I'm PJ O'Connell and here at Penn State Public Broadcasting, we're in the communications business, the mass communications business.

Thousands and occasionally, well, rarely really, millions of people see our documentaries and public affairs reports, our game shows and how-to-do-its and of course, our weather shows.

We're good and we're proud of what we do.

But there is one area of the mass communications field that we don't and can't compete in, local news, really local news.

The hospital report, the obituaries, the wedding pictures, the club meeting calendar, police reports, softball scores.

It's the local newspaper that reports local news, and it's to an audience of hundreds or perhaps a few thousands.

And that audience can be fiercely loyal, as well as fiercely critical.

Just ask your local editor.

In this edition of The Pennsylvania Parade, we'll listen in as local newspaper men and women report the very local spirit of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

[telephone ringing] [NEWSPAPER PRESS STARTS, SPEEDS UP] The newspaper business is probably the only field I know in which you can come in contact with so many different people.

The reasons I like working newspaper and especially small town newspapers, at some time or another, you get a chance to help every different aspect of the community.

You get to become integrally involved in most everything that's going on.

They all are involved with some organization that needs publicity, that needs to work with the paper, that has a problem that needs to be solved, that needs the help of a newspaper.

Everybody brings in their own particular problems.

And at that given time, you generate your interest on their particular problem or their particular need and it gives you a great deal of personal satisfaction.

[press running, humming] The farmer where we're going just wasn't satisfied at all with the results he got, and now he actually pursued it to the point where he called the state legislator and state legislator, apparently called the Department of Environmental resources, to the point where Steele now contends that there's going to be a congressional investigation out here next Thursday.

Now he's complaining that the coal stripper has decided to remove this land before the hearing, which will make his case absolutely worthless when it comes time, and he wants photos to document his evidence.

This fella came in about three weeks ago, and he brought in his topographical map, and he explained to me what was happening.

Well, his contention is that in stripping this area, they piled the residue area up and threw an eventual wash.

It has washed out and ruined three acres of his land.

Well, he's not nearly so mad at the coal company as he is at the Department of Environmental Resources for failing to enforce regulations which protect him as a farmer.

And he's damned if he's going to comply to the Clean Streams Act and the other acts, which he's now going to be regulated by if coal companies, which he feels are wealthy and powerful organizations, aren't going to have to comply.

This must be the first portion of it right here.

I mean, they were stripping a lot out here.

Just the size.

This is a violation, which has gone pretty far.

Right.

In other words, you didn't-- when you called the mine inspector in July, he didn't come down?

No, I didn't call my Inspector.

I was trying to work with the coal company to make it right.

I didn't call the mine inspector until January.

And at that point, this violation had been in process for six months.

Then I called the mine inspector and it took a mine inspector, after he knew it was here, 15 days before he even bothered to come down to look at it.

What was the contour of the hill before they started?

Just like this.

All the way up?

Yeah.

And how did it slide?

During the rains or?

Well, just too much weight.

Isn't that right, Ruby?

But it's actually pressure from the spoil coming down, setting up on top and then pushing the ground from underneath straight in the air.

When we go up on top, we'll be able to see it.

What would be the ideal situation for you?

To have this all back up out of there and reinstate it and get some kind of damage from the trees that should have been saved in the first place because it had we been protected by the law that should have been enforcing it-- Snuffy, how are you doing?

Well, pretty good.

A couple of things here.

I'm having a couple of problems with.

Maybe you can help me out.

There's been a Bob Steel into the office, and I've been out to his farm here, and he says we're going to have a hearing at 2:30 on Thursday.

Is that right?

[typewriter keys crackling] From what you have heard from Steele, what has happened is a spoil pile has slid down onto his property.

Yeah.

OK. Well, we'll definitely be out there about 2:30 this Thursday, then.

OK.

Thanks a lot, Snuffy.

Mm-hmm.

Bye.

I don't think he knows what he's talking about.

This being an election year, normally, he would come through with great information to put him right up at the top.

He knows nothing.

[engine rumbling] Another meeting?

Yes.

Monday night and two tomorrow night.

Outside of that, nothing.

We'll see you tomorrow.

My name is Ben Jones.

I've been with the company for some 25 years.

I cover council, the Municipal Authority, Redevelopment Authority, the Planning Commission, Parks and Recreation Authority Board and anything else that might come up in an emergency.

Well, I don't mind losing as long as they play well.

I have found that people will not attend a public meeting to find out what's going on themselves.

