From the Publisher

This time last year we proposed a New Year’s resolution for the News-Record. 

We committed to bringing back a weekly opinion page.

Now more than 52 weeks later, I can attest that it has been a wonderful experiment and one that we plan to keep going. 

Having an opinion page has forced more overall content into the paper because it has added more pages consistently throughout the year. 

By adding an opinion page, we added a page of news because that’s how a newspaper press works. 

You can’t add one page.

You must add at least two pages, so adding opinions has also added more news.

I would also like to thank all our contributors who regularly offer their thoughts and takeaways.

We have grown our stable of writers over the past year.

As such, we are offering our readers a balanced approach that is some of the most thought-provoking perspectives from local voices.

Not all our writers have gone without criticism and that is okay.

If you know me, you know that I am passionate about free speech in varied civil discourse.

I often print opinions with which I do not agree. 

It is not my job to agree with every opinion on our editorial page and our favorite thing to print is letters to the editor.

I appreciate all who have submitted letters over the past year as well.

Democracy works when expression and free speech are not impeded. 

Democracy works when folks disagree but do so civilly.

Democracy works when there is dissent— peaceful dissent. 

I once had a veteran newspaper reporter tell me he had never met a publisher as willing to publish opinions with which he did not agree.

I took that as a badge of honor.

As we trudge into the new year, with local election filings pending and statewide primaries for the upcoming midterm election, let us have a conversation. 

Let us have open hearts and open minds. 

Let us agree and let us disagree.

Let us agree to disagree.

Keep the letters coming, but I should remind you we do not print anonymous letters.

Each one of our opinion writers has the courage and fortitude to sign their name and have their picture run with their words.

Anonymous letters are read once and go to the trash can. 

We’ve received a few over the past year that I sure wish we could’ve printed, but anonymity doesn’t work. Save that for Facebook. 

Thanks again for your readership, for your commitment to our shared mission of providing the best source of news information and opinions on local issues. 

We take it seriously and appreciate the fact that you do, too.