And this is why my ex-boss is awesome

I have enjoyed reading the columns of my former editor Dave "Scoop" Ambrose since I first started working for him while still in college. Don't get me wrong, he is a fine news reporter and layout editor as well, but it's been the opinion of me and a few others who know him well for quite some time that he could be far better off financially if he just found a gig as columnist somewhere and did freelance or consultative graphic design for other papers. His writing and design skills have mostly been honed through decades of experience in newspapers, and they are his best skills.

But I think he just loves running all aspects of a small-town paper far too much to abandon it (despite said financial difficulties, political annoyances and managerial swamping). His 'Scoop Sez' column this week displays not only his superior writing ability but also his 'unique' personality and willingness to report and/or write about things many in rural Central Illinois might consider too "edgy."