My time as editor of The Lincoln County News comes to an end this week. I have decided to take a new opportunity closer to home.
You are in good hands.
Alec Welsh has been quick to learn his new beat, and Evan Houk barely missed a beat when he came back to the Twin Villages desk.
Bisi Cameron Yee is out there covering the county with her curiosity and camera, enlarging the little moments through her discerning eye.
You’ve got Paula Roberts on the sports desk, Charlotte Boynton in Wiscasset and Westport Island, and Jason Pafundi in the Bristols.
The whole editorial process is bookended by two people whose work is invisible but indisputably integral.
Kathy Lizotte, the editorial assistant, manages the flow of news from the “info” email account, handles obituaries, helps schedule the website and social media, and even types up court reports, handwritten columns, and letters to the editor. And Jill Rice, the typesetter/editorial support, does the final complete read of every single item (except ads and cutlines) before it goes on the page. That calendar you might cut out and pin to the fridge? That’s Jill, too.
Deputy Editor Maia Zewert is once again stepping in to be acting editor.
From start to finish, this newspaper is brought to you by people who care about the community.
What you may not know – or perhaps not fully appreciate – is the dedication the Roberts family applies to publishing The Lincoln County News.
A machine may print it, but The Lincoln County News is made by hand as thoughtfully as any fine artisan meal.
Sure, you can go through the drive-thru of digital news. But in Lincoln County, you don’t have to.
Once a week, readers of The Lincoln County News are served a potluck made with favorite recipes someone knows by heart.
It was an honor to work alongside the whole staff of The Lincoln County News for the last nine months.
A friend of mine used to be a fill-in mail carrier at post offices in Lincoln County. She once said everyone here just seemed so happy. She thought it was the ocean air.
But I have a different inkling.
I believe it’s because you have a newspaper.
You’ll see me around. I’m still working collaboratively with Lincoln County Historical Association on its Women Writers of Lincoln County exhibit and reading series. For more information, visit lincolncountyhistory.com.
That they exist is the only reason I need to visit Lulu’s Barn, Dresden Take-Out, the Labyrinth in the Field, Rising Tide, Ginger Mousse, Sheepscot General, Odd Alewives, that swinging bench at Whaleback Shell Midden, and the entire town of Jefferson.
I want to learn how to make dandelion jelly at the Edgecomb Community Church. And I’m looking forward to LCTV’s “A Brothers Revival” in June.
If you would like to keep up with my writing and ramblings, visit rayeleonard.com.
