This community newspaper tries to do the right thing even though it may not be popular or much fun.

We have to balance being the bearer of good news with all of the wonderful things that come to our communities and the bearer of the not so good news when there are problems.

We have an adage at the office — we don’t make-up the news, we just report it. And that’s true.

When news happens, we have the difficult task of digging into the facts, asking the tough questions, and writing the stories that sometimes are not much fun.

When news happens particularly with public entities like the county, cities, and school districts, we are obligated to report what happens. We may not like it but we have to do it.

It’s nothing personal. It has to be done.

We’re community cheerleaders and community watchdogs. You wouldn’t want us any other way. This newspaper is important to the success of this community. A community newspaper is much like a grocery store or school or hospital. Without a community newspaper, the community is not complete.

When we gather information for these all-important stories, we often are on time constraints. It may be after office hours and the people we need to talk to are difficult to locate. We do the best we can and if we do not connect this time around, we connect for the story in the next paper.

It’s not intentional.

It’s nothing personal.

We also are a part of these communities. We also are concerned about water quality and the general quality of life. These are our homes, our schools, our families, our communities. We need these entities to succeed. If they fail, we fail. All of us fail.

If we didn’t do the things that are expected of us, we would not be a community newspaper. And if we didn’t do the unexpected, we would not be a community newspaper.

Any way we look at this, we’re going to report the news — good and bad — because you, our readers, wouldn’t want it any other way.

And that you can take personally.

— susan berg