One big moving experience

By LOU ANTONELLI
Managing Editor
We opened for business at our new location on Monday. We have leased the entire building in the 100 block of South Locust, which gives up plenty of space for expansion and improvement in the future.
We originally planned to move in June 1st, but we were a week late. As so often happens, it took us longer to get utilities hooked up than anticipated. There were also some systems repairs needed. We spent last weekend slapping a fresh coat of paint in the main office. But this is an old sturdy building and very solid and sound. I think we made a wise decision.
In addition to Patricia and myself, James Ellis, Parker Freeman, Perry Murray and Rickey Hearnsberger helped with the move. Thanks, guys!
The one complication I didn’t anticipate – there’s always something you don’t think off – is how hard it is to assemble new furniture out of the box.
Ever since moving in 2015 next door to the previous location, we’ve had our old newspaper archives in storage – there wasn’t room for them to be in our offices any more.
Our new space enables us to move those archives back to in with the office. Over the past three years we’ve had people ask us about genealogical and/or historical research. I will let everyone know when we have relocated those records so they are available.
In addition to this big plus, we don’t have to share a building. That will help our business dealings as well as with privacy.
The building we have occupied was originally city hall, as well as a TP&L office, with a locker plant at the far end. Its last resident was the restaurant Samantha y La Chica, which closed over three years ago. I’m proud to bring this historic and beautiful building back to life. It’s our small contribution to downtown revitalization.
There’s enough space here that I have hopes, somewhere down the line, of starting a used book store, and putting in a community conference room.
But first things first. My goal this week was to simply get set up and moved in. That’s still a work in progress, but we’re up and operating. It’s a good feeling. Like the guy in the A Team used to say, “I love it when a plan comes together.”
Already, on Monday and Tuesday, lots of people have been finding their way to the new office. One person stopped by to pick up a copy of last week’s paper she missed in the mail, which brings up another subject.
Last week, while the labels for the subscriber copies were being run off, the ribbon on the printer jammed. We caught it quickly, but a few blank labels were run off. So a few people didn’t get their papers in the mail.
If you are one, please let us know, and we’ll get mail you the missing issue. We got three requests for missing papers by last Friday, before we moved. Unfortunately, Windtream doesn’t believe in the portability of phone numbers, so now our phone number has changed.
I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the people missing their paper are still calling the 903-427-4567 number. Heck, some people still call the number the paper had for decades, before the move in 2015, which was 903-427-5616.
If there is a bright spot with the telephone number change, it is that the number randomly assigned to us is very easy to remember: 903-427-0002. And our fax number is 0003.
We’ll hold an Open House in a few weeks to celebrate the new office. In the meantime, you know now where to find us!