Shawn Doyle/The Ironton Tribune

Follow the dart and you shall come back with an interesting story to tell.

This may sound like advice Yoda would give Luke Skywalker or Mr. Miyagi would give Daniel in "The Karate Kid," but it is actually what I have been telling The Ironton Tribune reporters the last few weeks.

As some of you may have noticed, The Ironton Tribune has begun publishing standing features in our Monday through Friday editions. By doing so, we hope to offer our readers additions to our normal news coverage.

On Monday, we have introduced "The Dart." The concept behind "The Dart" is quite simple: a reporter throws a dart at a map of Lawrence County, and wherever that dart sticks he or she gets in their car with a staff photographer and drives to that spot. The reporter does not come back until they find a story.

Why did we decide to start this feature? Because we realize our county's residents have an abundance of stories to tell - some we would never find unless we went looking for them. It also gives our reporters a break from reporting on the usual things - board meetings, crime, etc.

So far, our reporters have been pretty enthusiastic about "The Dart." However, nobody has driven their car into a ditch or got stuck in the mud yet.

On Tuesday's, we offer "The Ironton Tribune Volunteer of the Week." Plain and simple, it is a feature story about an individuals - or a group of individuals - who donate their time for the betterment of their community. We realize our communities are full of people who make a difference, and we want to tell their stories.

On Wednesday, we offer "Photographer's View." In this feature, our staff photographer goes out, armed with his camera, and finds an interesting story to tell through a photo. And, much to his dismay, he has to write a little story to accompany the picture. To his credit, he has done a good job.

On Thursday, we have "Weekend Wrap-up," which simply highlights what is going on in Lawrence County and the surrounding area in the coming weekend.

On Friday, we have "Faith & Family," which is pretty self-explanatory. This feature tells a story dealing with religion or family matters. It can range from a profile of an area preacher to a family who has taken in a number of foster children.

We hope you enjoy these new standing features, and look forward to reading them each week. We welcome your feedback and suggestions.

With the exception of "The Dart," our most reliable resource in telling these stories is you, our readers.

If you have an idea for one of these features, please do not hesitate to call us. Most of the time, the folks we want to write about will not "toot their own horn."

We hope you will toot it for them!

Shawn Doyle is managing editor of The Ironton Tribune. He can be reached at (740) 532-1445 ext. 19 or by e-mail to shawn.doyle@irontontribune.com.