When Pat Thomas started The Tribune’s bloodline with what was then The Harrisonville Star, he had the goal in mind of a local newspaper where events, big and small, could be reported from throughout the community. One of his objectives was for people to contribute news about events which would be of interest to others, not just events like government or sports.
Following his death, we tried to keep The Tribune in line with his vision. And it has worked and The South Cass Tribune has grown beyond our expectations.
One development we didn’t anticipate at first was an expansion into Bates County. But early in our tenure, that’s exactly what happened as we embraced and were embraced by the Adrian community.
The Adrian Tribune section was developed so “our neighbors to the south” could also have a paper they could call their own, with news, advertising and information of interest to the Adrian community.
This week we have an exciting change to announce in that we will now feature The Bates County Tribune as part of our weekly editions. This change came about in response to the recent announcement the Butler newspaper was ceasing operations.
As journalists, we find no pleasure in the end of another local newspaper. Sadly, in recent years, far too many community papers have fallen by the wayside and every flag that goes away is another lost chapter in history.
For the past couple of weeks, we have started to extend our Bates County access by selling newspapers in and around Butler, but this week we present the new section.
Of utmost importance in our minds, this is not an end of the Adrian news, far from it. As we have grown to be part of the community, we feel the richness and sense of community which is very unique to the Blackhawk community. Our features, our work and our commitment to the area will not only remain, but strengthen as we move forward. But we also know there are stories to cover and things to be told in a vast area of Bates County and we want to be one the ones to do it.
In addition to Butler, we are hoping to get school news from Ballard, Miami and others from throughout the area.
To be honest, there are going to be some growing pains here. While I would like to say we have the staff and facilities to go full tilt into this new endeavor, that would not be correct. So, we are going to take baby steps to make sure we get things off to a good start. And that means we will be counting on people to help serve as eyes and ears to the community.
Just like in every other area we serve, we hope our new readers will share their news. Whether it’s a winner at the fair, an engagement, new officers in your club or new employees at your business, we want to know about it. We also want you to share story ideas. Know an interesting person, place or thing that others might want to know about? Give us a call.
One of the elements that makes this transition exciting to us is the stories we can share with a growing audience. Your business, your news, your comments, can now be shared information and more of your friends and neighbors can enjoy it.
We know there are some rivalries in communities in Cass and Bates counties and that’s great. We hope we can be a home-town voice in all cases and maybe have some fun in the process. I for one am looking forward to getting out and getting involved in more activities and learning more.
We hope you enjoy The Bates County Tribune as well as stories in The South Cass Tribune and that we all get to enjoy a long-lasting relationship.
Lastly, as someone still battling the effects of COVID-19, I ask you to please wear a mask.
