* Contribute online through GoFundMe
Friends group works to keep local paper going
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* 62,462 photos and counting
ROCKINGHAM — A group of friends and supporters of The Pee Dee Post sat around a modern dining table inside a home built in the 1800s in Rockingham on Sunday afternoon brainstorming ways to keep the local daily newspaper going.
Kevin Spradlin, owner and managing editor for PeeDeePost.com, announced the suspension of news-gathering operations on Feb. 15 and gave a March 1 deadline by which to determine if the business would resume normal operations or close down.
During the two-week suspension, the Post continues to publish obituaries, news releases and update its Events Calendar.
Work to raise the funds needed to keep the doors open is ongoing. An online campaign through which readers can contribute as little as $3 or as much as $100 (or more) has been established. Spradlin said it’ll take $5,000 to keep the doors open.
Susanne McInnis is one of 47 people who have contributed a total of more than $1,150 through Monday morning. More than 70 percent of that has been raised since the Feb. 15 suspension.
McInnis, of Rockingham, said she’s come to rely on The Pee Dee Post for its “objective, accurate and timely reporting.”‘
The Post, McInnis said, is “what I want in a newspaper. That’s why I contributed to keep The Pee Dee Post here.”
Fellow “Friends” nodded their heads in agreement.
To make your contribution, click here to pay by credit card online or send a check or money order to:
The Pee Dee Post
301 E. Washington St.
Rockingham, NC 28379