I'm looking forward to voting on Nov. 3. It should be an easy day. Breeze into my precinct on Cliff Road, breeze out of my precinct on Cliff Road, not have to fight the traffic and the congestion you get with some elections. Nosireebob. The way I look at it, I was one of 1,397 people who physically voted in the primary Oct. 6.

Since I was one of the ones who did take the time out of my busy day to vote, I'm looking at this whole election process this way:

Those who didn't vote in primary should not be allowed to vote in the actual election. If they didn't help us narrow the field down, then why should they get to help us elect them?

Those who didn't vote should be banned from saying anything negative about any of the candidates, what they do or don't stand for, why they will or will not vote for them. You get the idea.

The field was narrowed Oct. 6 to the field we will see on Nov. 3. Incumbents Linda Carter and Walker Moffitt will be facing off against Odell Graham III, Mike Hunter, Ron Powell, Katie Snuggs, David Whitaker and Clark Bell. Any way you slice it, someone is going to go home a loser and the possibility that the face of the Asheboro City Council will change dramatically is very high.

It should be, as they say, exciting.



Did you know?

According to the National Newspaper Association:

– 80 percent of America's newspapers have a circulation of less than 15,000 – like the one you are holding in your hands.

– Roughly 8,000 community newspapers fit that description – and it's a group we are proud to be a part of.

– 86 million Americans read those community newspapers every week – and that's a group you should be proud to be a part of.

These figures come from research on the readership patterns of America's community newspapers, a group to which we belong.

Some more interesting information this research has uncovered:

– 73 percent read most or all of their community newspaper. Why? Because you can't – and won't – get local news like you find in The Randolph Guide on the 11 o'clock news, on the radio, via your cell phone, through e-mail or on the Web sites of those papers trying to be too big for their britches.

– Nearly 40 percent keep a community newspaper more than a week.

True community newspapers like The Randolph Guide are like a letter from home – you want to read every word. They are like a good book – you remember where you left off and you want to read it from cover to cover. They are like your favorite TV show – you look forward to it every week and if you miss it, well, it doesn't make you very happy.

Numbers like that validate everything we do here at The Guide. Yeah, we take a lot on the chin from folks about being small but what they say about us just shows their ignorance, to be honest. Or maybe it's fear. I hear they look – and sound – a lot alike.



I guess most folks who read The Guide have noticed that Larry Penkava has been away from the office for a few weeks. And he is going to be gone for a few more. Thanks to the magic of modern medicine Larry had a Birmingham hip resurfacing done on Sept. 29. (To read about it, check out our Web page and look for his Blog on the the home page.) I told him it sounded like he got his rotors turned!

But I digress.

Since he's been gone, it's been a little different around here. See, when Larry is not here, someone has to fill in for him. And that person would be me. Despite the fact I have been a reporter for nearly two decades, I admit I was a little nervous. It's been a while since I've actually covered a meeting or an event. But as I soon found out, it's like riding a bike.

It's also been comforting to know I can still go to a meeting and come back with three or four solid stories.

I started my career in journalism at my hometown newspaper, which was a daily. It was small. Still is. But I cut my teeth on community journalism that taught me the importance of the newspaper being the fabric of any community it serves. I did the stories on large produce. I did the stories on the first big buck killed during hunting season. I did the stories that got into the heart of the community. I did the stories about the people who kept our community running. I did the stories about what mattered to our readers.

I covered my community the way I did because it was my home.

Since that time, I've worked at several other papers, all dailies in different states, before coming to Asheboro as publisher and editor of the product you are holding in your hands. The pace is different but I feel no different about the paper you are holding than I did about the paper that took a chance on me so many years ago: our job is to display the fabric of this community through the pages of our newspaper each week.

I haven't gotten a lot of sleep lately – I now wear the three-sided hat of publisher, editor and reporter – but that's OK. Being out in the community and covering stories these past two weeks has reminded me why I chose to be a journalist way back when: Getting knee deep in local news like we do is a pleasure every single time we do it and for me, having an actual hand in producing some of that makes me appreciate Larry that much more.

You won't find state stories in our paper and you won't find national or international stories in our pages unless someone from our coverage area – Randolph County and only Randolph County – makes news in one of those faraway places.

When you pick up our paper each week, you can rest assured you will find nothing but local news. And we like it that way. Kind of makes us unique around here – the kind of place I call home.



Patricia M. Edwards is the editor and publisher of The Randolph Guide. She can be reached at pedwards@randolphguide.com or by phone at (336) 625-5576.