They rely on a newspaper to furnish it for them.

And I think by giving coverage to the action of the Borough Council, the people know what is going on.

They might not like it, but at least they know.

And the same with the other commissions and authorities.

They're open to the public under the Sunshine Law, but people will not go, but they will stand around and criticize their actions.

I try to report things as they occur and don't embellish anything.

What happens, that's it.

Discussion on the motion.

All in favor.

ALL: Aye.

Opposed.

So heard.

As you know, this is a small town.

And the newspaper serves as a means of acquainting the people, the residents, with the happenings and goings on within the borough itself.

And I think it serves as a means to let the people in the Punxsutawney area know what's going on locally.

Now, they get all they need or want, evidently, on state and national news and international through the media of the television and radio, but the local stuff is what we feel is more important for our readers than either state or national or international news.

Well, I think they do an excellent job of relaying the information to the public.

[background conversation] I can't say it's worth it or it isn't.

And over the years, I think that they can be commended, in fact, for their role in trying to get what we're trying to do to the public because there's not too many people attend these meetings.

And the only way they have knowing what's going on and what we're trying to accomplish is through the news media and the radios.

They don't seem to give out enough information of what transpires in council, where people are allowed to come here and see what transpires, and a lot of the information that should be published is sometimes omitted from the paper.

This is one that I have.

And one of my biggest beefs that I've got is the sound off column, which I think that a little bit irritates some of the members of the council, along with some of the taxpayers.

And I think that might be a good thing.

It may be not.

I don't know.

Go ahead.

ANNOUNCER: Sound off with your pet peeve or gripe.

Get it before the public in the sound off column in the spirit on Saturday.

You may begin speaking at the sound of the tone and you have 30 seconds to sound off.

[radio sign-off tone] WOMAN 1: Farrow or whoever else has charge, should paint the crosswalks on West Mahoning Street so that we pedestrians can cross in at least a small degree of safety.

[typewriter keys crackling] WOMAN: All of you who are cruel to your elders someday shall also be old.

So expect from your young the same treatment you gave your elders.

[typewriter keys crackling] WOMAN 2: I as a passenger that rides the Porter Township bus, feels it is unsafe to ride a bus traveling 60 to 65 miles per hour and making us walk to the front of the bus while going down dangerous hills and rounding curves.

NARRATOR: That must be the third time that same girl has called.

I don't know any place on that Porter Road where a bus could go 65 miles an hour because I've been on the road.

I can't do it.

[phone ringing] CHILD: I read last week in Soundoff, where a smart kid from the Rossiter or from Rossiter jumped the crick.

In my opinion, I didn't think he was so smart after all, or he wouldn't have tried jumping it.

What did we have in about some kid jumping the creek at Rossiter?

Bicycle?

What did it say-- what is saying sound of?

Come out covered with S-H-I-T but that didn't get inside the Soundoff.

[woman laughing] The Soundoff, it's really helped our Saturday paper.

People will come down here and get the paper first thing to see that column.

The chief of police will look at the Soundoff column before he looks at the log.

Oh, Christ, I don't know what it was this brand new tape I put in, but it didn't record.

And I got here about 8:30 or 8:45 on Saturday morning and the first thing one of the merchants comes in and he says, hey, Nixon, Nixon, he says, what happened to the tapes?

Because we had to put a blurb on the front page that the tapes didn't work.

And all week long until the next Soundoff column, everybody said there were things that were just so strong in there, they couldn't print them, and they had to eliminate the column this week, which is far from the truth.

Oh.

[printer printing] Have you been able to contact those March of Dimes people?

Oh, you haven't.

OK.

I'm Audrey Bidwell, and I'm the social editor.

And I just take care of all the women's organizations.

All right.

Fine.

Thank you very much.

I'll call you back.

Goodbye.

Was this on that bike?

Oh, great.

The woman not only liked to see their name in the paper, but it gives each church or each organization an opportunity to show to the public exactly what is going on, exactly what they are doing.

People like to be recognized regardless of if it's a large something they've done or a small something they've done.

They like to be recognized, mainly the women, for the things they do.

And they do a lot and to give them credit for something they have done, that makes me feel good to know I can be of some help in bringing that organization or that group to the eyes of the public.

But I would think that this would be a good time for a follow up story.

Beautiful.

Yeah.

Why don't you talk with Mary Louise?

I still think you'd have to have an interpreter go with you.

Oh yeah.

You did the first story, didn't you?

