Area resident joins Journal news staff

CHENEY – A local woman has been hired as a reporter for Free Press Publishing.

Sarah D. Stephens, 45, of Cheney, began working on stories for the Ritzville Adams County Journal and Cheney Free Press on Friday, Oct. 1.

"I have a relentless passion for keeping people aware of what is going on in their small towns." Stephens said of her interest in being a reporter. "Please feel free to come say "hi."

"That's the kind of drive our community newspapers need," Publisher Roger Harnack said. "Sarah will be a good addition to our news team."

Stephens expects to be available in The Journal office at 216 W. Railroad Ave. from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, when she's not in the field covering local news.

Stephens is encourage readers to stop in with story ideas.

"I enjoy meeting new people and I am a great listener," she said.

Stephens – a West Virginia native who relocated to Washington state in 2015 with her husband and daughter – has lived in Newport, Spokane Valley and Cheney.

She began working in Cheney as a field interviewer for several research projects and fell in love with the area, she said.

Stephens has had various positions during her career while pursuing her news-writing passion, she said. Her most recent position was serving as an English as a second language instructor.

She has also been employed in various sales, marketing and media positions.

Stephens has pursued a life-long ambition of being a community news reporter since graduate school.

She has a master's degree in new media from Full Sail University Online and undergraduate degrees from West Virginia University-Parkersburg.

Stephens said she is ready to put her journalistic skills to work.

She jumped into the role Friday by compiling the Wheat Land Communities' Fair award for this edition.

Outside of the newsroom, Stephens enjoys hiking with her family, husband Matthew and daughter Rosalyn, and spending time with her two small dogs. She also enjoys going to concerts, renaissance fairs and other community events with her family.