I’d like to take a few moments to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of three exceptional young people who have made our local newspaper even better this year.
First of all, I want to point out the achievements of our energetic and talented new reporter and writer, Andrew Benjamin, who moved halfway across the country in September from the wilds of New York City. He is enthusiastic, creative and bold – someone I have enjoyed working with these past seven months. He’s embraced small town life and revels in visiting those out-of-the way places throughout rural North Dakota to see what they offer and, yes, how they welcome a fellow from the big city.
When you open the pages of the Devils Lake Journal and see a collage of photos from the State Tournament like we’ve published recently, or of the games leading up to the State, you are seeing the work of staff photographer for the Devils Lake Journal, Noah Clooten. He has also worked at the Devils Lake Journal for the past seven months, since the beginning of this school year when he was just 16 years old.
Go to our website at www.devilslakejournal.com or our Facebook Page and you might find a brief video produced by Noah and his business Clooten Films. He’s someone to watch in the years ahead! I figure someday we might see him accepting an Oscar or similar award for a short film or documentary.
And last, but not least, our fantastic sports writer, Joe “Mojo” Hill is certainly making a name for himself, as well. Look at how much he has written just in the last couple of weeks as tournament after tournament, game after game takes place in high school sports. Plus he has college games to attend and cover, as well as the many Class B schools, too, that have pretty fantastic sports teams to cover and watch, as well.
I’ve heard folks say, “Not since the days of Mike Bellmore have we had such excellent sports coverage,” but I would venture to say with all due respect to Mr. Bellmore who started at the Devils Lake Journal the year I graduated from Devils Lake High School, that Mr. Hill is doing an equal, if not better job than we have seen here at the Journal for decades.
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind for all of our staff and I want all of our readers to know just how much we appreciate these fine young men and their accomplishments. I KNOW you appreciate them and their hard work, as well!