Yeah.

Well, you did the first story.

I think I did the second.

You did the last one.

I did the last one.

Yeah.

You communicated better than I do.

With pleasure.

But maybe towards the end of the week, if you could go out and take Mary Louise with you, it'd be-- All right.

No.

Oh.

That's pretty.

Snow.

And who is Tring?

Tring?

No.

Ching.

Yeah.

Ching.

[inaudible] Ching.

OK. And what does that mean?

[non-english speech] The girl no marry.

Oh.

A young girl.

Young girl.

A young girl.

OK. All right.

And how about Trang?

Who's Trang?

Chang.

Chang.

T-R-E-N-G. Chang.

You're five.

Now, what does that mean?

Each name has a meaning.

I don't know.

We just happened to notice the one meant snow.

We don't know the rest.

Oh, I see.

I don't mean nothing.

I don't know ... You all go to church here?

Yeah.

Right here?

I go to church on the Wednesday and Saturday.

And Saturday.

They go with you?

Yeah.

Good.

Sometimes they go on the family.

That's a nice little group.

Almost a whole church.

How'd you like living in Adrian?

I like living here.

You like living here?

Yeah.

Have you met many people here?

Have you met a lot of people?

Yeah.

I met a lot of people.

A lot of people.

Uh-huh.

How are you doing?

I understand you're taking English lessons.

I thought it would be [inaudible] Come slowly.

Come slowly.

Before I speak, a bit of Vietnam.

But never I can talk.

I think in Vietnam only learn no talk.

No talk.

I think you're doing fine.

Well, that's good.

That's nice.

That's real nice.

Well, you have a very lovely family.

A very nice family.

Very nice.

I can't picture my children sitting this long.

This is quiet.

Oh.

Well, it's been very, very nice meeting you.

And you have a very lovely family.

Very nice family.

They're all very nice.

Well, thank you very much.

Very nice meeting you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Bye now.

Bye.

Bye.

Thank you.

Goodbye.

Bye.

Have a nice time.

[typewriter keys crackling] What do you mean?

There was mention of that in Soundoff?

Well, we have a number to call them.

And they get a signal, and they have 30 seconds to give their opinion or gripe, and they don't have to give their name.

No matter.

It is?

[typewriter keys crackling] Well, I didn't know that, but I will.

[typewriter keys crackling] I said before, I'll check into it and see-- oh.

[typewriter keys crackling] That is your prerogative.

Yes, ma'am.

Thanks very much for calling.

Oh, boy.

This lady was just complaining about several articles that appeared in Soundoff about her property that she doesn't like, and she wants to know the people's names who call it in.

Of course, I couldn't give it to her, so she's going to see her attorney and see what can be done about things published in the paper that were not true.

Are-- you within your legal rights in that Soundoff?

They don't have to give their name when they make a phone call?

Well, if it's potentially liable, sure.

We're obligated for anything that would be potentially libelous.

I don't remember reading anything like that.

Do you know when we get letters to the editor, they have to sign that before they go in.

Mm-hmm.

But we have a greater control over the Soundoff column.

We're editing each week.

We're guarding ourselves against anything that would be potentially libelous like that.

But she also says this-- I noticed today on Sutton Street, some yards full of cars, trucks, and an assortment of old garbage.

Nothing to mention a pizza house.

No.

What makes her think that it's her property?

Maybe she's got a few things.

Good morning.

What do you know?

[machines running] OK. Fine.

Yes.

Is this the only thing you got on here?

Whatever's on here.

Yeah.

Nothing coming in?

My name is Tom Harris, and I'm the night editor here, as well as more or less chief photographer.

Oh, but there are no other incidents tonight.

No accidents or anything?

Oh, no, no.

Everything's quiet so far.

The rounds usually happens around 9:00 o'clock.

That's when I usually go out on my rounds first to the state police to check up and see if they have anything in the way of news releases, if I haven't called him already.

And I'll spend some time up there.

It could be as long as a half an hour, depending on how much news there is out there, whether or not I run into anybody up there that I know.

And a lot of times it's just spend more time up there just talking to him.

It shouldn't be long before the midnight specials come bopping in here, huh?

The what?

The midnight specials, Shorty and Scully.

Yeah.

They'll be rolling in here in about another 10 or 15 minutes to go.

The midnight specials.

I've never heard them called that.

Oh yeah.

You've never been around for one of Shorties famous exchanges when he stands there and calls me a long hair?

