The Citizen is always looking for local stories and photos and you, our readers can help us out. In addition to notifying us of what is happening with your family, club, organization, or business, you can send news and photos to us through our online submission form, via email, or by the US Postal Service.

Of course, we try to cover as many events as we can, but our staff cannot be everywhere, and you can help us by serving as our eyes and ears. We're interested in all sorts of news, from the family reunions and school activities to the fairs and special community events. We also appreciate photographs of these events or other subjects you may encounter.

Due to space constraints, not all stories will appear immediately, but we'll try to get your stories in as soon as possible — and with the launch next month of The Citizen Express, there will be yet another way to get the news out there.

The direct-mail weekly that Krista Marrs will be heading up will feature stories on local people and businesses, with a "Kids Are Great" feature, food, health, and religion pages, and listings of upcoming events.

So get your news and information to us and we'll get it out to the public.

To assist you in preparing press releases and photos, we have a set of guidelines to help you out, attached to this column. We look forward to hearing from you.

Press Release Guidelines PDF

Press Release Guidelines Doc