About 25 years ago there was a guy that worked here at this newspaper as the DeKalb News reporter.

He was pretty new to the area and didn’t know a lot of people. Luckily, and thankfully, he was able to meet some people early on that helped him do his job.

There was Gail Davis and Stephanie Sparks at the school district who took him aside and helped him a great deal. There was Gayla and Larel Rankin who for some reason wanted to help this new reporter in town and they would let him come in their shop and sit and talk. That was where he met DJ Wood, who was always available for a funny story and little tidbits about the town and the people in it.

Then he met and made friends with folks at City Hall like Abbi, Paula and Joni. Being allowed to sit in City Hall and get to know them made it possible for him to get to know the town even better.

There was a coach at the high school that took his softball team all the way to Austin that year to play for a state championship. His name was Stacy Starrett.

It wasn’t all too long before our DeKalb News reporter knew a lot of folks in town. Then would come others like Samantha Morgan, Kyle Barrett and his dad Dale, Linda Shumake, and her brother Robby Bates. People like Bruce Crouch and the Shumake family would also become his friends, and in time, our reporter not only knew a lot of folks in DeKalb, he would come to love the town.

In fact, he loved the town so much that he asked the city leaders for permission to live right downtown, right across from the beloved State Theatre and next to his friends at Jody’s Flowers.

I am sure many of you have figured out by now that the DeKalb News reporter was in fact…me.

I said all of that to say that things change. Change is inevitable. Sometimes good… sometimes bad.

I look back at those 25 years and there is so much good. I now call all of those people my friend.

Joni Haldeman would become my mentor, my biggest critic, and one of the dearest friends I ever had.

One of the absolute worst things about change is the people that we lose.

Gone now are Joni, Abbi, Gayla and DJ. Their presence in DeKalb is so missed and them not being there has changed the town.

Change is also sometimes hard.

I drive through DeKalb every day and to be honest, it looks like a war zone. I look around and the old tire shop at the redlight is gone, the old Junction is gone, the trail that was the home to carnival rides, Trunk or Treats, and so many other events…is gone.

But, thinking about it this morning, I have to look and see the positives.

I mean, look at that beautiful flag that flies over the industrial park. The new home of Bowie County Equipment, now Nor-Tex Tractors, is amazing. And I don’t think anybody would argue with me that new home of The Junction is a sight to behold and still has the best ribeyes anywhere from here to Dallas.

I looked out over the construction as I came in this morning and ya, it looks awful. But, one day we will see the change. One day we will drive on a nice, smooth road through town. There will be new parks and new trees to replace the devastation that we see now. The new sidewalks downtown will be great too.

Change is hard, change is inevitable and change might not be what everyone wants, but change can be good. It is all in how we embrace it.

And that is what we have to do…embrace it.

It is that way in DeKalb, and it is the same in New Boston, Hooks, Redwater, and everywhere else.

There are a lot of good things coming all over our area.

The new emphasis on making New Boston better will be a good thing for our whole region. A better New Boston is better for all of Bowie County. A better DeKalb is better for Bowie County. The same goes for Redwater and every other town in our area.

We thankfully live in a little corner of the world where people still care about their neighbors. Oh ya there are the rivalries like NB v. DK, Maud v. James Bowie and Hooks v. Redwater, but those are things that we always put aside when our friends are in need.

I have seen DeKalb come together for New Boston. The whole area was touched by Coach Burgin, and I have watched as players from rival teams prayed for an injured rival.

It is time we all come together to embrace the changes.

It is time for us all to look to the future, while always honoring the people of the past.

Now is the time for us here in the west end of Bowie County to make a place for our children and grandchildren.