From there, I get on to the hospital, pick up the hospital report.

Midsummer.

might exchange some words with the girls who work on the desk.

There was a fellow trying to pull his girl in the car, and the mother said, no, she didn't want him to go.

So the mother was pulling this way and the kid was pulling this way and finally the kid let go, and the girl fell out in the street, and the mother fell on top of her.

So they called the ambulance and brought her up by ambulance.

They got up here and got her out of the ambulance and the fellow said, I didn't hurt you, did I, honey?

And from there, get on to the Borough Police, pick up whatever news they have.

Again, spend a few minutes in conversation.

No accidents, no fires.

No accidents, no fires.

As far as I know, the prisoners are still at large.

You mean you haven't caught them yet?

They haven't come here.

[clicks] All right, Carl.

It's your last chance.

All I can give you is a kind word.

[laughing] That's all I can give you.

Since when?

Since when?

Hey, Carl, I like your hairpiece, by the way.

You do?

Yeah.

Really?

[laughing] I think you're lying.

I'll see you, Carl.

You've got to get to know people.

You just can't stay cooped up in the office all the time.

You have to go out and meet people.

You have to go out and talk to people.

You have to get to know them.

They're not going to come up to you and say, hey, have you heard this and have you heard that if they don't know you.

A lot of times what you hear is gossip from the people on the street.

But a lot of times when you investigate further on it, you find out there is something to it and a story evolves from it.

It doesn't happen if you just sit back and expect people to come to you without even knowing you.

You have to let them know you and you have to get to know them.

And it's an interacting kind of thing.

The big thing is that a lot of local police departments don't look on the newspapers and radio and TV, for that matter, as any kind of a deterrent to what goes on.

There's a lot of papers whose policy is if a guy gets busted for drunk and driving, that his name gets in there, and maybe he'll get so damn embarrassed that he won't ever do it again.

Well, of course, that's all based on the policy of the paper.

The policy is what defines how owners of the paper write.

Yeah.

They set the policy tone.

Of course, again, speaking from old police experiences, most police departments like to cooperate with any paper, whether it be a weekly, daily or whatever.

Yeah, but too many of them hold back too.

Hold back on the base is that if you interfere with a police investigation, I can see holding them back.

All right.

Supposing someone doesn't want to come across with some information that you'd like to get a hold of, OK?

Not in the interest of jeopardizing investigation or anything like that, but just solely for the news value of it, add something more to the story that you're writing to find out more, OK?

And people don't want to talk to you.

Then do you think it's proper or would you condone going outside and getting the information any way you could?

I mean, you might say that there's a reason for them holding back, but you know.

Well, basically a lot of reporters develop their own contacts, their own stories if they're sidetracked.

This is true.

Yeah.

Hey, Radar.

One of the better criminal investigators.

This is the distinguished member of the press who is running into problems with police officers concerning getting a news story.

Americans give you a lot of stories.

I told him it's a two-way street.

... and that's the way it works, right?

And just what is going on.

Do you have any comments that you wish to add relative to-- Yes, but in cases-- Why you police officers frustrate the press.

This is one of my complaints.

Any time that you people attend a hearing, someone should make a little card file saying that you people did do this in the paper, and this little card file should be followed up so that it's brought to a conclusion.

But, Joe, look, we get in there at night, we got a three man staff.

We've got to make sure that everything fits in, everything's spelled right if we can, which is difficult.

OK?

I've got film to do, things like this, plus run around and just get the releases that are at the police stations, OK?

And don't always get a chance to follow things up.

If something big breaks, you try and stay on top of it, but you can't do this with everything.

In other words, what I'm saying is don't do part of a job.

I agree.

I agree with you.

That's like me releasing something in a paper tomorrow saying, Tom Ulers is alleged to be visiting a certain married man's wife.

That could be a true statement and so innocent, but that's all I'm going to say.

But how do you think a majority of the people in this town would interpret that?

Wow!

Playing around with some guy's wife, when in fact, you probably were there very legitimately interviewing her or collecting for the paper or whatever you do as a newspaper man.

But that's not the way I painted it.

That's right.

What I'm trying to tell you is we're limited.

We can't go around and have contacts here.

Contacts there.

It takes time.

That's what I'm trying to tell you.

And we don't have that kind of time.

It's tough, Tom, and I realize that, and I know you're understaffed, and I know you people have a lot of coverage here for a little manpower, but I'm saying that half a job is not good enough.

