I trust you’ll remember the day.
It was September 2, 2009, when I printed my farewell column on this page.
It ended with the words “I’ll be back.”
What I had meant was this town wouldn’t be forgotten on my new adventure. I was setting off not too far down the road to Smithers where I was the editor of that paper since, well, September 2, 2009.
There I met some great new people and learned what life was like in another small, northern B.C. town. It was a challenging but rewarding job.
I never forgot about Kitimat, or even ever stopped missing it. My wife’s family, close and extended, almost entirely live here so Kitimat remained the go-to for holidays and weekend trips. On Wednesdays I would sift through my pile of papers in Smithers and get my weekly dose of Kitimat news.
Here’s the thing about me and this town; I never in my life imagined I would have lived here, never in my life imagined I would have liked living here, and never would have imagined that I would have so wanted to come back after leaving.
Yet here I am.
You know by now that your illustrious Northern Sentinel editor Malcolm Baxter has stepped down from his post, capping off a long, notable career. We will all miss him. As a cub reporter here from 2007 to 2009 I hung off his every word to absorb as much knowledge as I could. He had, and still has, lots to offer.
It will be a strange place here without that daily guidance but he has shown much confidence in my ability, which is encouraging.
I’ll do my best to maintain this paper as a quality, trusted product. As with Malcolm, I hope people can help me out by submitting the occasional photo or write-up for events I might not be able to get out to; part of the challenge of a one-person newsroom. (And soon to be new-father).
The bottom line though is, I’m thrilled to be back in Kitimat, and equally thrilled to be this paper’s new editor. I’m looking forward to the ride and having all of you along with me.
Cameron Orr is the Northern Sentinel editor.