To the editor:

How disappointing!  On the back page of this Sunday’s edition are three out-of-state pictures about Memorial Day activities. One was a picture of Boy Scouts putting out flags. Why not put in a picture of local Boy Scouts doing that instead? It was possible because that’s exactly what was happening about two miles from the Journal-World office. Even if no one notified you, good reporters check sources to see what is happening.

Dozens of Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and 4-H members were involved in three Memorial Day activities at Oak Hill Cemetery on Saturday morning. Local Boy Scouts helped Sons of Union Soldiers put flags on graves of Civil War veterans. Later in the morning, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and 4-H members honored the memory of Alfred Bromelsick who left his estate to the benefit of those three organizations. And finally, led by Boy Scout Troop 60 from Lawrence’s First Baptist Church, Boy Scouts from several troops conducted a solemn flag retirement ceremony.

Some wonderful pictures of all three events can be seen on Facebook by searching for the “Pelathe District” pages. I hope the community will take a look and recognize the duty to country that these young people displayed so well on Saturday.

And I hope the Journal-World will try to cover local stories with local pictures instead of relying on wire photos with no relevance to the local community. Local news sells newspapers. Wire copy doesn’t.