Small Town News Item

[swsig]

I live in a city with a population of about 150,000. It was a small town of about 35,000 when I moved here in 1971. We still get "small town" items in our newspaper on occasion. Here's one that happened in the neighboring town of Argyle. (Note that towing companies around here can be used to help extinguish fires.) Do your local newspapers still publish small town items?

"Denton County firefighters rescue rabbit from Argyle barn fire Monday​

• By Brooke Colombo Staff Writer
• Jun 9, 2025 Updated 2 hrs ago

• There are no reports of injuries after a fire at a detached garage/barn in the 600 block of Woods Drive in Argyle on Monday morning, according to the Denton County Emergency Services District 1 and 2.

Update
This story was updated at 4:15 p.m.

Denton County firefighters report no people or rabbits were harmed after a fire at a barn in the 600 block of Woods Drive in Argyle on Monday morning.

Denton County Emergency Services Districts 1 and 2 were dispatched to the fire at about 9:15 a.m.

The first units located a detached garage/barn with heavy fire and smoke throughout. One side of the roof eventually partially collapsed.

There were no people inside the structure, but firefighters rescued a pet rabbit.

By 10 a.m., firefighters had the fire under control. All American Towing & Recovery arrived to assist with putting out remaining hot spots.

Firefighters from Denton, Flower Mound, Roanoke and the Denton County Office of Emergency Management rehab team assisted with the fire as well.

All units cleared the scene by 2 p.m.

The Denton County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.

For more than 120 years, the Denton Record-Chronicle has been Denton County’s source for locally produced, fact-based journalism. Your support through a tax-deductible donation or low-cost subscription is vital to our ability to deliver credible, relevant, unique coverage of our community."

 

[pawngal]

The 2 local papers closest to me are only good for lining a bird cage. A good one is from about 50 miles away, the editor is a Pulitzer Prize winner, Art Cullen.

 

[robertrwalsh]

In my neck of the woods the rabbit would have been being cooked over an illegal open fire in the barn by a bunch of homeless druggies who would have objected vehemently and violently to their dindin being interrupted.

 

[Mike LaNier]

Here in Southern Oregon our local 'newspapers' (aka fish-gut wrappers) both shut down; I don't miss them much, save for the cartoons and the obituaries. I've lost a few friends and acquaintances lately, and with no newspaper obits, it's often weeks or months before I realize they're gone, and I generally miss the funerals. A new effort is being made to bring a local paper back, but it appears to be a struggle. Perhaps the lack of reading ability due to poor education is a factor? Naw.......

 

[jeffrefrig]

That was nice of the firemen and "the towing (?) companies". Our junkies in town are good for eliminating empty shacks that used to be houses by making a fire in the house on the floors.

 

[65-2x2]

I live in a city with a population of about 150,000. It was a small town of about 35,000 when I moved here in 1971. We still get "small town" items in our newspaper on occasion. Here's one that happened in the neighboring town of Argyle. (Note that towing companies around here can be used to help extinguish fires.) Do your local newspapers still publish small town items?

"Denton County firefighters rescue rabbit from Argyle barn fire Monday​

• By Brooke Colombo Staff Writer
• Jun 9, 2025 Updated 2 hrs ago
• There are no reports of injuries after a fire at a detached garage/barn in the 600 block of Woods Drive in Argyle on Monday morning, according to the Denton County Emergency Services District 1 and 2.

Update
This story was updated at 4:15 p.m.

Denton County firefighters report no people or rabbits were harmed after a fire at a barn in the 600 block of Woods Drive in Argyle on Monday morning.

Denton County Emergency Services Districts 1 and 2 were dispatched to the fire at about 9:15 a.m.

The first units located a detached garage/barn with heavy fire and smoke throughout. One side of the roof eventually partially collapsed.

There were no people inside the structure, but firefighters rescued a pet rabbit.

By 10 a.m., firefighters had the fire under control. All American Towing & Recovery arrived to assist with putting out remaining hot spots.

Firefighters from Denton, Flower Mound, Roanoke and the Denton County Office of Emergency Management rehab team assisted with the fire as well.

All units cleared the scene by 2 p.m.

The Denton County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.

For more than 120 years, the Denton Record-Chronicle has been Denton County’s source for locally produced, fact-based journalism. Your support through a tax-deductible donation or low-cost subscription is vital to our ability to deliver credible, relevant, unique coverage of our community."

My county has about the same population as your city. We subscribe to a weekly local newspaper just so we can keep up with county politics, which are as corrupt and nasty as New York City. The editors have to really struggle for something newsworthy to print, so some of the stories are on the silly side. The largest part of the paper is county legal notices, followed by long religious editorials, local school news, and most importantly obits. At our ages, we scan the obits to gloat over people that we outlived! Yea, I know....

 

[charlie sherrill]

We used to have a very good local newspaper. My daughter was a reporter there. Gannett bought them out, fired most of the reporters, including my daughter, and it's been down hill ever since. To read it now they want you to subscribe on line and pay for it. I would do it but there is no longer anything of local interest. The internet has killed most local newspapers.

 

[Rock185]

I live in a town that is up to about 16000 now. The two days a week local paper carries all kinds of human interest stories, along with weekly arrests...

 

[Rat458]

We used to have a very good local newspaper. My daughter was a reporter there. Gannett bought them out, fired most of the reporters, including my daughter, and it's been down hill ever since. To read it now they want you to subscribe on line and pay for it. I would do it but there is no longer anything of local interest. The internet has killed most local newspapers.

Our paper is the same.
Cant even read it without a subscription.
Way to many errors on the reports written to be taken serious.
And a political slant I don't care for.

 

[LVSteve]

I live in a town that is up to about 16000 now. The two days a week local paper carries all kinds of human interest stories, along with weekly arrests...

I've noticed that most local newspapers in the English speaking world rarely publish court reporting unless it is some "high profile" case. I guess it's not seen as politically correct.

 

[TX-Dennis]

You seem to have a great local newspaper there. Here every local story is confusingly written, grammatically incorrect, and sorely lacking in details. Our local rag is owned by a group that owns several Texas newspapers.

 

[robertrwalsh]

The internet is killing hard copy newspapers. It is a shame but market forces are unforgiving.

 

[mtgianni]

I always find it funny what some call a small town. Your small town would make up the population of two of Montana's largest cities. I live 7 miles outside of a Village of 1200 people. We have a vibrant newspaper that has won more than it
s share of awards.
I would like to propose the following standards
Population 250-1000 Small Village
Population 1001-5000 Village
Population 5001-10,000 Small City
Population 10,001- 25,000 City
Population 25,001-75,000 Mini metropolis
Population 75,001-200,000 Metropolis
Population 200,001+ Crowded Metropolis

I have spent time in cities from 10 million or more. You do not have a small town feel until you are much less than 25,000 population. When you don't know your neighbors in their car living in a 5 block radius, it isn't a small town. If someone with an out of state plate is in the driveway with in 1 mile of your house that State's plate should tell you if it's a relative or a salesman. If someone living within a mile radius gets a divorce or spouse just moves out and you don't know inside of a week, it isn't a small town.
Rant over nothing to see here.

 

['79 Magnum GT]

That's a bummer about newspapers going under. I use them for my Qwik-cook cooker quite often when it's nice out!

Rick