Talking to our Minor reporters

NEWPORT – If the Newport Miner Newspaper looks much younger than our 100 plus years, first of all, thank you. However, most of the credit goes to the students at Sadie Halstead Middle School who have taken interest in the Grizzly Minor Journalism Club. The following Q&A is with Sadie Halstead fifth grader and Grizzly Minor journalist Izzabella Tieman.

See our next issue of The Grizzly Minors in the May 14 issue of The Miner.

Question: Why did you decide to join the journalism club?

Answer: My parents read the newspaper and then they give it to me so I can go through it. That’s how I got interested in it.

Q: I see you are interviewing volunteers and the chief of the West Pend Oreille Fire District at Pie With a Firefighter (see story in this week’s newspaper). How did you come up with that story idea?

A: Honestly, my grandma did. She’s a member of the auxiliary. I was going to do another story, but it didn’t work out, so I wasn’t sure what I should write about. She was going to this fundraiser for the auxiliary and said I should come along and interview some of the people.

Q: What do you think you learned from your interview?

A: That bringing together volunteers and all the different things it takes to fight fires and help people is way more challenging than everybody expects. There’s so much different training.

Q: What other stories would you like to write for journalism club? A: I want to write about birds, interview some medical professionals and members of the military, maybe write a story about what it’s like trying to get into college.

Q: What are your thoughts on the Grizzly Minor Journalism Club?

A: The people who teach it are really nice and give us time to do our work.

Q: Besides the club, what else do you enjoy doing?

A: Math, especially division, and reading romance and/or horror novels.

Q: Do you have ideas of what you would like to do after high school?

A: I’m thinking about medical school or a college music program.

Started in January with the goal to engage youth in community journalism with the motto, “Everyone has a story,” the Grizzly Minor Journalism Club meets every Thursday at Sadie Halstead during lunch and is open to junior high students. If interested in joining, contact Sadie Halstead principal Tony Moser at 509-447-2426.