I would rather see no job at all.

When you get, like, in the case in point he's talking about, that's up to you to follow up with a supplemental.

This can be done from your desk with a telephone.

It doesn't necessitate jumping in your car and driving for hours.

This is true.

What I'm trying to say is, I personally try to do that much within the limited scope of things in the town.

You know what I mean?

You want to use the reverse?

You know who uses us that way?

Bill Burns, KDKA when he had that murder case over in Clearfield.

Bill Burns didn't want to travel up here, but he wanted something for his show and he got it.

He got it.

Put right on.

This is the personal touch.

Bill Burns, who couldn't care less about us, takes the time, and he'll call here and hey, how are you?

He doesn't remember us, but he sees this name down there.

Joe Godleski.

Ed Kerr.

We're already punched.

Hey, how are you?

Why?

Stop down and see us.

Only what he didn't realize, we did.

We stopped down at the old TV show.

Him, this Bill Curry.

We had the whole group.

In closing, let me just say, it certainly has been nice for you to have interviewed us.

Seriously.

Where are you going?

I have an appointment.

I've got to run.

Hey, before you go, take these nails out of my hand, will you?

OK. That's just what I'm doing.

I'm saying that people take for granted the things that you labor and toil at day after day.

They can't appreciate what you have to go through to put that paper together.

I do think you guys do a good job.

You really do.

I only wish you could do better.

[press machine crackling] Kiraly standing out in front that knows everything.

That's the other thing about the industry in a small town like this.

You got to get some good friends who will help you and have a constant contact with the public.

He's probably got hundreds of people driving in every day, and everybody's shooting at some line of breeze with him or some line of speculation.

When he passes something along, it's good to us.

It really helps.

For anybody reporting, working in the news side, it takes a good deal of time to establish contacts and get.

If you don't have those contacts and you're missing a lot of the feature type stories, you don't have-- you just miss out on a lot of good stories that if people could tip you off one day before, you'd be able to get.

But knowing everybody means in most cases, everybody knows you and everything about you, and that's got its good points and its bad points too.

But in the media Punxsutawney, we have about 8,000 people.

And then there's the distant coal mining towns which lie within six to 12 miles that really are serviced by the Punxsutawney community and still make up another substantial portion of the population.

So when we talk about the community and the size of the population here, we're really talking about 12,000, I would think, by the time the business community talks about 12,000 drawing power in the immediate area.

We are heavily populated with an over 60 age group, and there's good reason for that.

I don't think we have the large type industries which would employ a large number of younger people.

Once somebody graduates from Punxsutawney or a Punxsutawney student who graduates from college, there's not that many openings for him to come back to the community.

And from the people of my age that I've talked to who were born and raised in this area, I really believe that a lot of them would like to come back here.

Everybody says that Punxsutawney is a real fine place to raise a family, but it's awful difficult to raise a family here if you're having a hard time finding work.

We've still got a large number of retail outlets.

We've got a high percentage of small restaurants.

Banking is a big industry.

Coal is still a substantial industry, although not what it was in the '30s and '40s.

The industry is not real heavy.

It's diverse, with a number of small industries.

We've got a goodly number of people working in machine shops.

In many cases, the machine shops are related to the stripping and coal fields.

We've got a lot of different service type businesses.

And of course, the schools and hospitals are, as in any community, are a big employer.

NARRATOR: We're getting down here?

Yeah.

We'll go over to historic Gobbler's knob.

Yep.

This is where Gobbler's Knob is.

Once a year, this is what makes us famous.

You get about 300 to 400 people up here waiting for Punxsutawney Phil to come out of the Burrow, waiting for the official forecast.

And for that one day out of the year, Punxsutawney really stands out in the eyes of the world.

The following day, they may not know what Punxsutawney is, but they will remember that that's a Groundhog town.

There's so many places you'll go and people say, oh, I'll tell them I'm from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

They'll say, Punxsutawney?

Where in the world is that?

And I said, well, once a year on February 2nd, when the Groundhog-- the Groundhog, they say.

And immediately, they know where you're from.

We have a lot of fun with it.

Not only that, but the merchants get geared up for it, and they have sales and programs, and we have our annual man and woman of the year dinner.

And generally, that's the highlight of the Punxsutawney year, February 2nd.

You look lovely.

Look at that.

You're peeling even.

Yeah.

Don't sell.

My wife's been gone for three days.

He's the Bahamian kid.

That's right.

He'd have been nicer to me when we went to Reynoldsville.

