A Hello and Farewell for Newport Patch

"Why does it take a minute to say hello and forever to say goodbye?"  -Author Unknown

After three years on the local beat, today we bid farewell to Newport Patch editor Cara Kenefick. Since 2010, Cara has engaged the community with a wide spectrum of news: from Newport’s summer events to tough city budgets.  Patch is made up of many energetic and talented editors, yet Cara's defining  characteristic is her refreshing, if not slightly quirky of humor. Her ability to find comedy in life's everyday moments is positively contagious. 

“But we can't go back. We can only go forward,” said American novelist Libba Bray.  Going forward with Newport Patch, I am excited to have the opportunity to serve as editor.  I will not forget the lesson that Cara has taught us at Patch.  We can have passion and dedication in delivering information without ignoring the uplifting, positive perspectives that made me fall in love with Newport many years ago.

With help from those energetic and talented colleagues I mentioned earlier, I will stay on as editor for Middletown Patch.  As Aquidneck Island communities continue to look into combining resources, I see the blurring of borders as an opportunity to cover the news from a different perspective.  

As Middletown Town Council President Chris Semonelli said to me, “For effective government, we really need to be looking at our community as a whole and not just individual towns.”

Patch is a platform that delivers not only local news, but provides a platform for community involvement and discussion.  Residents no longer need to go to City Hall to be heard on important local issues.  Technology is transforming not only the way communities interact, but how they operate.  I’m excited to be a small part of that transformation and I’m looking forward to further developing Newport Patch into a powerful forum for our city’s residents and visitors. 

How do we get started?

• Come say hi!  Click here to see my office hours
• Do you have a news tip for Newport or Middletown? Email me at olga.enger@patch.com
• Do you have something to get out to the community?  Post it on Patch, here

Five Facts About Olga

• I was not always a reporter.  My training and career was software development, which brought me to Rhode Island from Minnesota on a three month contract with GTECH. I crossed the Newport Bridge March 8, 2005.  I parked my rental car, walked to Bowen's Wharf and called my parents to tell them I was not coming home.  It was an experience with love at first sight.
• I own a home on Extension Street. 
• I have two Shih Tzu dogs, Mochie and Meatball. 
• My favorite genre of books is historical fiction.
• I've wanted to be a reporter since I was five years old.

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