The Obituary Prblishing Policy

Obituary Publishing Policy

The Sentinel will continue to publish obituary information at no charge. Some publications have changed their policy in light of escalating newsprint and postage costs and have imposed a fee for including obituaries. The Sentinel will avoid doing this as long as possible.

We try to be very sensitive to the grief a family is experiencing when it comes time to get obituary information to the newspaper and it is not our desire to capitalize on that grief. Providing that information, we believe, is part of our job of recording the community's history.

We have imposed some limits, however, on the things we can include with an obituary notice. We are often supplied a copy of the decedents history that was read aloud at the funeral service. Those copies usually include more information than we will be able to use in a printed obituary notice. The number of grandchildren, for example, can range from one to 40 or more. We can not include the names of an additional 40 survivors. Since we try to apply the same policy to everyone, grandchildren's names are not included, whether there are three or forty.

The copy of the obituary used at the funeral service does, however, generally provide the information we need for the notice and will make a suitable copy from which we can work.

Occasionally a family will want to purchase space for what members consider a more complete notice. In those cases grandchildren's names, a poem, words of a favorite hymn or additional information can be included in the notice. That can be arranged for a fee. Call for pricing or e-mail us at john@lincoln-sentinel.com for more information.

People have been very understanding concerning our need to edit-to-size some of the obituary offerings. By following this policy, we hope to be able to continue to publish an appropriate notice without charge.

Obituaries can be submitted by mail, fax, or e-mail. Click on about us & Information to find addresses and fax number.

- The Publishers