Turner joins NDN sports staff

Hello Newton! My name is Dustin Turner and I am the newly hired sports writer for this fine publication.

I was raised on sports. Nothing quite has the universal reach that sports do. You would be hard pressed to find anybody who doesn’t follow at least one team or athlete.

Sports have the power to bring communities together. I relish the chance to express my passion for them.  I have known this is what I wanted to do since I can remember, and I am grateful for the opportunity that the Newton Daily News has given me to prove my worth. With this being my first column and all, I figured it would be a grand opportunity to tell you a little bit about who I am and where I come from.

I’m originally from San Diego and plenty of Newton’s citizens I have met have questioned why I would move from what seems like paradise to the middle of the country. I am all about going to new places and seeing new things. When I left San Diego to attend the University of Oregon, I faced the same questions from people in Eugene, Ore. However, for me it is impossible to claim a life fully lived without jumping at each and every opportunity to explore.

Wisdom is gained through experience and to me true experience only occurs when you go completely outside your comfort zone and try something new. I spent last summer driving cross-country from San Francisco to Greenville, S.C. I studied in Italy for three months last fall.

This new adventure, while not quite as exotic, means much more to me. I was trained to report ethically and factually and promise to do so here. I look forward to meeting plenty of fantastic young athletes along with coaches, parents and so forth. I hope you find my columns entertaining as well as informative. And if you don’t please keep it to yourself (just kidding).