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If you think residents of the Tri-State Area are not passionate about the communities they live in and the issues that affect them, you are wrong.
And if you are skeptical about that, you need look no further than the letters to the editor and guest columns that we run each week.
The letter and guest column that appear on Page 4D are the final submissions we will publish in 2023.
They bring our annual total to 229 letters and 103 guest columns.
As always, all of those submissions have covered a wide range of topics. Subjects vary widely -- running from thank-yous to criticism of elected officials and questions about how local government and institutions are run. A large portion of submissions are political in nature -- some have been endorsements of a candidate or an issue, some have asked questions about candidates or what motives might be behind a ballot issue and some have shown concerns about what direction our Tri-State Area and country are headed in.
Whatever the topic, all opinions are welcome, and all members of the community are invited to share their thoughts. Some letters might make some readers uncomfortable -- and that's OK. There are many different opinions on many different issues, and while we all would like to live our lives in a world where all of our choices and options were black and white, the truth is that finding that illusive middle ground, that gray area where compromise and respect lives, can make our communities thrive and governments at all levels work at their most efficient levels.
No matter what you choose to write about, though, the letters to the editor page has encouraged lively discussion throughout the region since the Herald-Star was founded on June 7, 1806.
There's no way to ever know how many submissions we receive in a given week, but in most years, the last few weeks that come before an election tend to generate the most interest. That was the case this year, when we published 12 letters on Oct. 29, which was our busiest Sunday of the year. We also published 10 letters on July 30, seven letters six times (Jan. 22, Feb. 5, Aug. 6, Aug. 27, Sept. 3 and Sept. 10) and six letters six times (Jan. 15, Feb. 12, June 18, July 2, Nov. 19 and Dec. 17.)
Some readers are convinced that there are some officials out there who are off limits and that we will only run letters that fall on one side of an issue. Neither statement is true -- there are no "safe" public officials. As long as the letter conforms to our guidelines, we will publish it. If for any reason we are not able to publish a letter, we will contact the writer and explain the reason for the rejection. And, while we won't help a reader write a letter, we will offer suggestions about what needs to be changed to make the submission work.
One of the most common reasons for a submission to be rejected is length. There is a 500-word limit for letters to the editor, which ensures we can publish a wide-range of letters on any given Sunday. Guest columns can run longer, depending on the subject.
And, if you are the type of person who says you just can't edit your submission from 639 words to 500 words, we won't be able to publish it. (If you are wondering what 500 words looks like, the word "for" in the second line of the previous paragraph is the 500th word of this column.)
Please remember, when it's all said and done, we reserve the right to edit or reject any letter or guest column we receive. Also, letters and guest columns represent the opinions of the writer and not necessarily the opinions of the Herald-Star. Anyone who submits a letter must be willing to accept that not everyone will agree with them, and must understand that other members of the community will be allowed to question the argument.
What we don't allow are responses to responses -- if a writer offers a response to a letter you have written, you can't answer back. You have had your say on the matter, others have had their say in response and we can all move on to the next issue.
Submissions can come in many different formats -- they can be dropped off at the office, they can be sent in the mail, they can be submitted through our Virtual Newsroom or they can be sent by e-mail.
Whatever method you choose, each submission must include the name of the writer, his or her town of residence and telephone number where they can be reached. Those numbers are never published or shared with anyone outside of the newspaper office -- they are used as part of the confirmation process or to make it easy to reach the writer if there is a question about the submission.
Anonymous letters, known form letters or submissions with multiple signatures won't be used.
Deadline for submissions most weeks is at noon the Thursday before publication. There are some exceptions from time to time, such as a period before an election or when a holiday falls in the middle of the week. Those details are published in advance. And, while we look to run letters in our Sunday editions, we'll sometimes run them in our Friday edition if the volume of submissions dictates.
With that in mind, the deadline for letters concerning the March 19 primary will be at noon on March 7, with those submissions appearing in the March 10 edition.
Readers always have been encouraged to write letters to the editor. They are a component of the open discussion we need to make sure our government works as best as it can. We're happy to be able to offer a place where opinions can be freely shared, issues can be openly debated and members of the community can be recognized.
(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is executive editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times.)