This is your newspaper, and it's all about you

As the summer months quickly approach, there are numerous events going on in and around the Flagstaff area and throughout our reservation communities. Many of you have diligently turned in articles and photos to show what is going on in your communities, and we truly appreciate your contributions. After all, this is your newspaper - it's all about you. Inside the pages of the Navajo-Hopi Observer (NHO) each week, you have the opportunity to read about what's going on in your community and see the faces of your children, friends, neighbors and fellow community members. Your greatest accomplishments are showcased for all to see.

Many times, we are asked to cover various events such as rodeos, sporting events, fairs and parades. Unfortunately, we are sometimes not able to provide coverage of a particular event. However, we do encourage readers to put us at the top of their lists when you are planning an event. However, we need to know well enough in advance - at least one week - about the event you are organizing. This allows us enough preparation time to write a story or news brief to promote your event, or to contact one of our freelancers. Whenever possible, we do try to attend local events to gather photos to publish. We usually save photos of these events to promote them in the future since many of them occur every year.

At times, we will receive phone calls advising us of an event that is happening that same day or the following day. While we do our best to promote and cover events occurring out in Hopi or Navajo, unfortunately, this is not always possible - especially on very short notice. Because of our location (Flagstaff), it is often difficult to make plans to travel to an event out on the rez due to time and staff considerations. The NHO covers roughly 20,000 square miles of both Hopi and Western Navajo lands spanning many communities throughout northeastern Arizona.

So while we may not always be able to attend your events, we do gladly accept submitted photos and news items. If you have a camera and see something unique happening, take a few pictures and share them with the rest of our readers. The best days to submit news items and photos are Tuesday through 4 p.m. Friday. Each Monday, we produce and send the NHO to printed.

Recently, you've helped us generate a bit too much content for our paper - so much that it can't all be printed. We regularly receive a number of emails and phone calls from contributors asking, "Why hasn't my article (or announcement) been printed?" We appreciate your patience. We know that you are anxious to read about your family, friends and community, but because we cover such an extensive area, it's unfortunate that we sometimes can't include all submissions each week.

Like many other newspapers, we are placing our news on the Internet. Our web gurus work continually with us to improve and upgrade our website. Visit our website at

www.nhonews.com to view photos, articles and updates of daily events that may not have made our print edition. Check out our website and find new or late-breaking stories that have been posted throughout the week as they occur. Additionally, any extra photos that we were unable to use in our print edition are featured in our online photo galleries, so be sure to check them out as well.

We also continue to encourage comments from our readers - even from readers that don't agree with what we say or do. We want to know what you want to read or don't want to read. Without your valuable input, we cannot continue to improve. This is your newspaper. Thank you for allowing us into your homes and businesses each week.

Comments to the NHO can be made in several different ways. The quickest and easiest method to make comments is to use the form at the end of all online articles. You may also email your comments to nhoeditorial@nhonews.com or fax your comments to (928) 226-1115. If you have no e-mail or fax capabilities, you can use good old-fashioned "snail mail" and send your comments to: Lynda Duffy, Navajo-Hopi Observer, 2714 N. Fourth St., Suite 110, Flagstaff AZ 86004.

Small newspapers such as the NHO are wonderful because with your submissions, they more accurately reflect the communities we serve. Inside a "rez" paper such as ours, readers will find stories about themselves, their families and their communities. Everybody has a story to tell. Photos and stories that are published are oftentimes cut out and saved to remember another day. We look forward to promoting your next event. Give us a call at (928) 226-9696, ext. 5 or toll-free at 1 (877) 627-3787, or send an e-mail to nhoeditorial@nhonews.com.

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