THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2004

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2004

Our View

Editor’s Farewell

Dear Reader,

It is with sadness I write this letter as I had no

intention of leaving the Rappahannock News. A once-in-a-life-time opportunity was offered to me to help start up a new newspaper in the Nation’s Capital and after much thought I accepted.

Looking back these past two years, I see that the reason I am attracted to this new opportunity is one of the reasons I was attracted to the position of editor of the Rappahannock News. It is, and was, a chance to create a first rate newspaper and continue the great newspaper tradition at a time when newspapers are going out of business.

In addition, serving as editor of this paper was a chance, to help out a friend, the late editor Barbara Wayland who was ill, and give back to a community what I had picked up over my journalism career.

It has been an honor, a privilege and an unequaled learning experience to serve as editor of the Rappahannock News.

I learned much from you, what you liked and didn’t like, and one time a reader asked a bit angrily, What do you think this is, The New York Times, The Washington Post?’ What I wanted was to see the Rappahannock News be the best little weekly it could be and serve its community well. And we racked up awards for news coverage and writing during these past two years.

You helped to bring all that about through your encouragement, support, suggestions, ideas, stories and yes, even complaints, as all of these helped raise the bar. You should be proud as this is your paper. And many from our community who have generously given their time and expertise to write stories or take photographs of events deserve a big thanks.

I wish to thank our newspaper’s Advisory Board for its help over the years. These are people in our community, from all walks of life, who meet with the editors and publisher a couple times a year to critique the paper and offer suggestions.

They are Bill Dietel, Bill Fletcher, Jim Gannon, Elizabeth Haskell, Beth Hilscher, Mayor Gene Leggett, and Martin Woodard.

I wish to thank our executive editor, John Tbler, our publisher Nick Arundel and our president Peter Arundel for their encouragement and guidance over the years.

I urge you to meet our new editor, effective Jan. 3, Anita Sherman, who has covered education for the Fauquier Times Democrat for the past five years. The one thing that makes my leaving more bearable is my knowing that Anita will be the editor and she will give more than 100 percent.

The first time she came out to cover a school board hearing for us, she fell in love with Rappahannock and wanted to move here. I encourage you to give her your support.

I plan to live here and continue to operate the Middleton Inn. And I hope to still write occasionally for the paper. My first story will be what it is like to commute to D.C.

Rappahannock will always be my home. I thank you for sharing these past two years and enriching not only this paper, but my life too.

Mary Ann Kuhn

Editor