EDITORIAL
Some changes at the paper

You may have noticed that our small staff at the Sentinel has thinned out a little, recently.

Our latest editor and talented sports writer has moved on to another newspaper in a larger town, where he is slated to handle the sports desk, and of course we wish him well in that endeavor.

Our former publisher, also is no longer with us. He has a thriving business in another county and is really unable to devote sufficient time and energy at overseeing the operations of this newspaper including its editorial, distribution and advertising functions.

We will in time find others to fill these positions. However, there will be a transition period as we regroup, restaff and reorganize to better serve our reading public.

We will also be making decisions as to the kind of news coverage to provide you.

Obviously, we can't do it all. We have limited financial resources. We are a small newspaper in basically a two-newspaper local market. The other newspaper has captured a large portion of the advertising revenue, which of course puts the squeeze on us. Especially under current economic conditions.

We say this not as a complaint, they certainly are entitled to operate as they see fit, but rather as an explanation of the environment in which we operate.

Actually, the squeeze is good for us in that it forces us to make some hard choices.

If we simply repeat the same kind of coverage as our competition, we really bring no great value to our community. It is only if we do things that are important to you and if we do them in ways that are significantly better than our competition that we bring you value. That is just what we are committed to do.

Some will say that one newspaper is all the county needs and that our competition is doing a great job. While we respect that view, we do not agree with it.

Probably, in the near future, the Sentinel will be more focused on governmental and business news than we have in the recent past. We also would like to have a more active dialog with the folks in our communities.

We welcome your thoughts and comments as we undergo this transition.