Thank you to our supporters!

This week begins our annual push for the Newspaper in Education initiative. This effort places hundreds of copies of the newspaper each week with the two local school systems for educators to use as they wish in the classrooms.

Each year this is made possible by our ardent supporters. I am thankful for each supporter who, by purchasing an ad, has ensured we maintain the mission of telling Knox County’s story and getting this vital information into the hands of the next generation.

Likewise, I am grateful for our school newsletter sponsors. For years now, Union College, Barbourville Utilities and the Knox County Public Library have each stepped up as always to underwrite the cost of printing and distributing monthly newsletters for both Knox and Barbourville Schools in the Mountain Advocate, as well as providing additional copies to the schools themselves.

This year, our NIE supporters are also helping in an additional way. We are adding a school reporter for both Barbourville and Knox Central High Schools. The funds from the NIE sponsorships will not only help provide the additional papers to the schools, but it will help compensate our student journalists!

This exciting new venture will hopefully inspire a new generation of reporters. We need fresh blood in the industry, and more people to let the world know factual reporting is vital to our democracy.

•••

We do the work each week in helping do our part to make sure Knox County’s story is told. It’s more than showing up and taking photos. That’s important... we see that each week. History is important, and Facebook isn't guaranteed to be here tomorrow. We will be.

•••

If you haven’t checked it out, pay a visit to our new website! A new version of mountainadvocate.com launched a few weeks ago. The new site is simpler to use, simpler to subscribe to, and just better all around for your community newspaper. It’s designed by a group of newspapers not much larger than ours, and they know what we need.

I’m always looking for your feedback! Drop me a line at editor@mountainadvocate.com.