Rick Nichols and Wesley Cudney
by Holly Allen and Clarke Davis
Rick Nichols, who has served Jefferson County as editor of The Oskaloosa Independent these past eight years, chronicling the weekly history of the county’s west side, has signed off, handing off his daily duties to recent University of Kansas J-School grad Wesley Cudney.
Currently a Lawrence resident, Cudney was born and raised on the south side of Wichita, in a vine-covered trailer park right next to the Starlight Drive-In.
“I was specifically born in Wesley Hospital, which shows how creative my parents were with names by the time they had their third child,” laughs Cudney.
After graduating Metro Boulevard, a public alternative high school, in 2018, Cudney headed to KU initially to study political science as a pre-law degree.
“When I discovered that a liberal arts degree requires so many elective credits that you can fit an entire professional degree into it, I went with journalism,” he stated. “I quickly realized that it’s fun being nosey, and journalism became the primary degree of the two.”
While he did not set out to be a writer, the practice became cathartic for him during his freshman year at KU. A series of scandals prompted Cudney to begin writing as a way of expressing his frustrations with the issues on campus.
“As I added journalism to my degree, writing became the way that I would expose those issues. Once I found out about an issue, I couldn’t just keep it to myself,” he recalled. “One of my first articles was on the partially-labeled bags of asbestos piled outside of Oliver Hall shortly after KU closed the building.”
As he got further into his degree, Cudney grew tired of what he considered to be constant issues, alleged corruption, and perpetual damage control surrounding the university, and began focusing on smaller stories (like discovering the mysterious trumpeter in the campus parking garage, who turned out to be from Jefferson County.)
Though graduated, Cudney plans to remain in Lawrence for now, as his, fiancee, Shae, works to complete the final year of her psychology degree. In his free time, he enjoys reading, cooking, and playing video games. He has two geriatric cats named Sprite and Tux.
Cudney says he is excited by community journalism, as it allows him to do what he enjoys on a smaller scale with a bigger impact.
“If I write a story, it’s to help people learn about something or someone that otherwise might have stayed unknown,” he stated. “Plus, in small groups, people are kind and civil in a way that gets lost on the macro level.”
Cudney hopes to eventually be able to afford to start a family with his fiancee, insisting societal currents simply don’t allow for that right now. He still takes an interest in law, loving the thrill of objection battles and cross examinations, but law school is expensive. He believes a career as a public defender might suit him though, essentially doing what he is trying to do now — helping people.
Cudney has already been hard at work for the county newspapers, updating their digital footprint, including a revamp of its website, www.jeffcountynews.com. And starting this week, he will take over where Nichols left off, covering the life and times of Jefferson Countians, and providing a written record of its history.
“My favorite stories to write are ones with new beginnings,” stated Cudney. “Whether someone is making a mid-life career change or is trying for a fresh start, that anxious optimism is contagious.”
Nichols, whose last day at The Independent was July 29, has been at the paper’s helm for over eight years.
He requested management find a replacement for him about nine months ago because of some health issues.
Nichols, who was 60 when he signed on with Davis Publications in February 2014, is a native of Olathe and resides in Leavenworth.
At that time he was returning to the profession after a 25-year hiatus in another field of work. He was employed by the Sarcoxie (Mo.) Record and the Eureka Herald for nearly a dozen years after graduating from the University of Kansas in 1977.
He commented upon returning to newspapers, that he was stepping into a field that had moved from typewriters and paste-up to computers and pagination. “There was no internet or email [back then],” he said. Journalism had been his father’s career as a reporter and copy editor for 45 years at The Kansas City Star.
In between his time working for newspapers, Nichols held jobs in Johnson County as a senior employment coach and a private respite care provider, working with adults with disabilities in both instances.
In his final editorial column for The Independent last week, Nichols wrote the following:
“I want to thank those of you out there who took the time to write me a note of encouragement, send me a heartfelt email or give me a friendly phone call during my eight plus years here at the paper. On the whole, the notes, the emails and the calls were few and far between, but I’m eternally grateful for the ones I got.
“Going forward, I wish Jeniffer and Wesley here at the office the very best and hope you, our readers, will do whatever you can to support and encourage them in their endeavors. Ditto for the fine folks up in the Valley Falls office as well.
“It’s been an honor and a privilege to work for The Oskaloosa Independent, and the citizens of Jefferson County should feel very fortunate to have both it and The Valley Falls Vindicator covering all manner of happenings and activities in print on a weekly basis and electronically 24/7. Please rediscover these local treasures and become emotionally invested in them!”