I wasn't nice to you?

No.

I had to go by myself.

Drive my own car even.

I am scared to death that you would ride with me.

Well, I'll give this to the nightside editor because I know he'll give you fine placement if he takes care of it.

Wayne Piper's mad at you, by the way.

Oh, it's Wayne mad at me for now?

His father was the biggest whatever in town, and he was a local person and he died and you put it in the obituary column.

Cliff Shankelmeyer didn't come here till 1956 and you had it on the front page.

That Scoops fault.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Was he kidding or was he really mad?

He was serious.

Was he really?

He wasn't mad.

He was serious.

He feels you're biased because you put Shankelmeyer on the front page.

Oh.

Hey, Scoop.

We're in trouble with Pfeiffer.

Why didn't you put his father's picture?

Because it was his fault.

His father died in the afternoon.

And had he been had it in here that night, it would have been on the front page.

He brought it in two days later.

You put Cliff Shankelmeyer on the first page with a picture, and he isn't even a native Punxsutawnian.

And not to mention the fact, he didn't even get here till '56.

At the funeral-- had the funeral home-- Pfeiffer is a Punxynational.

Punxynational.

Yeah.

Had the funeral home who was handling the obituary handled it properly and on time, it would have gotten the same treatment that Mr. Shenkelmeyer had.

Listen, I'm being a lot more politer than things.

A lot more politer.

Yeah.

Come on, fella.

[band playing music] MR. SCHICK: Our first awards today will be presented by Mr. Jack Havrilla of the Spirit Publishing Company, the honorary football captain, and the outstanding senior girl basketball player.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Schick.

[crowd applauding] Thank you.

Before I makes a few words, I'd just like to say to all of you, the coaches and the players that it's been just a pleasure to work with all of you because you're just a grand bunch of people.

You really are.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: We know.

So yeah.

All right.

The first award on behalf of the Spirit that I would like to make is the honorary football captain.

And that goes to a man that I had the pleasure to be with last night at the Keystone sportswriters banquet.

And he's also a fantastic wrestler.

Gary Astorino.

[crowd applauding] There you go, Gary.

Thanks a lot.

[crowd applauding] Mr. Pimento, stress.

We need cooperation from those guys.

You'll get it.

Really.

We really depend on that.

Thanks a lot.

OK.

I'm the third man, but there's two of us.

Well, we'll count on you to put the pressure on them.

Thanks, Mr Pimento.

Mostly around here, it's just like the softball leagues and things like that.

And baseball is big in this town, of course.

They have softball.

There's about five men's leagues and women's too.

And they just really have a lot of rivalries around here with some of these teams, and they just love to see it in the paper.

The more coverage you give, the better they like.

In fact, we can go-- we have to a lot of times cut down on our wire copy because we have so much local, which is good for us.

The more the better.

So mostly anything, all what they do is call and say.

So if you turn in results, it'll be in.

That's the thing.

They have to help me out a little bit too, because I couldn't go around getting all the information for these things.

But it works out pretty well.

The people are cooperative.

That's the thing that really helps.

Makes the job a lot easier.

[printing machine rumbling] You think the Tuesday election is going to be a late night one, huh?

Yeah.

Is there any chance you'll be calling us with election results tomorrow night?

Oh, we'll be here until 2:00 o'clock.

We'd like to get a big run in the next day or same day with everything else, if we could.

OK. You think it's going to be later than 2:00?

Oh boy.

I hope not.

[background conversation] Well, I wouldn't be able to wash it.

I mean, like you said, I don't want to ...

Put it in the box.

61.

See, that's the precinct that you don't have on your total that we did out there.

I added since I came back.

Yours are right.

OK.

Which two didn't you have?

OK. That was up until the three one and three two that-- Yeah.

Right.

I can give you as well.

The political races are very, very difficult thing.

In local elections where we're most integrally involved, we will come out in support of a given candidate, provided we're sure of where we stand and where that candidates stand.

And any more, finding out where our candidates stand is going to be a pretty difficult chore.

But we've got an obligation to inform the people.

We try to always run a wrap up of specific views on policies that are pertinent to the election before the general.

We'll go all the way down, making a space for each one, OK?

Call in Philadelphia, I guess.

It's right up there on the wall.

It won't do you any good to call them in Pittsburgh.

Just ask them how soon they'll be moving and updated results of the US Senate race?

Tell them we're in AMs and we're still holding.

