing for children in Afghanistan.

And last year, Hurricane Police Chief Lynn Excel was honored for more than 20 years of service to the community. Fortunately, they are all preserved online. In March 2004, the Journal underwent its most notable change. “The look of the Journal has been given a facelift,” said publisher Derral Eves in a letter to the readers. “Along with a new logo, the Journal features more pages than ever before, with the majority of our pages in color. We have added a local sports section and a Web site, complete with free classified ads and searchable archives.” Part of the Journal staff almost as long as Julia is copy editor and humor columnist Sharon May, who approached Carter about writing an “Erma Bombeck-type” column for the paper shortly after moving to Hurricane in June 1998. “I had been writing funny little notes to friends while in high school,” May said. “While overseas with my former husband serving with the Marine Corps, I wrote about my adventures as an American military wife living in Okinawa (Japan). My family passed them around to their friends and encouraged me to keep writing humorous accounts after returning stateside. So you can blame them,” she laughed. May recently joined the Journal as a full-time staff writer, lured from Hurricane High School, where she taught English for five years.

Over the years, the Journal has adapted to the needs of the growing community. It’s a paper about community pride with close-knit community values. “We will remain true to our commitment to serve the people of this community while covering the local news,” said Eves. “We live here, our children go to school here and we care personally about what takes place in this valley.”

[edit] External links

[edit] References

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