This issue begins a new chapter for us at of The SUN as we roll into Volume 118. That means another year of bringing our community news and entertainment is in the books — and what a 52 issues it’s been.
As we enter our 118th year of documenting Archuleta County’s history and putting out weekly news and advertisements to keep our community informed, we again are reminded that we are just a few of the many stewards who have taken on the responsibility of this endeavor, and that many will come after us.
The SUN — and, more importantly, our community’s past, present and future — is something bigger than each of us. We’re just grateful to be a part of it.
The SUN has been around since 1909, and it’s our job to continue the commitments we’ve made to our readers and advertisers to ensure we pass a vibrant SUN along in the future.
We do it for you, and we couldn’t do it without you.
We love that so many of you make a point to stop in our office every Thursday morning, no matter the weather, to pick up your copy of The SUN or grab an extra PREVIEW so everyone in the house can do the puzzles. We love the conversations we get to have and the stories we hear as we meet new people each and every week.
We appreciate that you share your varied opinions with us and your fellow readers through the letters to the editor, and we continue to encourage respectful, thoughtful dialogue. We love that you share births, engagements, marriages and achievements with us. We are honored that you choose to share about your loved ones after they’ve passed through the obituaries we print.
We have fun celebrating alongside you when people in our community accomplish big things and students find success academically or athletically.
We, like you, get frustrated when things don’t seem to be going as smoothly as we hope or expect.
And, as readers of the weekly “Legacies” no doubt see on a weekly basis, history often repeats itself, sometimes like clockwork.
What’s old is new again, and we find it a good reminder of how far we’ve come and what potential still exists. Remembering the past can help us be more successful as a community in the present.
But it isn’t all about the past.
We also firmly believe that what we do is also for the future, whether that’s days from now, decades from now or longer.
In addition to helping inform decisions at the ballot box and giving you the information you need to make decisions about if you should get more involved or how, we’re also looking ahead to our future generations.
In 2021, The SUN began partnering with area schools for our Newspapers in Education program, and we are excited to continue to do so. Through the program, students at multiple local schools receive copies of the newspaper each week, with research showing that newspapers as a teaching tool offer myriad benefits.
Among other things, the program seeks to help students gain a better understanding of local government, links real-world experience to the classroom and encourages critical thinking.
Beyond that, we are also happy to be a part of education surrounding media literacy, which continues to prove to be a critical skill in our world, especially with evolution of AI.
We also know that local journalism is incredibly important and will continue to be important as these students grow and become community leaders themselves. Local journalism is what keeps our community informed and connected, day after day, and is vital to a healthy democracy.
Thank you for supporting local journalism and our community.
Randi Pierce
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