North Idaho has real gem in Bonners Ferry

Driving up from Sandpoint to Bonners Ferry the first time in early November was a revelation in beauty.

Several times now I have made the trek and crested the hill above historic downtown, with the sun out, snow on the ground and thought wow, what a beautiful place. It’s post card perfect and a great place for a community newspaper.

The past few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind as I get to know the staff, the community and you, the people of Boundary County. I really feel honored to be allowed to be the publisher of your newspaper. But I am sure there those of you wondering who the heck the new guy is.

Here are a few basics. I drive a pickup truck and with that goes the stigma, albeit good, about a guy driving a truck. My truck has 150,000 miles on it, but runs like a champ and has a hemi under the hood. It’s a bit dirty inside, dusty and the drivers seat has a small hole from carrying a pair of scissors in my back pocket.

On the radio, country music, bouncing between local stations and Sirius/XM, channel 56. I do tune in “Classic” rock on occasion and turn it up really loud. It’s nice to be able to have that clear stereo we all wanted in our high school transportation.

I wear Romeos everywhere and if you have no idea what those are…..well, my son was the one who started me wearing them about 15 years ago. Mine are made by Georgia Boot. They are a slip-on shoe that, as a kid, only the old guy down the street wore. Well I wear them so what does that make me? Fifty two, but I still think 27 most of the time.

What you see is what you get. I am a terrible liar, just ask my wife of 28 years who can see through every stretch of fact I have pulled. With honesty sometimes comes bluntness and yes, I have an opinion about most things but, as a publisher, I tend to keep those to myself. On that occasional need to push out my opinion I like to write an editorial. The words may not always be exactly right but the goal is to get you, the reader, thinking. You may not agree but I hope we can agree that we are all interested in keeping this a great place to live and work and raise our families.

Both my kids are a reflection of my wife and I. Unfortunately the eldest, James, was taken from us three years ago in an accident at the age of 23. The reason I bring this up is to show the strength that comes from good family and friends and the communities in which I have been in the publishing business.

All it takes when having a tough day dealing with wrong ads, a story that causes an uproar or that misspelled word in a headline is this: There is a lot worse that could happen.

Luckily we have a fantastic daughter, Lynnae, who is 25, in nursing school and raising a 10-month-old son with her significant other Rob.

Values and ethics are taught by parents and mine taught me to work my butt off, show compassion for fellow man, admit when you are wrong and don’t do anything your grandmother wouldn’t approve of.

Admittedly I figured out on my own that you need to love what you do for work because it takes up a good chunk of your life. I love being a publisher and I hope that is reflected in the pages of the Bonners Ferry Herald and all of our websites and products.

My goal as publisher of your newspaper is to continue to tell your stories, celebrate your successes, hold public officials accountable and offer a great marketing venue, unequalled by any other publication or website.

I believe that a community newspaper can be the glue that holds a community together. It’s an integral part of creating a “Sense of Community” that so many urban, and rural communities have lost.

I’ve carried that belief to the three newspapers I have been involved with and will continue to foster this belief.

My door is always open, my cell phone is on my business cards and I drink coffee, although it might be decaf later in the day. My promise to you is to work my butt off to make this a great newspaper and to do my part to help this community in any way I can.

You can contact Jim McKiernan, at jmckiernan@bonnercountydailybee.com or 509-989-6181