The annual Rust Communications publishers' retreat/meeting was held last week and it was a busy time. It was also time to learn a few things, exciting things that we're going to be doing in the future.

I am aware many of you follow the news about newspaper companies and the troubles those companies are having. And those are very real stories. However, there is a huge difference between those companies and ours.

Publicly traded companies are under a great deal of pressure to drive dividends to their shareholders. When shareholders don't get what they perceive as a fair return changes are demanded. That's why, in part, you've seen some big newspaper companies go by the wayside.

That's also why the CEO of one of the larger newspaper companies just this week talked about taking the company private. Sun-Times Media Group, publisher of approximately 90 papers in the Chicago area, floated the idea of buying up or deregistering its stock in a letter to shareholders this week.

These are exciting times in the newspaper industry. A good deal of time was spent talking about our websites and overall presence on the Internet. Recently we've updated the platform which host's dddnews.com and added a new feature, video. There are other Internet-based features on the way and for my part they won't get here soon enough. I'm reminded of a comment made by a publisher friend from a nearby newspaper, "When it comes to technology it's going to take twice as long and cost twice as much."

It wasn't all work in Florida. We managed to squeeze in a little time for recreation and most of you know that means golf for me. I played a couple of different courses and unlike last year did not see any alligators. My feelings were not hurt. About the most interesting thing I saw were several pink flamingoes.

I can also tell you that I drove over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, twice. The bridge spans Tampa Bay from St. Petersburg to the south. Now that may not seem like a big deal to a lot of you, but I do not like heights and this is one tall bridge. Tankers and cargo ships coming into the port in Tampa pass underneath this bridge.

The last time I crossed over that bridge it had a steel grate for a roadbed. Driving over the bridge one could look down and see these huge ships passing underneath. That bridge was also narrow, similar to the old Memphis bridge (I-55) that crosses the Mississippi.

Actually, it's not even the same bridge. The bridge I crossed some 30 years ago no longer stands. It was knocked into Tampa Bay by a freighter attempting to pass underneath it in the middle of a storm. The ship's captain became disoriented and hit one of the pilings. The southbound span of the bridge collapsed. As a result 35 people lost their lives.

The new bridge is actually higher than the old one, although the grade is less steep. That surprised me because the new one seemed like it was not as tall when I crossed. Perhaps that's because the new bridge is a concrete span and looks more formidable. The channel passage beneath the bridge has also been widened to 1,200 feet.

I also noticed that the transportation department has the ability to close the bridge to traffic in the event of bad weather. I'm not sure what bad weather means when a decision like that has to be made and would prefer not to learn first hand.

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Congratulations to all the candidates who chose to participate in the election. It takes a huge commitment to put one's self into an arena such as that. I hope the experience was good for all of you who chose to participate in what is arguably the greatest right in the world.

It is a little disappointing that more people did not choose to participate in the process. Across the state voter turnout was slightly less than 20 percent of those eligible to participate.

In Dunklin County voter turnout was a little over 18 percent. At least according to the latest edition of the Missouri Official Manual, commonly referred to as the Blue Book. As of 2006 there were 21,236 registered voters. Last Tuesday 3,895 votes were cast. Apathy? Heat?

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"A change"

The annual Bill Martin Soap Game is scheduled for Friday, August 15 at Metz Cherry Stadium. In the past those attending the game had been asked to drop off a bar of soap as their admission fee. The price of admission is changing this year.

Those attending are being asked to bring along a sports drink and drop it off with their friendly neighborhood Rotarian working at the gate.

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"New golfers?"

At the local club last week I noticed what looked to be some new golfers thinking about taking up the game. These wannabe golfers were missing one thing -- clubs.

Late in the evening several youngsters were around the tee box on the tenth hole rolling or tossing a golf ball at the fairway. They were showing a lot of enthusiasm and it probably won't be long before they take to the links.

All they really need is clubs. They've apparently already got caddies lined up and ready to go. In fact, their caddies were on hand that evening providing encouragement. At least I think that's what David and Marianne Dalton were offering to their children and grandchildren.

I'm not sure who was having more fun the adults or kids.

Bud Hunt is publisher of the Daily Dunklin Democrat.