WC Online April highlights: minus the flood

WEST CARLETON – It’s been an incredibly busy month for West Carleton Online. Our busiest in history. As is our policy in potential emergency situations, we have made all our flood content free for anyone to access. And the community has taken advantage.

West Carleton Online has provided the most comprehensive coverage of the spring thaw available anywhere – and because of our local knowledge, we also started our freshet coverage before anyone else. Our first story tracking potential spring flood conditions ran almost two months ago on Feb. 27. Since then, we have published more than 31 stories related to the spring freshet. We have been tracking runoff and thaw conditions with weekly updates which have now grown to daily updates the last couple weeks. We have provided updates, information, links for assistance and personal stories on those preparing their homes and volunteering in their communities. In the last two weeks, our 2019 spring freshet coverage has been read more than 4,500 times. On Facebook, our coverage has reached more than 32,000 people.

While it is a no-brainer to provide free emergency-related coverage to give everyone in our community their best chance to prepare, it is bad for business. In the last 10 days we have not recruited one new subscriber. We are still in the very shaky first year of operation. We still have dreams of growing and improving and providing more local, breaking and human-interest news focused on our community of West Carleton, but we need your help. Please support independent, community journalism. Subscribe today at https://westcarletononline.com/membership-join/.

You can just assume our flood coverage is our Number One trending story in West Carleton this April. Somehow, we found some time to cover non-flood related stories this month as well. Here are April’s (so far) Top 5 stories that have no reference to flooding, flows and levels, and a new word we learned back in February – the spring freshet (links at bottom):

1. KINBURN HOOTENANNY MARKS SAD OCCASION (1,474 pageviews): Grandfather Brian Foley shared the devastating story of his granddaughter with West Carleton Online last week. It exploded and we hope the hootenanny raises a wheelbarrow full of money for their cause.
2. MacLAREN’S LANDING FIRE DESTROYS HOME (301): April has been a tough month for a variety of reasons.
3. WCDR: ‘TIME TO BE LESS POLITE’ (243): West Carleton Disaster Relief is frustrated with the lack of action insurers have taken to support their tornado-affected clients as spring arrives and many still can’t start their rebuild, as told to West Carleton Online in this exclusive interview.
4. WC STUDENTS JOIN PROVINCIAL WALKOUT (225): Hundreds of students of all ages joined a provincial school walkout to protest the provincial government’s proposed cuts to education. West Carleton Online was the only media outlet to have local coverage.
5. SOUTH MARCH ROBBER, ASSAULT SUSPECT CAUGHT ON FILM (173): Proof our southern neighbours are interested in what West Carleton Online publishes too.