Jan 17, 2016 By Joe Grata 3 min read

Thank you for appreciably expanding Herald Standard news, sports, features, entertainment and business coverage to this end of Fayette County, neighboring parts of Westmoreland County and to the Mid-Mon Valley in general.

As president of the Belle Vernon Area School Board, and as a lifelong, community-minded resident, I believe I speak on behalf of many when I say, “Welcome!”

As your newspaper gains readers and circulation, it is beginning to fill the large void left when Trib Total Media abandoned our area by ceasing publication of the Monessen-based The Valley Independent.

The Herald-Standard is not exactly a stranger. It has been available at some stores and coin boxes around here as long as I can remember. I was a digital subscriber until Jan. 1, when I signed up for home-delivery as soon as it became available in my Washington Township neighborhood. Like many of my generation, I prefer the “print version.”

In the 1960s, I called in scores and stats to Todd Trent, your now legendary former sports editor, who was helpful to me as a high school student interested in journalism as a career. And who can forget the memorable work of Walter “Buzz” Storey? The veteran writer/editor’s 1994 chronicle of Fayette County history and its people still holds a prominent place on my bookshelf.

Understandably, putting the many pieces in place in order for the Herald Standard to accomplish its new mission will take a while – and patience. Be assured: Your efforts are not going unnoticed.

People have begun talking about the greater local coverage, all-important obits, sports stories and other news that spark dialogue and add vitality to a community. Readers are recognizing that you’re not simply “the Uniontown newspaper” but an enterprising newspaper/multimedia product working to become more regional and more purposeful in our lives.

Once accomplished, a larger circulation and wider presence will be mutually beneficial to residents, businesses and commerce of Fayette County along with Belle Vernon Area and Mid-Mon Valley.

In a Jan. 1 column, Herald Standard Executive Editor Michael Palm (born and raised in Charleroi, by the way), wrote to tell us that “our neighbors to the south are willing to step in and do our best to pick up where The Valley Independent left off…but it’s going to take a little time and effort to get where we all want to be.”

We get it.

We’re with you.

Joe Grata is a resident of Washington Township.