A call I received last week cause me to ponder this question: Just how many newspapers in this country operate under the name of The Daily Sentinel?

I'm sure there are many. One I am most aware of is a former sister paper in Grand Junction, Colo. That Daily Sentinel is owned by Cox Newspapers, our former parent company before we, along with The Lufkin Daily News, were bought a couple of weeks ago by Southern Newspapers Inc. There is also another Daily Sentinel owned by our new parent company in Scottsboro, Ala. An Internet search told me there are also Daily Sentinels in Pomeroy, Ohio, Rome, N.Y., Orlando, Fla., and Le Mars, Iowa, just to name a few.

But the Sentinel newspaper that last week's caller must have thought he had dialed (I guess that word is outdated) is apparently located in Waterville, Maine, and is actually called the Morning Sentinel, I discovered during my search.

This caller, who said his name was Jasper, asked if we could publish a story about the closing of a nearby school for troubled youth. Apparently, this young man had attended the school and was greatly changed by his positive experiences there. He was concerned that the school was closing because of funding issues and hoped that a newspaper article would generate sufficient donations to keep it open.

Puzzled by his request, I asked the name of the school and where it was located. He told me the school was called Good Will-Hinckley and it was located in Hinckley, Maine.

I thought perhaps this person was calling newspapers across the country seeking help, and when I asked him if that was his strategy, he replied that our newspaper was his first call.

I asked why, and he began to tell me about all the stories we had done in the past about the school — graduations, field trips, etc. When I explained to him that he must have called the wrong Sentinel newspaper and that we were located in Nacogdoches, Texas, he quickly and quietly said "thank you" and hung up.

That's when I began to wonder how the previous call came about in the first place and came to the assumed conclusion that the young man must have simply searched the Internet for a phone number for a Sentinel newspaper and came up with ours.

I also began to wonder about this home for troubled youth. What about it was so special to cause a young man to want to reach out and help in some small way? Here's what I discovered about the Good Will-Hinckley Homes for Boys and Girls at www.gwh.org.

"Since 1889, our mission remains to provide a home and helping hand for young people and families. The organization has helped more than 6,000 youth from Maine and other states. Today, Good Will-Hinckley is home to youth facing complex academic, social, behavioral and emotional challenges. Before going to Good Will, they may have lacked sufficient support at home and/or in school. The 2,450 acre campus serves as many as 300 youth per year, ages 11 through 21. Good Will offers complete residential, educational and counseling services." I also learned that students came to Good Will-Hinckley from across the U.S. and that recent policy changes by state and federal agencies cut reimbursement rates for residential care programs, and the downturn in the economy reduced donations and the facility's ability to provide scholarships. The school will close Sept. 1.

Jasper doesn't know it, but his request has been fulfilled. Whether or not this column running in a Sentinel newspaper in Texas about the plight of his beloved school in Maine can help in any possible way, who knows? But perhaps someone with an answer will see it.