Amy Scattergood (Enterprise photo — Peter Crowley)

You may have noticed a new reporter’s byline here at the Enterprise. Amy Scattergood has taken over the Saranac Lake beat and will also cover arts and entertainment, especially once we bring back the Weekender section from its coronavirus hiatus.

She moved here for Los Angeles, where she was for many years a staff writer for the food section of the Los Angeles Times. At one point she was that newspaper’s food editor, but she opted to return to writing. She also spent time as a food writer for LA Weekly. Before her journalism career, she taught English at both high school and college levels. She has had a couple of books published as well.

Why would someone leave the prestigious LA Times for the Enterprise? She says she was tired of it and LA, and ready to return to a small northern town, like the one in northern Iowa where she grew up. Now that both of her daughters are in college, she took the opportunity to try something new, with her furry German shepherd Rose accompanying her on the long road trip east.

She brings curiosity, a friendly manner and excellent writing, and we are excited to have her on our news crew. Please join us in welcoming her.

This reporter position had been vacant since early April. So many businesses were shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic that advertising dried up, and we couldn’t afford to hire someone right away. Our other reporters and editors stepped up mightily, but there were still gaps. Thankfully, the Adirondack Foundation stepped in and awarded us a $10,000 grant from its Special and Urgent Needs (SUN) Fund. News reporting certainly is a special and urgent need for a community, and we are deeply grateful to the Adirondack Foundation and local sponsor the Rotary Foundation of Saranac Lake for this assistance. The grant will cover the position for a few months, and hopefully we will be able to pick it up from there.

That, however, relies on the community’s support of the Enterprise. If you don’t subscribe, please do. If your business doesn’t advertise, please do. You will find untold practical benefits from doing so, and in addition, you will keep this 125-year-old newspaper going, serving the community and informing the public.