News : It\'s finally come to this, saying goodbye

It finally happened.

We have to say goodbye.

It's been a thrill, the best we could ever dream.

But the time has come to say goodbye. (Keep READING!)

The website that has been functioning great, no, awesomely, for the last probably 8 years (6 as Vinton Today and 2 at the former Vinton Eagle) of it's life, has reached the age that we are afraid it might need to go on Social Securty and retire.

We hate to say it folks, but the website as we know it will probably not be available...as it looks now...

Back in the day, when this website was built it was the Rolls Royce (I still think it is...) of websites. I made the mistake of telling our dear Mr. Wesley that I thought it was a Cadillac...and he quickly corrected me by saying it was a Rolls Royce...little did I know that he was indeed right.

He had built something that no one else could touch with a wireless ten foot pole! Something so complicated that when other computer people popped the hood and looked at, they backed away gingerly and said, in their best Sergeant Schultz immitation, "I know nothing..."

When this original site was built, Kurt and Lu Karr had funded the whole thing and had shared with us that it was not an inexpensive undertaking. Trust me, this thing has all the bells and whistles that anyone could ask for in a website.

We dug our heels in not wanting to let go of our shiny toy, but in computer lingo, the code we fear is close to being outdated...and since the brains of this operation, Mr. Wesley, has encouraged us to get another website built, we are going to "byte" the bullet and go for it.

The thing we fear the most, is leaving you in the dark for news.

So while we have been maintaining and tweaking, we have to make the huge leap and start from scratch.

Now we know exactly what we need, and while the new site might look a little different, we aren't really sure about those details, we have found some elves that are willing to put on their thinking caps and little elf shoes, and do a little designing magic for us.

So this year as we ask for your help again, it's for a much larger project than what we've asked for in the past.

This year we need EVERYONE, to pitch in what you can.

If you are a retiree on Social Security, and you don't have much, don't feel bad if it's just a few dollars, it will be as appreciated as those larger gifts.

Every year, we hate to ask, but we find it necessary to keep doing what we are doing.

We think you all appreciate the job that we do, and each year, we have been humbled by the outpouring of love you have shown us.

For those that are new, let me briefly explain.

Dean and I make our living off the ads that run on this site. It pays for the electricity at our house, the tires on the car, the slower than slow internet that we need to put the news on, and pays the grocery bill.

Each year, the fundraiser covers the maintanence of the site, the hosting fees for the domain names and any other extra costs that arise through the year to keep us here.

This year is different. This year we are taking on a monster project.

The folks working on the building end assure us that it will be as wonderful as what we have now. It will probably have a facelift and a learning curve, but the hard part will be on Dean and I to figure out all the buttons to push and switches to flip. You the reader will just have to keep doing the same thing, reading and sharing the site....and making an annual donation.

So as we kick off our annual fundraiser, know this, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your generousity.

Donations may be sent to Vinton Today Fundraiser, P.O. Box 477, Vinton, iowa 52349 or donate online by clicking HERE! (link has been updated!)