Tributes poured into our Facebook page for former Ironton Tribune reporter and freelance writer Benita Heath, who died Jan. 20 after a short illness.

Here are some of the comments we received:

“She was a wonderful lady and wonderful reporter! I hate to hear this!”

— Juli Stephens, former field representative for U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio

• • •

“Sad to hear! Always treated me with the most respect.”

— Freddie Hayes Jr., Lawrence County Senior Center coordinator and former Lawrence County Commission president

• • •

“So sad. She was a great lady and treated everyone well.”

— Chris Kline, former Lawrence County deputy auditor

• • •

“A fantastic journalist who always wanted to get it ‘right.’ I loved talking to her about the nuance of law: she didn’t want to just get it factually correct, but wanted the whole picture to be shown.”

— Mark K. McCown, Ironton attorney and Tribune community columnist

• • •

“What a loss! My condolences to her family and friends.”

— Traci Tillis, former Ohio University Southern director of marketing

• • •

“Benita was a great person and a wonderful reporter. I always loved working with her.”

— Jason Stephens, Ohio speaker of the House and state representative for the 90th Disctrict