Welcome to this week’s editorial, Happy sixth birthday to The Beagle. Since I first launched your free on-line newsfeed in October 2016 the readership has grown to such an extent that The Beagle has become the primary news source for the Eurobodalla. To date there have been 20,885 articles published. That equates to nearly 10 articles per day of local content that informs, includes and celebrates our region and our community. I remember long ago being told that nothing happened in Eurobodalla and that The Beagle would fail for want of having anything to report. It didn’t take long to discover that the community had been waiting for an outlet to celebrate the warp and weft of who we are. Publicity officers sent in reports of monthly meetings, sporting teams found their reports were published, local community markets and events were promoted, larger events were listed, accomplishments big and small were celebrated and the community enjoyed the fact that they had a voice and a spotlight on Council matters. Within reason, if it was an article that was important to somebody then it was published. That way small groups, photographic, Men’s, community associations, arts, and so many more that we have in our incredibly rich and diverse community, could all be showcased. The Beagle belongs to all those who celebrate who they are by way of the articles and stories submitted. It is your insight into the local news that matters, from Federal, State and Local Government announcements to what’s on. While the website has been running strong the Beagle Weekender is also widely enjoyed. At 280 volumes it hopefully delivers an accessible and enjoyable weekend read. Thanks again to all those who contribute. A special thanks goes to the thousands and thousands of Beagle readers who make my efforts feel so worthwhile. The numbers of readers, and the reach of readership, is quite extraordinary and way beyond my expectations. I recently came to realise how much The Beagle is enjoyed when I had an “absence from the keyboard”. The messages that came in via text and email were very warming and I thank each and all of you for your kind words. I am healing.. Slowly. The Beagle runs on the smell of a rag in pursuit of some oil. But it gets by. I ensure that I have enough to cover the legal and functional overheads by corralling advertising, support and donations. As always I extend my appreciation to the local businesses that support The Beagle. Many needn’t, but they chose to from Day 1 as a way of showing their support of my providing free online independent news for their community. In the six years of The Beagle I have witnessed a change in our community. We have become more engaged, more informed, more cohesive and certainly more aware of the incredible corner of the planet we call home. Our community is diverse, in age and culture. It has a passion that rises to safeguard its natural beauty yet the understanding that growth, if managed, is required in order to deliver the services we require, from health to education and beyond. We started out as a small, forgotten corner where few knew where Eurobodalla was. That might still be the case for those on the outside, but for us on the inside we know who we are, we know where we are going and we know what we need to get there. And hopefully The Beagle might help in that journey. Until next
lei
