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Boderra Joe's picks: Top 5 best stories of 2017

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Wrapping up 2017 with just five top stories is a challenge. Really, each of these stories are on “top” to me. But if I had to pick out just a few, I would choose the pieces listed above.

Notice the top five stories I chose. Read each headline. Read them again. What do you notice about them?

I picked these pieces because they are the kinds of stories that are ignored or skimmed over by other publications. But given the chance, these are stories that can (and did) have a big impact on their community.

The top stories I shared are of issues people face daily. As writers, we are the voice for the people. It is our duty to highlight parts of society that demand attention. To encourage people to look at difficult problems, and ask how they (as a community) plan to address them.

These pieces hold purpose. They hold a voice.

One of the stories listed, “Hope Wins…I am Alive” by Dee Velasco is about suicide, its victims and its survivors. Velasco wrote: “Suicide is a subject that is often difficult to deal with, and much harder to discuss with other people.”

But good reporting does not just shock us. Nor is it necessarily sad. Joyful and inspiring stories can likewise have an impact.

Deswood Tome’s story “New preschool opens at Indian Hills Elementary for deaf, hard hearing” brought with it new opportunities for the community and the surrounding areas.

Since the publication of the piece, Gallup now has a new preschool for the deaf and hard hearing.

I’d say that’s pretty remarkable.

By Boderra Joe

Sun Correspondent

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