News

Richmond High School journalism students stepped behind the scenes of the Richmond News this month to see the way a community newspaper is produced, an experience their teacher said brought the realities of print journalism to life in a way the classroom alone cannot.

The Ray County Library turned into a hands-on classroom this week as Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) Solid Waste Management Grant facilitator Katy White and longtime compost educator and musician Stan Slaughter led a detailed workshop on food waste composting, simple home systems and practical strategies for reducing what ends up in the landfill.

A Rayville man facing felony and misdemeanor charges has been released from custody after a judge reduced his bond. Following an August vehicle theft investigation, Gregory Don Marrant, 36, was charged with a class D felony of first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle and a class B misdemeanor of first-degree trespassing.

Stories of rising need, confidential testing and life-altering legal decisions shaped two recent presentations which laid bare the pressures local families are facing. The program was hosted by the Richmond Area Chamber of Commerce and opened with Bridge of Hope Office Manager Sharon Walker describing rising referrals and growing requests for help.

The air in the Richmond News pressroom vibrated as the first sheets of newsprint snapped through the rollers, carrying the journalism class’s pages in fast, rhythmic bursts. The noise of the press filled the back of the building, but the students stood quietly in a line, leaning forward to watch as their headlines, photos and layouts transformed into a real newspaper for the first time. What they had built in the classroom was suddenly alive in print, and the experience left a mark many of them said they had not expected.