By Mark M. Judson
Observations of The DeQuincy News From a DeQuincy Newbie
Word got out last week that, after 103 years of service, The DeQuincy News had run its course and that it was time for this wonderful, iconic, community institution, to retire. No more Wednesday paper. Distraught by this news, I took upon myself, with the owner’s, Jeffra DeViney’s, advance permission, to volunteer a column in order to offer kudos to Jeffra and her team for giving us a great publication for so many years.
Just as I had finished my “farewell” column, I received wonderful news from Jeffra herself that she had changed her mind. The paper was not closing. She and her business manager had figured out a way to make some changes that will keep the paper going.
Wow! What a relief. My informed Wednesdays will continue after all. I mean this was a Lazarus rising from the dead type of announcement.
Perhaps you don’t appreciate something until it’s gone. For a day or two, The DeQuincy News was gone. Now it’s back. I hope our community will do what it can to increase support and keep this vital community publication around for many more years.
My appreciation of the DeQuincy News first began in July of 2024. At that time, I was blessed with an unexpected opportunity to expand my law practice to DeQuincy. Adrian Doug Cox was retiring. By God’s Grace, things lined up for me to take over Doug’s office space and to follow Doug as City Attorney.
Jeffra and the DeQuincy News gladly ran a front-page article that introduced me to the community. She and her team thought it was important for the community to know that there was a new lawyer in town and to have an awareness of the new City Attorney.
When the story ran, I obtained several copies and showed them to my friends in Lake Chares, Westlake, Sulphur, Moss Bluff and other areas. In that same edition, The DeQuincy News ran a separate story, complete with a picture, about a rare species of snake that had appeared on a local landowner’s property. The story about me was on the front page. The story of the rare snake was on the back page. My friends found both stories interesting. However, they thought that the snake was more newsworthy. In their slightly tongue in cheek opinion, the snake should have been on the front page, and I should have been on the back page.
Regardless, my so-called friends’ observations revealed to me the wide variety of local and interesting news that is packed into each edition. It was at this time that I realized what a rare gem the community had in the DeQuincy News.
Afterwards, I would bring other editions to my friends from time to time to show off a happening or to inform them of a something-or-other that only appeared in the DeQuincy News. They all marveled at the abundance of local content and quickly compared it to other papers which seemed to be limited to canned columnists and AP stories.
In addition to reading the paper, I love walking into the DeQuincy News office and soaking up its atmosphere. It has the feel of an enchanted Santa’s workshop, newspaper style. Old editions are stored in cubby holes. Huge, old-school-scrapbooks, designed to archive full-size newspapers, are stacked up with treasured editions inside. In the newsroom there are four desks assembled in a work-pod configuration where teamwork and collaboration among staff take place. The environment is warm and inviting. One gets the impression that important work is being done, but in a pleasant and approachable sort of way. Benjamin Franklin would have liked this place.
I also find that Jeffra is sort of an unofficial yet real community relations officer for the region. Civic clubs, festivals, senior events, church events, and the like often come about through the leadership or assistance of Jeffra and her husband, Doug. Jeffra and Doug bleed DeQuincy.
Before 2024, my awareness of DeQuincy was limited to the Railroad Festival, Nichols, and Harry Methvin. Now, over two years later, I find that DeQuincy is full of interesting, decent, down-to-earth folks who, for the most part, love their community and want the best for it. In the middle of it all is the DeQuincy News, an every-Wednesday-beacon of information. Events, happenings, obits, celebrations, recognitions, and more – if it is worth telling, or if it’s worth photographing, then it is worth printing in the DeQuincy News.
Welcome back DeQuincy News!!! Looking forward to Wednesday.