A lesson I’ve witnessed over and over the past two years as I’ve watched select boards listen patiently to public concerns, seen school committees make difficult budget decisions, and the joy that comes from well-planned events: community is not a passive activity.
With this week being my last hurrah with The Lincoln County News, it’s hard not to come back to the astounding effort I’ve seen unfold that’s required to keep our little nook of Maine running smoothly.
The cost of everything is rising. From running schools to paving roads, it has been remarkable watching elected officials do what they can to deliver what residents need while trying to keep this place somewhere we can afford to live.
To all the select boards, school committees, budget committees, planning boards, and the people who make community happen here, I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude. You all allowed me to question and sit patiently as I stumbled toward understanding the depths of the decisions that make this place home and keep the lights running.
Whether it was in a municipal meeting, a “Characters of the County” interview, or candid phone calls expressing your concerns or joys, thank you all for sharing pieces of your life with me.
Every time I sat down with you I felt like I heard pieces of my own story in yours. As a whole, I feel more connected to humanity than I ever have.
As much joy as I’ve seen in this job, I’ve also been around a lot of sorrow, from funerals to unprecedented structural loss on our coastlines after historic storms and emergency scenes where I’ve watched family homes burn to the ground.
Life is hard. In small and big ways, I think we all know that. I know we do by the way I witnessed the community come together time and time again when we needed it most.
I’ll be going to graduate school in the fall and, in the meantime, I’ll return to my previous profession as a bartender to save a little cash for my next scholastic endeavor.
At the time of this editorial’s publication, I’m deliberating between two acceptances to study theology, one at Vanderbilt University and the other at Duke University. I have to make a choice soon, so any input is appreciated from our readers.
I’ll always call this place home, and I can never thank The Lincoln County News enough for taking a flyer on a kid from Bremen who has never written an article before.
Every one of those nearly 400 articles I’ve put together since my hiring has been one long love letter to Lincoln County. I am deeply grateful to have been a part of your lives as a reporter, and I hope I can continue to be in some capacity in the future.
While I have only recently called The Lincoln County News home, Lincoln County has been my home my whole life. Like I said to John Roberts, our fearless publisher, I’m going to be like gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe: I’ll be sticking around for a long time.
With warmth and gratitude,
Johnathan Riley
Reporter for the Twin Villages, Bremen, Bristol, South Bristol, and Monhegan
