Most community newspapers, ours included, publish local court records, real estate transfers, arrest reports, and a list of those requesting marriage licenses.
All of these are public records, available to anyone who makes a simple request at the courthouse.
We understand that time is a precious commodity these days. So we acquire that information for you, the reader, and then post it in the newspaper for everyone to read.
Now and then, I take a phone call or a personal request to keep a name out of the newspaper. It is always a simple request. Usually, it is someone who wants us to keep their name out of a court record to save them some embarrassment.
One request from several years ago was from a local relative. This gentleman was not a close relative, but we were still related, and he used that connection to make his request. Then again, in the small towns that we grow up in, most of us are related. But that is another story.
You are probably wondering what dastardly thing he did that led him to want his name left out of the paper.
Was he convicted of drug use? Maybe he received a ticket for driving while intoxicated. Or could it have been that he was charged with shoplifting?
What he desired was that his name be left off the list of marriage license applicants.
This relative was a widower. His wife had passed away some years earlier. Fate had shone on him, and he found a special lady to share his love with.
But this was actually their second marriage to each other.
You see, their children did not approve of this union at their advanced age. Months earlier, the couple had divorced to keep the peace in the family.
The divorce did not stop their love for each other. The two love birds endured the separation for as long as they could.
Like most of us born in the mid-20th century, they believed that a man and a woman should be married, not just live together. I know it is an old-fashioned idea, but it has worked for centuries.
So, without their families’ knowledge, the couple made a trip to the courthouse to tie the knot once again. Everything was going fine until they realized that their names would be published in the newspaper and they would be discovered.
This was the hardest request that I have ever had to turn down. We turn them all down. So, don’t ask us to keep your name out of the paper.
The reason is simple. Like the secret this couple was trying to keep from their children, it will be discovered sooner or later.
If we keep relatives’ names out of the public record, the next would be close friends, then come acquaintances, and our advertisers and their relatives.
You get the idea. It would not take long. Everyone would soon discover that a request would keep their name out of the paper. Then our readers would not be able to trust what they read in the paper. Without that trust we would lose readers.
Without readers, there is no reason for businesses to advertise. Without advertising and readers, we don’t have a newspaper.
In a more recent event, the newspaper lost a friend and advertiser. The individual was shocked to see their name in the paper after being charged with two felonies.
On the same page were stories of two other individuals who had also been charged with felonies. One was charged with possession of a controlled substance, the second with second degree assault.
An important job of each member of our newspaper — that includes reporters, editors and photographers — is to protect the integrity of this publication.
This becomes even more important in today’s environment, when the public has suspicions about many national news organizations’ impartiality.
Leaving a report out of the newspaper because they have a relationship with the newspaper, its editor, writer, or owner, degrades our integrity.
We also receive complaints from individuals who were charged, claiming the information in the story is wrong. To avoid phone calls in the future, all information used in our stories about arrests and charges come from law enforcement. If there is a mistake, you need to contact them.
Back to my original story. There is a way to keep your name off the marriage license list. Get married in another county. Your name will appear in that county’s newspaper, but not ours.
