I'm talking today with Sara
Errington, Government Reporter for
the Post-Standard's weekly Neighbor's West edition. Ms.
Errington is an award-winning journalist [Ohio SPJ Awards], who has
written a number of articles about Borodino and Spafford, including a
Profile of yours truly last December, "Joyce
Green's got the scoop on Borodino".
Although she may never again have the degree of
anonymity she's enjoyed before this interview, we're glad she's
covering our area. Sara answers my silly questions with humor, grace
and aplomb. I've never tried, but I imagine that it's hard to do
all three at once.
Tools of the Trade--- 1. map ( where am I
going?), 2. calendar (what day is it?), 3. jumbo coffee,
4. raisins (generic brand), 5. waste basket (where she
keeps the novel she's working on), and 6. trusty
computer. [Hidden from view: dart board with Paula
Zahn's picture]
Be
Aware. Study the face and be on the look out for this
Post-Standard reporter. Will she write about your town next?
Q. Sara, it's great to
have you here today. Is that your real name, or a pen name
("reporter talk" for alias)?
A. I don't have a pen
name yet. I'll save that for when I write my first novel (maybe
it will be set in Spafford!). My full name is Sara Beth Errington,
but you must pronounce the first and middle name with a
Midwestern twang, as my relatives do.
Q. How long have you been a reporter?
A. I've been a reporter
for three years. I started at a tiny bi-monthly paper in
Brecksville, Ohio, then moved to The
Morning Journal, in Lorain, Ohio. In July 2001 I moved to
DeWitt and in October 2001 started with the Post-Standard.
Q. What is your "beat"
("reporter talk" for area you cover)?
A. I cover community
and government in Marcellus (town and village), Onondaga, Spafford,
Geddes, Solvay and Jordan - everything from budgets to bake sales.
Q. Reporters live such a fast-paced and
dangerous (yet compelling) lifestyle. How do you cope?
A. I picked an even more
fast-paced and dangerous hobby I'm a volunteer firefighter.
Actually, my job isn't dangerous, though it does get hectic.
Q. What is your favorite color?
A. Hmmmm. Black.
Q. Where did you go to
Reporter School?
A. The Reporter School of Hard Knocks. I
only took one journalism class in my whole life, and that was in
1998 at Cleveland State University. I am, by training,
a historian. I have a Ph.D. in Early American History. [Her Ph.D
is from Brown University] I studied supernaturalism in 18th
century New England. When I realized that I don't like
teaching, I knew I'd better find another career. Journalism
seemed like a profession where I could use my skills in writing
and researching. I soon discovered that live subjects are harder
to study than historical ones.
Q. Did this have anything to do with your
favorite color?
A. Ink is black?
Q. You cover the Geddes/Jordan/Marcellus/Onondaga/Solvay
and Spafford areas, yet you live in DeWitt. Does it ever anger
the people you interview that you don't reside in their town?
A. Nobody's ever said as
much. Sometimes it's better to be an outside observer. I don't
have a personal stake in the issues I cover, so it's easy to see
all sides of an issue.
Q. Now that you're married, with 6 kids,
do you ever wish you had, say...pets?
A. Whoa! Six kids?
Actually, I don't have children, but my husband and I have four
lovely cats. Kids are a lot more work.
Q. What is your favorite area to report
on? Why is that?
A. All the places I
cover have something interesting about them. I love Solvay
because
it's nothing like the anonymous suburb where I grew up.
Everyone's related and knows each other's business. They have a
strong sense of community.
Onondaga is becoming a bedroom community, and
watching it grow - watching the rural and suburban cultures mix -
is interesting. Geddes, I enjoy because the people are interested
in the governmental process. The town board meetings are packed
and people speak their minds.
Jordan has an amazing history linked to the Erie
Canal. Marcellus is neat because it's an old rural community. A
lot of prominent town people live on roads named after their
families. I'm not sure which is my favorite. (I'll save my
remarks on Spafford for the next question.)
Q. Sara, your work is renown in the
Spafford area. What do you like best/least about reporting about
Spafford?
A. I like how involved
people are in the community. It's impressive that a town with
such a small population can do things like tear down a building
to make a veterans park, build a gazebo and fix up the Grange
building. Spafford is another community that's changing, and
that's interesting to write about. The hardest part of covering
Spafford is getting down there. My office is in Camillus, about
20 miles north of Borodino. I wonder what Rose Hill Road is like
when it really snows.
Q. Ever plan to run for public office?
A. My hat's off to anyone
who dares to become a politician. Maybe when I retire, I'll run
for fire commissioner in DeWitt. I'd love to be appointed to the
DeWitt Planning Board.
Maybe I could succeed you as Empress of Joyceville if you ever tire of
it.
Q. Name something most people would be
surprised to know about you.
A. I can jump rope while
bouncing on a pogo stick. That's what passed for fun in Muncie,
Indiana where I grew up.
Q. I notice your hair is blond. Does this
ever affect your ability to report the facts accurately?
A. Well, I'm naturally
almost a brunette. The blonde is bottled. The Solvay Neighborhood
Watch coordinator never tires of e-mailing me blonde jokes. Some
day I'll write a nasty story to get him back! (I'm kidding, Tom!)
Q. It's a cold winter's night. You've
just completed a ________day of reporting, and you're __________.
You're in front of your fireplace (rifle slung over your lap in
case a deer strolls by your sliding glass window). What book are
you reading?
A. I wish I could say
it was something deep, but actually I'm rereading the Lord of the
Rings trilogy for the umpteenth time. I especially like the Ents.
Maybe they could catch the 8-point buck that was hanging out in
my back yard last fall.
Sara, thanks for joining us today. It's been a pleasure.
JG * Photos taken
1/25/02
