A short note this week …it is Friday and it is a double deadline week, due to the Monday holiday as well as this is the last day for my “coworker” who works in Sequim; so this is our last paper together.

For the last almost eleven years, since I started at the Forum, Mary Field, at my sister paper the Sequim Gazette, has created my paper ‘dummy’ (the pages with all the ads) and then I sort out where I want things to go and send the pages back to her. Each week is a new adventure!

Once Mary gets the dummy back, from me, she works her “magic” and puts it all together. We have worked through power and internet outages and more! But I think we have only been late to print one time! Which is a big deal.

After Mary is done with her part …I try to read it all …sometimes very quickly… and send corrections back to her and then she sends it off to the press facility at Lakewood. It prints, usually, on Monday at 4 p.m.

I knew this day would come …and I am so sad that Mary is retiring …but that is selfish of me to want her to stay! Mary has worked hard at her job, not just for the Forks Forum but also for the Sequim Gazette and other publications, and produced many, many other special projects during her career. She has created so many things …she is truly an amazing artist at what she does!

So, happy retirement Mary …and I am on my way into Sequim to celebrate!

Also in the news….

The Forks Forum office building has a new owner and you might notice a bunch of construction going on …some new siding, paint …roof …some changes outside with the sidewalk and later some inside remodeling of the other office. Thankfully the new owner, Phil Peterson, is allowing the Forum to stay where it is.

Peterson is the owner of West Fork Environmental based in Tumwater, WA. He plans to use the other office space in the building for himself and his crew as they work on projects on the West End. He will be an upcoming program at an ONRC Evening Talk on Sept. 17 ….more on that later.

Christi Baron, Editor