This is the spirit in Punxsutawney calling.

I was wondering if you could tell me when you're going to run the story about the US Senate election results.

Tell them where on AM and is still holding, Kathy.

We're on AM-- we're on AM.

They haven't declared a winner yet.

Tell him.

Thanks, we know that.

[laughing] They're about to do it now.

Are they?

Oh, maybe it was worth holding.

I'll have to change that headline again.

We can have a great effect on the community.

Anything we decide to put on the front page is seen or heard by everybody in Punxsutawney.

So we can have a good deal of impact on the community we have.

We can play an important part in shaping and molding their opinions, both on where we put our news and how we play our news, and on the editorial page.

What did he say?

With 87% of the vote in, Specter has an 18,000 vote lead, which is steadily falling.

He said to give you a call right before you're ready to go and they'll run what they have.

Yeah.

That'll take how long to get to us?

No.

They'll put it on urgent, but let's wait.

By the time he finishes-- By the time he finishes, it'll just be about right.

He said that they can't declare anybody right now.

I'll go get bucket of water to cool those keys.

I'm getting tired.

Here we are, boys.

I gotta pick up the car ... somebody to pick.

OK.

Anytime you make an editorial judgment, especially in a small community, it has to be weighed of both in many different lights.

Its value to the community, how it's going to affect everybody in the community, not just the newspaper, not just one given segment.

There are many things that have to be considered.

But the ramifications, I think, in a smaller town have an effect on a greater number of people or seem to than they do in a larger community.

Everybody that is affected with the decisions that we make, they are all integrally involved in a smaller community.

The winners come up here from the Easter bonnets.

[PEOPLE SPEAKING IN THE BACKGROUND] She's first prize.

Mrs.

Seven.

And the most original.

Hey, that's Frank over here.

The two is the funniest.

The funniest.

And hers is the most original.

Can somebody else do it instead of me?

Will you put that on.

I'm sure.

It doesn't fit right.

It's all in fun, for crying out loud.

I don't care.

I don't like this.

Oh, for crying out loud.

Here.

[background chatter] I don't know to get-- I look-- I don't know.

Are you put up one at the church Easter Sunday?

I know.

Isn't that sweet?

Wait a minute.

Somebody give this prize to her.

Like this?

Come on.

[background chatter] That's fine.

There That's fine.

Very nice.

OK.

Here we go.

OK. That's good.

One more.

Oh, Mrs. Cohn, smile.

Well, the army's about three months behind the times when all their releases.

So if you want to give it to me, all right, fine.

Promoted to what?

E-7, Sergeant First Class.

Married to?

Me.

Sure.

Deborah Huttchens.

No.

You had a name before that?

[inaudible] Are you Nunzio's daughter?

Yeah.

I spoke with your wife.

Do you have a picture?

Yeah.

Well, look.

I'll try.

I love that, but that's nothing.

That's his passport.

Yeah.

You don't want that.

Mine doesn't have that other thing on it.

See, this is a passport picture.

Is he wearing a mustache on?

Yeah.

And he has to keep it on because that's his passport picture.

May I have a couple of cheeseburgers, George.

What do you think the roller girls?

Are they going back to work?

Pardon.

What do you hear from the roller girls?

Are they going back to work yet?

Not yet.

My daughters-- If you want to give them $14 a week extra, which is $150 a week.

I think it's questionable that they could get a job-- 10 of them could get a job for $100 a week.

Well, they wanted to accept something.

They know this.

Most of them know this, but whether it's a secondary payroll, the wives don't care, really, whether they work or not, so they can hold out longer than probably half of them who really need the job.

It would be more reasonable about seven Because in Punxsutawney, $150 a week job is a very good job.

Men aren't making that kind of money.

That's right.

Especially as a secondary income.

Could you imagine what it would be like if we lost an industry that size?

Well, it could be a disaster.

You're going to be feeding more than just a few down here.

10% of the people were thrown out of work completely with no opportunity to get another job lined up.

They know, Phil.

How was the spaghetti?

George Sample's 24 years old.

And of course, you tell them something that happened 35 years ago and he had no way of knowing unless he's told, especially in a small community where it's local news that isn't a historical research project.

I know for me personally and for the Spirit, personal contacts are just everything for a news reporter.

If you don't have somebody out there, they're feeding you information, if you don't have somebody out there at least tipping you off to things that are going on, then you're just never going to make it as a good news reporter.

Do you know what your boss said?

Yeah.

