Last week, we ran an editorial that encouraged voters not to vote for a candidate because they had a D or R behind their name or because of the color of their skin.

A person who we respect challenged us on our intentions in that those intentions might have been to address this article to our African-American readers.

That couldn't be further from the truth. If we do an editorial, it is meant to address an issue that might affect all of our readers.

If we wished to direct our comments to any particular members of our community, we will do so. And we have. When we offer a comment on our editorial pages it is strictly our opinion. We do not expect you to always agree. We do editorials and offer our opinions to hopefully generate thought by our readers.

Our opinions are not personal. If you agree with our opinion or disagree, you are always welcome to share your own opinion either in person or by letter.

We are human here at your community newspaper and we make judgement mistakes from time to time just as you might.
To have a strong community, it is essential that there be a strong community newspaper. Neither is going to exist without the other.

Open honest discussion is important to have in order to insure we have a free society.

We encourage you to share your opinions. We also encourage you to constantly be aggressive in preserving your rights guaranteed by our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Our goal is to be here to help you do just that.

If you agree or disagree with anything that appears on our opinion page feel free to write or call our publisher T. Pat Cavanaugh at pcavanaugh@covnews.com or 770-787-6397.

Our only request is that you make your comments constructive not destructive.