End it on a high note

I’ve had a good run during my time at the Sun. But, all good things must come to an end … so they say.

In a scenario I could not have envisioned even a month ago, an opportunity that would take me away from journalism presented itself in a way that made me think “This is the new path I should take. This is where I can do the most good right now.”

I am leaving the Saratoga Sun to take over as Interim Director of the Saratoga Museum. It was not an easy choice and the decision was made during a time of much stress. Liz Wood had recently announced she was leaving the newspaper, and as Keith McLendon was leaving for a long-planned cruise, I made him the promise that I would be here when he got back. I held to that promise, but only to the letter of it. While Keith was unreachable, out in the Gulf of Mexico, I made the decision to put in my two-week notice. Such is life.

As I sit here, at the end of another long week, my stories filed and ready to finish laying out and copy editing this week’s edition of the Sun, I am left to ponder how to say goodbye. What hits me is that it has been a largely positive experience. Reporting for the paper has helped me get involved in many aspects of our community. I have been able to follow, report and sometimes voice my opinion on many important issues facing the Upper North Platte Valley. That has been very satisfying. While it hasn’t made everybody I have reported on happy, I was grateful to receive acknowledgment of my series on whether the town of Saratoga should be looking to growth by the Wyoming Press Association (WPA). The WPA also awarded the Sun the Editorial Leadership Cup for the quality and consistency of our editorials. I feel like I had a big hand in developing our editorials and that our team worked for the betterment of the community through thoughtful consideration, research, writing and editing of the editorials we ran last year.

As a guy who had never watched a high school basketball game before becoming a reporter, I could not have imagined how attached I would become to the Panthers and Lady Panthers basketball teams. The same goes for the Panthers football team which I had the pleasure of covering this year.

This leads me to a couple of pleas to the Valley as I leave for a new journey in life.

Get out to some games. What the heck else are you doing on Friday and Saturday afternoons? One of the preconceived notions I had of small town life before moving here is that the gyms and bleachers would be packed at each and every game. They do a little better down in Encampment, but I have only seen large crowds at Saratoga games a couple of times. In my not so humble opinion, we could do a better job of supporting our school athletes.

I’ve said this before. Be vigilant. I am not aware of any active deception or wrongdoing by our local governments, but only in the light of the public eye will they fulfill their mandate. Don’t be afraid to go sit through a potentially boring meeting if it means you will be able to tell your town council, planning commission, or any other board exactly what you feel they should be doing, or not doing. The best meetings I have been to, hands down, are the ones with a packed house of passionate citizens who want to hold their elected and appointed representatives accountable to the wishes of their constituents.

Lastly, the Saratoga Sun has been around for 128 years. A couple of people leaving is something the paper has endured and will endure this time around. The paper is a great place for citizens to bring their questions and concerns. A dedicated staff can do research and ask questions that an individual of the general population might not have the ability or desire to do for fear of retribution.

With that, I’ll step off my soapbox one last time.

That is all. Carry on.