Last week, Raye Leonard said her goodbye to this newspaper and our readers. We wish her well in her new adventures.
It was almost one year ago when we started the process of looking for a new editor. It was the first external editor search we could recall, and it was a task we approached with enthusiasm and optimism. A lot has changed in this short period of time, and a lot has stayed the same. Labor shortages, supply chain issues, inflation, and other lingering effects of the pandemic and responses to it continue to force all businesses to adapt.
It may be easy to get carried away in downtrodden thoughts or focus only on the negative. But it is important to believe in a brighter future and work to make it happen, whether in a business or personal capacity.
This is why we continue to strive to produce a paper for this community every week that is full of the news of Lincoln County. We want to find the stories of the people, places, and organizations that make this area great to visit and live in. We want to share them with you and preserve them for the historical record.
This is our duty, one we are passionate about and work hard to get right. It is time to strengthen this arena, and draw on the expertise of local knowledge, and community news gathering. When it comes to local matters, there is no substitute for local knowledge which only comes with time.
With Raye’s departure, Maia Zewert will step into the role of acting editor for an undetermined period. This is a role she performed well for six weeks last year when we found ourselves in a similar position. At that time, we described the paper as being in “survival mode” until we brought the newsroom to full staff.
This time around, however, while there are still openings in our newsroom, we are planning to thrive, rather than just survive.
We are confident in Maia’s ability to lead the newsroom. To help her succeed, we are welcoming back a longtime local journalist Sherwood Olin. Sherwood will be coming back in a supporting role to assist with editorial responsibilities and help reporters find the local stories. He started working at the LCN in 1999 as a reporter and worked his way up to the position of editor in 2008, where he stayed at the helm for almost eight years. We are thrilled to have him back in the ranks.
While discussing the possibility of Sherwood’s return, the future of the industry and this newspaper naturally came up. Our response was we are committed to this community, and giving a voice to the people who live here through the newspaper. Our focus always has been and will always be reporting on the local news and happenings in this area. We only see an exciting future ahead.
Our late patriarch Sam Roberts once recounted, “We were criticized once after we reported about a cat having kittens. My response to this was, ‘Thank heavens there’s a place that the fact a cat is having kittens can be reported!’” While this may be an extreme example, we have always carried personal items in this paper and will continue to do so. After all, we want this to be your paper.