We just heard this morning that Keystone is in trouble up here.

Keystone discount.

Mm-hmm.

You already knew that?

No.

I haven't heard anything on that.

The manager stopped in here and asked me about an ad, if I had received a check for this week.

Businessmen are real important.

Not only are they our advertisers, but they're keenly aware of the business community.

They tip us off to a lot of information that's concerning them and stuff that they'd really like us to be looking into.

So they're a good source of news information, but there are sources more keenly turned on to the business aspects and the economy of the community.

Have you heard anything about down below?

Nothing doing.

Huh?

Nothing to do.

Nothing?

In no way can one individual be on top of everything that's happening in any given community.

But if you have a number of people out there who support and help you and can tip you in the right direction, then you're going to be someone who is on top of the news, someone who is keenly aware of what's happening in your community.

So contexts for us are just the basis for all the good stories we get.

[engine revving] Hi.

How are you doing?

Pretty good.

I didn't expect to see you out here.

Oh, we're interested.

Good.

Hi, George.

How are you?

Good to see you again.

I read the article yesterday.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

Now, our purpose in being here is to find out what the problem was with Bachmann Coal operation up here, which has experienced a slide on the end of their permitted area that has come down and affected Mr. Steel's property.

There's no question that the slide did occur as a result of the operations of Bachmann Coal company.

It has come on to Mr. Steel's property, which is outside the bonded area that Bachmann Coal had under their permit.

There have been various newspaper accounts of this particular operation, and were here to try to find out any additional information or make corrections on what we don't already understand.

So, Mr. Steel, I'd like to hear any comments that you have.

All right.

I noticed a slide moving in July of last year.

I called Ray, and on the 30th day-- Ray?

Mr. Bachmann, and informed him of the slide coming and the damage that would consequently happen if something wasn't corrected.

There was no action taken to attempt to stop the slide, which we felt at the time.

It could have.

And you say that it slid on its own.

That witness here, Mr. Seiberling and I observed in mid-October a dozer pushing spoil out over and falling into the area that's already-- Mr. Steel's figure, his latest demands is more than he paid for the entire farm and property of 162 acres in 1967.

So if anybody cares to get exact, you can look it up in the courthouse.

So we're just trying to protect what rightfully is ours, and it's about time the young farmers like us start doing it.

The solution to this particular problem is twofold.

Number one, allowing Bachmann Coal company to reclaim the area.

Then the second problem will have to be settled through either civil or criminal procedure, and that is the actual physical damage done to Mr. Steele's property.

And there are the two solution areas.

There's where we're going to get this part of it straightened out.

And-- Well, as rural an area as we are, I think there's a lot of farmers who are extremely interested in the problems that are involved with strip mining.

And there's a Stapleton set out there.

The other side of that coin is one of the reasons that the Indiana and Jefferson counties maintain such a low unemployment rate when the rates were soaring across the State was because of coal mining.

So you've got two sides of the problem, and certainly we've got people on both sides of it in our readership area.

I think there was a lot of local interest, farmers, coal miners.

I think our readership was a story that if there were two stories on the page that day, there would be much more apt to read that and to read a wire story.

If it got good local coverage and the people were interested, they'll get a follow up story tomorrow on it.

They'll be aware of the types of problems that are occurring and that they occur on both sides.

And it might make some people more aware, especially the farmer who may have suffered these type of damages in the past that there is some recourse and also might make some of the strip miners a little bit more cautious of how they pile this spoilage.

And we've fulfilled our responsibility in making them aware.

The presses are still rolling in Punxsutawney, although the typewriters have been replaced by computers and the teletypes by satellite dishes.

There's also a new owner, American Publishing Company, but some things have not changed.

Punxsutawney Phil, the National Groundhog, is still the biggest recurring local story.

Other changes.

City editor Ben Jones retired and lives in Florida.

Social editor Audrey Bidwell retired and lives near Pittsburgh.

Night editor Tom Voris moved on to another, somewhat larger local paper near Pittsburgh.

And general manager George Sample is now owner publisher George sample at the Huntington Daily News, 100 miles down the road from Punxsutawney.

The names and the faces change on the staff list and in the community, but the familiar litany of local births, deaths, crimes, controversies and softball scores continues.

And the hundreds of local newspapers in Pennsylvania and more beyond our borders continue reporting the news, especially the local news, in the same spirit that survives proudly in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

For the Pennsylvania Parade, I'm PJ O'Connell.

[outro music playing]