So many of you have commented on the combining of the Wood County Democrat and Mineola Monitor and asked, “Well, is it going to be for the better, or for the worse?” Our plan is for it to be for the better, with a bigger, fuller paper with more complete coverage of this county we call home. It will serve our advertisers even better who have the potential to be healthier businesses, which will only make our communities stronger.

I will call it a transitional period for myself as much as anyone, for over the years I have been mainly focused on the town of Mineola where I was reared, raised my children and call my home. It is a fantastic place. But for your information, Quitman also has several people very near and dear to my heart.

But times change, communities change and our owners decided this would be a wise choice for the health and quality of our papers. I ask that you bear with me, and provide lots of input and feedback, as I adjust my horizons a little bit.

It would not be possible without my compadre’ Larry Tucker, the Wood County news editor. We are really a team and I couldn’t think of anyone I’d rather be going into this endeavor with than him. As some say, we go way back. He knew me before my hair was grey and my sons were taller than me. In fact, he knew me when I was my sons’ ages. We worked together at KMOO and he was much like a brother to a single mom with two little boys. It seems he is known for that kind of caring.

We also have some very creative minds and talented people backing us up at our home office in Kilgore. So creative, I might add, that sometimes they scare me. Wasn’t last week’s full page ad about the merger awesome?

After as many years as I’ve been here, I admit to very initial mixed feelings about the combining of the two historic papers. I expected that would be a concern for our community, and we have had one person express that. I’m like most folks, I don’t always relish change.

But in today’s world, the idea of some change is not a bad thought. Sometimes there are good reasons for it and it brings a new vitality to the spirit. It seems there is a an air of change around us in this county with Quitman’s Development Corporation and the Mineola School District moving toward a career and technology center that will benefit far more than just students who attend school in Mineola.

It seems the other most asked question about the combining of the two papers is how it will affect subscriptions. If you were a subscriber to both papers, after one paid subscription period has expired, the other paid subscription will be added on the end of it.

So thank you for being here with us for this momentous occasion in our communties’ lives. You can keep contacting your editor, publisher or ad person at either office just like you have been. Our phone numbers are still the same. Our email addresses will change, though, so be sure to note those on our updated bylines and in our staff box on page 2. Mail sent to the old addresses will continue to be forwarded though. And, if you know of a talented writer who enjoys being involved in the community, send them our way. There’s room for more on our team.