We'll still be here

Last week saw the killing of five people at the Capital Gazette in Maryland, as someone opened fire with a shotgun in what was referred to as a “targeted attack.”

Our hearts grieve the loss of our fellow newspaper staffers. We wish comfort and peace for their families, friends, co-workers and all who have been touched by this heartbreak and healing to those who are recovering.

It’s a sobering reminder to us here at the Thermopolis Independent Record, and in the news industry as a whole, that we are often the target of people who feel strongly about one issue or another. While there have been no incidents here like the tragedy in Maryland, we certainly deal with our fair share of complaints, many of which are done civilly while others speak — or type — with a bit more passion.

Especially in an election year, tensions are running high and we do our best to report the happenings in our county on a fair and unbiased level. Our editorial pages allow the opportunity for people to voice their opinion as well, provided it is within our Letters to the Editor policy found below.

We hope, pray and work to keep events like the Maryland shooting and other terrible events from unfolding; it is just in some people’s nature to seek their own solutions, whether done through proper channels or with a sense of “vigilante justice” in mind. And we’ll be there to report the bad along with the good.

In honor of Wendi Winters, Rebecca Smith, Robert Hiaasen, Gerald Fischman and John McNamara, and others who have died in similar incidents, we will be here. We will continue bringing the news to you, both the terrible and the wonderful, and tell the story of Hot Springs County.