Well, for some of you, seeing this here in The Stanley Republican is a surprise! “Oh look, something NEW!” Others may be confused by the presence of this new column. And still others may be wondering who in the world this “Mark” guy is! So I thought I should start off with a special article for here in the Republican to help lead off the series.

A few years ago in the Owen-Withee area, a new paper was asked to be created. The Sentinel & Ru News began from that effort, and I was acquainted with their founders. After a while of e-mailing back and forth on some topics, their first Editor, Travis Rogers, asked if he could print what I had e-mailed to him! I was surprised… I was hesitant… But ultimately, thanks to Travis being exceptional, agreed to let him print it. And ever since, I’ve been writing articles for The Sentinel & Rural News, and many people share how much they appreciate what I’ve been writing. When Mr. McLoone first came to me about putting my articles in The Stanley Republican, I was a bit surprised! But at the same time, I thought, “Why not?”

I grew up in Thorp, and my wife grew up in Stanley. We did live elsewhere for a while, and are now back in the Thorp area. I have a business in Thorp, which many of you are probably aware of… And I have a lot of interest in seeing our area thrive and grow, because, frankly, why shouldn’t it!? We are in this great spot in between all of the other bigger towns, so why shouldn’t we have “the destination” spots here in our area!? So I care about and hope to help encourage and do whatever I can to help encourage our area to continue to thrive.

In general I tend to write about things I see in the news or going on around the area, and offer my own thoughts on the situation. I also try to share a rounded set of thoughts on the topics, and whenever possible I try to share the other facts on it that maybe haven’t been as readily shared in the main article. And I hope that the articles continue to be as well received here as they have been in the other paper!

By Mark Tobola