Dear readers,
You may notice some changes coming to The Sentinel-Progress in the next few weeks — changes I hope our Easley and surrounding community readers will view as steps in a positive direction. None bigger than the first thing — the name of the paper itself.
It doesn’t always feel like it, but I have been working at this newspaper for over 15 years now. Since being made publisher this year, the one thing I really wanted to do was to bring back the old masthead. That wasn’t possible in the past, but times change.
“The Sentinel-Progress” was named after we combined The Pickens Sentinel and The Easley Progress — and at the time, it made sense. The Sentinel, being the older of the two papers was given the honor of first placement in the name. In hindsight, I believe it was a mistake. The name never really caught on and many readers (whether they be Sentinel or Progress readers) assumed their beloved local paper had closed. We didn’t, we’re still here, and believe it or not, this newspaper you’re reading right now is still the oldest continuously operating business in Pickens County.
That’s pretty cool.
That being said, we are based in Easley … Our office is right on Main Street, across from City Hall. (Come visit us sometime!) Long story short, this will be the last edition of The Sentinel-Progress, but I want to assure our readers we’re not going anywhere — except back to our roots. We’re picking up right where we left off and The Easley Progress, Volume 115, Issue 1, will roll off the presses next week.
I’m so excited to bring back a piece of Easley’s history.
The roll-out is expected to take several weeks, so bear with us as we update our business signs and coin boxes (in Kelly Green, of course.)
Another change is welcoming new Sports Editor Jeff Holt. Holt is moving down here from Illinois and he has over 30 years newspaper experience. We’re excited to have him and look forward to be able to put a greater focus on high school and college sports. He starts in September.
As we navigate these next few weeks of transition, I look forward to hearing your feedback. Like the changes? Hate them? I want to know. This is your local newspaper and your opinion matters to us. Email me directly at kstrickland@cmpapers.com.
See y’all next week!
Kasie Strickland
Publisher
The Easley Progress