Tuesday, April 1, 2008 • Parting can be such sweet sorrow

Publisher’s note: This My Turn column by Sam Williams originally appeared in the Tuesday, April 1, 2008 edition of the Lassen County Times.

By now everyone in town probably knows Lassen County Times staff writer Shayla Ashmore will be leaving the paper.

During her 13 years tenure with the Times, Shayla has climbed up and down the chain of command and held the positions of staff writer, news editor and managing editor.

She was the news editor when I was hired at the times in May 1999, but I was interviewed by the former general manager and former managing editor. I was hired as a featured writer, but soon made the jump to news, which justly drew me into Shayla’s world.

Shayla has earned a reputation as a hard-nosed journalist in radio and in print. I’ve seen her hunt down the facts and the particulars of a tough story many times.

Over the past nine years it’s impossible not to admire a professional working at the top of her game.

Shayla also can be a real stickler about the Associated Press style guide and should some unsuspecting reporter break an AP style rule, they’re going to hear about it from Shayla. She’s hard on those up-and-coming writers.

Frankly, I’ll miss all that when Shayla is no longer sitting at the desk across the newsroom from me, but what I’ll miss the most is Shayla herself, the person I’ve come to know.

Some people here at the paper point out that our publisher, Mike Taborski, is the best boss in the world. They say that because when an employee is in trouble, our boss will be there to help find an answer.

It all starts at the top and it trickles down to the employees. We don’t live together certainly, but the staff here at the paper is very much like a family. We share those concerns about each other too, and when one of us has a problem, all the others rally around to find a solution.

Shayla, like all reporters, has drawn her share of ire from both sources and readers over the years. Nobody, Shayla included, likes to get beat up that way; it comes with territory, I guess. Journalists have a tough job getting the story. Shayla’s a pro, and I respect her talents and abilities, and she takes her lumps well.

I believe I can safely speak for all of us here in the newsroom when I say Shayla will be sorely missed – as a colleague and as a friend.

I believe I can also speak for all of us when I wish for a happy, productive and satisfying new career for Shayla. We’re going to miss you.

Best wishes and God bless.