Oakland County Times – October Stories and Successes

Oakland County Times – October Stories and Successes
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Nov. 6, 2020)
Thank you to everyone who was a part of Oakland County Times in October!  From those that supported the site financially, to those who shared ideas, pictures, press releases, events, and tips – this site is the result of the community working together.  Here are some of the good things you may have missed…
224 CANDIDATE INTERVIEWS
We wrapped up our video interview series with local political candidates.  This year was the best ever, with 224 interviews done.  The series had over 114,000 views with 6,400 hours’ worth of watch time.  Private Literacy Tutoring sponsored this series, so please check out Cherie Rolfe and her tutoring services for kids and ESL tutoring for adults.  Check out the list of candidate videos for the Nov. 3 election here.
REPORTER FOOD
Our quest to highlight local restaurants returned this month.  Thank you to White Castle for sponsoring this series.  Here’s who was featured in October:
Jay Jay’s Bistro, Troy
Mojave Cantina, Clawson & White Lake
Pop’s for Italian, Ferndale
Sunflour Bakehaus, Farmington
Rebecca’s Restaurant, Northville
Howe’s Bayou, Ferndale
Bad Brad’s BBQ, Orion Township
COVERING LOCAL TOPICS
Ferndale remains our primary coverage area, with Holly as a secondary promotional community.  In Ferndale we’ve shared stories about lead test results, grant opportunities, table top art in local restaurants like Rosie O’Grady’s, police accreditation, a proclamation urging residents not to use rodenticide, and more.  We started the month with a story about how money raised to support businesses was used to open a Free PPE store for businesses.
In Holly we’ve covered the return to school, a pet food donation program, and the naming of the Shiawassee as a national water trail, as well as updated the public on Halloween and new ordinances that impact the public. Also, there was exciting news as Downtown Holly picked Nicholas Klempp to be the next Director.
We’ve also explored in Downtown Farmington and shared a story of their newest mural.  In Hazel Park we highlighted the lovely Marigold Project art installation. And in Troy we shared the beauty of Storybook Trail.  Orion Oaks also was featured in our Explore! Series, and we shared word of a new boat cleaning station to prevent the spread of invasive species.  An officer was honored for saving a suicidal man from a burning car.
In Madison Heights they proclaimed Indigenous Peoples Day, and Oakland County Times covered the discussion.  We also broke the news about a Huntington Woods meeting interrupted by hate.
And, for the sake of fun and learning, we shared this video of three cranes walking and talking at Stony Creek.
We also shared Halloween tips for all communities, an update for Holly, and maps for Oak Park, Ferndale, and Hazel Park for trick or treating and decorated homes.
These are just some of the stories that we’ve been able to report on this past month, thanks to readers and sponsors like you.
JOURNALISM LOVE
In addition to work on the website, this month Editor and Publisher Crystal Proxmire also volunteered (remotely)  as a judge for an out of state journalism contest through the Michigan Press Association.  It was a great opportunity to support the work of journalists across the country.
WHAT’S NEXT
Now that elections are over, the focus is shifting back to the business and how to keep going and growing. The COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent retail and restaurant closures have drastically impacted our revenue.  We are a publication that accomplishes a lot with very little, but the more resources we have, the more we can do for the community.
We’re also getting ready for the holiday shopping series as we plan our Shop Small Saturday coverage, and Holly for the Holidays.
If you have a business that would like to be part of the excitement here at Oakland County Times, we have low-cost advertising sponsorship packages that help you reach thousands of local readers each day.  Click here for rate information.
For readers who would like to chip in to keep Oakland County Times paywall-free and accessible to anyone, please chip in at PayPal, or set up a monthly pledge through Patreon.
 

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