Craig city councilman John Ponikvar emailed me last week to let me know I’m not alone in my quest for greater 
The nine tools of civility are adopted from P. M. Forni’s book “Choosing Civility.” I think they’re valuable enough to pass along here.
1. Pay attention. Be aware and attend to the world and the people around you.
2. Listen. Focus on others in order to better understand their points of view.
3. Be inclusive. Welcome all groups of citizens working for the greater good of the community.
4. Don’t gossip. And don’t accept when others choose to do so.
5. Show respect. Honor other people and their opinions, especially in the midst of disagreement.
6. Be agreeable. Look for opportunities to agree; don’t contradict just to do so.
7. Apologize. Be sincere and repair damaged relationships.
8. Give constructive criticism. When disagreeing, stick to the issues and don’t make a personal attack.
9. Take responsibility. Don’t shift responsibility and blame onto others; share disagreements publicly.
All good things to remember, in all our interactions with others.
This is the first time in a long time I’ve had to pick and choose what to hold for next week based on space restrictions. It feels a little like stuffing yourself into a pair of too-tight jeans. Uncomfortable.
The number of pages we have each week is based on a mathematical formula. More paid advertising equals the ability to pay for more pages, which equals more content.
Which brings us to those editorial judgment calls. As an information source, time-constricted items get priority, followed by current news. News happens so fast in our modern world it’s hard to make a weekly paper feel “current,” which is why we strive to get our public meetings and events in the paper as quickly as possible. For sports, there is so much activity and so many great photos we have to place priority on high school sports and special events.
I guess that’s the long way of saying if you’re looking for the kids’ page this week, you won’t find it. It didn’t make the cut this week because we didn’t have a sponsor. Yes, that’s a shameless plea for more kids’ page sponsors. Call the office if you’re interested in being part of a regular rotation to sponsor that page.
