Change. That word often sparks excitement or dread in those who hear it and say it. But as the proverbial “they” say, “Change is inevitable.”

We at the Chronicle find ourselves in the midst of changes at the paper and we seek input from all who faithfully read our product each week. Beginning with today’s edition, there will be some design changes which will hopefully make the Chronicle more enjoyable to read. While we are beginning slowly with a front page re-design, other internal changes will also take place over the coming weeks.

In addition to the visual aspect of the paper, we are reaching out to our readers to determine what content is of the utmost importance. We strive to do a better job of providing the news and features that the people of Shepherdstown expect to find in their local newspaper.

We have internal goals of continuing to provide information on upcoming events and happenings all around town and welcome the continued submission of those events from our readers. We also have goals to increase information from our schools, from the elementary level through Shepherd University.

The expanded coverage will include a broadening of sports coverage from middle school to high school and college action. In particular, we will focus on feature stories about local athletes, teams and events.

We seek input and guidance from all who peruse our pages and value your ideas on story topics. We are forever grateful to all who submit news items to us as well as photographs. We plan to make a concerted effort to include more photos within the pages of our paper.

In addition, we plan an expansion of our web content to offer more up-to-date coverage of events. Please let us know what you wish to see, what you enjoy already or what you believe is not needed in our paper. We welcome your feedback.