Arnold Sentinel is Honored with a Nebraska Better Newspaper Award

The Arnold Sentinel received a Nebraska Press 2022 Better Newspaper Award during the annual awards banquet on April 30th at the Crown Plaza in Kearney, Nebraska. The award- winning story titled “1950 Arnold High School Grad Keeps on Trucking” was written in May of 2021 by Janet Larreau, the Sentinel’s managing editor. The story placed 2nd in the Single Feature Story category in Division A.

After reading the article in the May 12th edition of the Arnold Sentinel, KCNI/KBBN news contacted Larreau to find out how the award-winning story featuring an 89-year old truck driver named Dave Sheets got started. She noted Dave Sheets is a family relative who she has known all her adult life. Sheet’s story had gone viral on some other media platforms so she asked for an interview.  After many stories told and some editing, Larreau was able to create the amazing story that told of Dave Sheets’ journeys as one of the oldest over the road truck drivers in the USA.  Sheets is now age 90 and still trucking with no plans to retire.

Ms. Larreau started writing for the Arnold Sentinel in 1984. She has been the managing editor for a good share of the 38 years of her journalistic journey at her weekly newspaper. Will Janet follow the example of her Uncle Dave? Will she be writing stories for the Arnold Sentinel at age 90? We didn’t ask her to look too to far into the future, but we did ask what keeps her interested in writing stories about Arnold’s events and all of its activities. Larreau said she continues to remain engaged because of a community that is so active, progressive, and the people are amazing because they support everything.

“You put it in the paper and they are there. I have seen it over the decades and that’s what keeps me going. What is this community going to do next?” she said.

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