Newshound

Joey rubbed his eyes and straightened from leaning over his desk. He pushed aside the pile of Monday afternoon math homework, reaching for a folder labeled "News Ideas."

"Fido, what am I going to headline The Gazette with this week? The school is depending on me to come up with a scoop by Friday."

Fido, a tan and white wire fox terrier, snuffled at Joey's office chair.

"I wish I could sniff out a story as easily as you sniff for treats. How do they expect me to find a topic, research it, interview people and write an article with all my homework, chores and spending most of the weekdays at school?"

"Woof!" Fido wagged his tail. Joey leaned down and scruffled the dog's head.

"Let's go for a walk, ok? Maybe I'll come across a story in the neighborhood."

Before Joey finished standing up from his chair, Fido rushed through the hall to fetch the leash.

"Good boy. You always know what to do."

Outside, it was a bright, clear winter afternoon, with a dusting of snow blurring the sharp lines of buildings. Joey had his tablet bag under his arm, in case he discovered a story to take note of. He and Fido trotted briskly along the sidewalk, past classic single-family homes aging gracefully in a midsize town.

"Very much an average community… somewhat lacking in diversity," Joey observed scholastically. "Almost Mayberry in essence. Wonder what it would be like to live in a big city? Bet I'd have a lot to write about there."

His musings cut short at the far end of the sidewalk, where the subdivision tapered off into an as-yet undeveloped plot of land. Joey paused. He saw neat rows of multicolored flags, measurements and utility markings decorating the cleared land, and knew more homes were on the way.

"Maybe I could write about current development in our area… I wonder what the average cost of the new homes will be."

He faced back to make the return trip and found himself staring at a house across the street, at the very end of the lot. Tall weeds choked the grass, and one window was boarded up like an eye patch. A piece of the gutter was hanging down off the corner of the roof, and a blue tarp drooped over the apex.

"My goodness! I wonder who lives there? Is it abandoned?"

He noted the address and punched it into his tablet. Property tax records showed it belonged to a Mildred Vandyke. A court document stated she had been cited for unsafe conditions just the week before. Hefty fines were about to be levied against her.

"That hardly seems fair… if she can't afford to get her home repaired, she sure can't pay these fines. I wonder what's going on here. Maybe I can help by writing about it."

Fido sniffed around the driveway, tugging on the leash to go into her yard. Joey followed him past a minivan with a flat tire up to the sagging front porch, wondering if it was a good idea to be on a stranger's ill-kept property.

Cautiously he knocked on her door and stepped back.

"I do hope she's friendly. She may not want a kid reporter snooping around for the school paper. But I'm also here as a neighbor… though I'm not sure what I could do to help in that capacity. Sit, Fido. And don't bark at her, please."

A curtain moved in the window, and Joey got the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. After a moment, however, the locks unlatched and the door opened with a groan, as if it were not used often.

An elderly lady with a fluff of white hair, wearing a lavender nightgown, looked out at them with a questioning gaze.

"I'm sorry, if you're selling something I really can't…"

"No, ma'am, I'm not." Joey smiled nervously. "I'm here because… I was walking my dog and looking for a story to write about for my school newspaper, The Gazette, and… well, I thought I'd…" he flushed, aware of the awkwardness of being nosy. "I mean, I thought you might be in some distress. Perhaps I can help you by writing an article about it?"

It sounded ridiculous even to him. He fully expected her to tell him to mind his own business and slam the door on him. Instead, she let out a long breath and bent down to hold out a hand to the dog.

"You look like you mean well. Come inside, I think I would like to talk to you." She ushered Joey and Fido into a simply furnished living room. "I'm sorry about the dust… I haven't had visitors in years."

Joey sat down on a floral sofa, pulling out his tablet. He wasn't at all sure how to go about this, but he wanted to try to help her in whatever way he could.

***
On Saturday, the weekly Franklin Middle Gazette was ready. Joey's feature story topped the page.

Local Senior Citizen Needs Our Help

In a small, quiet neighborhood on the west side of Franklin, the home of 74-year-old Mildred Vandyke goes unnoticed at the end of the lot. Unnoticed, save for the city council, which has declared her property unsafe and levied fines for what it deems to be neglect.

"I don't know what to do," she told reporter Joey Hernandez on Monday. "My husband died two years ago, and everything has gone downhill since then. We took out a reverse mortgage on the home, and now I'm in debt. My back hurts so much, I can't go out and tend the yard anymore, but I can't possibly afford to hire a landscaper."

Her circumstances have her in a tight spot; she attempted to lobby for an appeal at city hall, but it was turned down because of late fees on her electric bill.

"I think the whole situation is a crying shame," said Joey's father, Ryan Hernandez. "Mrs. Vandyke is being punished for things that aren't her fault. She needs support from the community, not fees and penalties."

She tried reaching out to a local church, but they told her they only have funds available to assist members. Since her sole transportation is in disrepair, she is largely homebound and unable to attend any church.

"It's all I can afford to order groceries and get to the doctor's office, let alone attend services. I'm a woman of deep faith, and I know God will take care of me, but it's so difficult." Mildred held back tears as she spoke. "I just want people to know there are those in need in our community, and sometimes we fall through the cracks."

Joey and his father have set up a GoFundMe page for Mildred Vandyke. Any donations will go towards home repairs to bring Mildred's residence up to code and are greatly appreciated. In the meantime, our reporter has attempted to contact the Franklin mayor to discuss a reevaluation of Mildred's case. As of the time of this publication, there has been no response from the mayor's office.

Joey squirmed as he read his own words in the school paper. It seemed like the least he could have done—surely there was more to be said, a different authority to interview, another angle to discuss the issue from. But he was pressed for time, and that was all he had managed to write.

It was enough, however. His fellow students became so concerned about Mildred Vandyke, they signed a petition to the city council requesting her fines be dropped.
Joey's church arranged a fundraiser bake sale for her, and invited her to ride their bus to services. When some of the kids mentioned Mildred's plight to their parents, several townspeople volunteered their time to drive her around, and a handyman offered his repair services at a reduced cost.

The situation became so well known that the Franklin town newspaper, The Banner, asked to reprint Joey's story with an update showcasing how much the community was stepping up. Their headline read:

Young Reporter Spearheads Efforts to Help Senior In Need.

"Wow… I'm so glad I was able to help Mrs. Vandyke." Joey rubbed Fido's ears as he read The Banner at his kitchen table. "I guess it's good to be a nosy newshound, huh?"

"Woof!"

Words: 1402.
Written for Merit Badge Magic.
Prompt: News.