The following is one I received late last week:

"Can you please explain to me why it is so difficult -- or perhaps impossible -- to list the relevant subsections contained in Section B as show below. Am I missing some media trick? I'm a physicist so you'll have to pardon me for being slow."

In this particular case the Ijamsville reader was questioning why certain sections, such as business, classifieds and comics, aren't listed in the index on the top, right-hand corner of the sports section each day. He had clipped out portions of several pages to emphasize his point.

And it was a good point.

We took his suggestion and made the change last Tuesday.

This was an easy one to fix.

Other complaints are harder to remedy, such as our placement of obituaries.

"It seems to me that if we have to pay to publish the deaths of our loved ones, it would be nice to see all of the deaths on one page and in one section of your newspaper," a Frederick reader wrote in an Oct. 19 letter to me.

The deepening recession has caused newspapers, including The Frederick News-Post, to tighten up its newshole space by reducing pages.

As a result, it has become increasingly challenging to keep all of the obituaries together on one page or adjoining pages.

There are times, unfortunately, when we have to "jump" extra obituaries to pages behind the sports pages.

This has angered some readers who find the practice "disrespectful" of the deceased and offensive to surviving family members. I've taken at least six phone calls from family members emphasizing that point.

What I can tell you is that we've listened to this and there have been frequent conversations among editors about our handling of the obituaries.

We are working diligently to keep all obituaries in the A-section of the paper, which we can do on most days.

If we have to jump to the B-section (sports), then we have on occasions moved all of the obituaries so that they can be placed together on adjoining pages. What we are trying to avoid are situations where some of the obituaries run in the A-section and the rest run in the B-section between subsections that include comics and business.

And there have been other complaints and suggestions.

Some readers have complained that our comics are "pathetic and aren't funny," that our TV listings are "too small to read," and that we shouldn't print the answers for the Sunday crossword puzzle and Sudoku on the adjoining page "because it makes it too easy to cheat."

What I can tell you is that I do review every complaint like these that comes in here, and we will make changes if possible.

Sometimes we can, and sometimes we can't.

But don't let that stop you from trying.

The Frederick News-Post is your community newspaper and your comments do carry a lot of weight.

So please, don't hesitate to let us know what's on your mind.

Terry Headlee is the managing editor of The Frederick News-Post. He can be reached by phone at 240-215-8630 or by e-mail at theadlee@newspost.com