I don’t usually cover stories outside the Garner area to print in the News, but I had the opportunity to interview Food Network star Duff Goldman and his band, …soihadto…, when they came to Chapel Hill Feb. 8. Unlike most bands, the four musicians play music with no vocals. Instead of muddying up the intense Indie Rock tunes with lyrics, the audience gets to interpret the titles and sounds on their own.

It made me think about the integrity of the Garner News when it was first published. The first issue of the paper had a list of newcomers to Garner, a story about the Boy Scouts of America celebrating 53 years, school and church news and a front page story about the coming sewer system. The first issue also included an ad congratulating Lewis Lawrence, the first editor and publisher of the paper, on just one more sign of progress in Garner. Forty-seven years later, Garner is still growing and we are still here to give you the news.

An editorial in that first issue claimed that a weekly paper has obligations to its readers: understand and report the issues of society, be a leader in the community, encourage growth and development, interest many people, ensure excellence and give the facts without bias. These are all qualities the paper has today.

When I first took the job as editor nearly a year and a half ago, I was told I had my work cut out for me. Other editors didn’t run the paper with a community-oriented mindset. I have worked hard to turn around that image and the people in Garner have responded with enthusiasm.

While journalism has certainly changed since the first issue on Feb. 6, 1963, many of the values of the Garner News have been brought back. We try to offer quality reporting about you, your neighbors and your local government.

Like …soihadto…, I hope the Garner News can be classified in its own league. I hope to uphold journalistic standards while giving readers something they won’t find in other publications. That’s where you come in. I want to hear your stories, whether you are a senior that is a Garner native or a high school freshman that recently moved to the area. You are the great people that make up Garner and you are important to the community.

Many have expressed concerns because Heartland Publications, which owns the Garner News and four other Wake County community newspapers, filed for Chapter 11 earlier this year. We aren’t going anywhere. The corporation is expected to be out of this by the early spring.

Above and beyond the expected financial rebound, it will be the Garner News’s integrity and the support of the community that keeps it in business. The staff of the paper is fairly small due to budget cuts, but we are happy to receive your story suggestions and any feedback on the paper. The Garner News is truly your paper. While our office is in Fuquay-Varina, the news we cover is in Garner and you will see yourself on every page of the Garner News. Thank you for your support.

To contact me, email kgriffith@raleighsouthonline.com or call 919-552-5675.