I’ve been a part of our communities for three and a half years as Editor of The Vidette. I’ve been to the McCleary Bear Festival every year in that time, taking pictures of bear stew and the cooks that create it, and an apron-wearing mayor dishing up ladles of the stuff for eager diners.

Three and a half years isn’t much compared to lifelong residents. Strangely, I feel close to McCleary. With the small town feel and the welcoming personality of the many people who live there, I’m sure everyone feels close to McCleary in little time. But McCleary for me has always reminded me of my grandmother’s town in Michigan’s upper peninsula. McCleary is a little bigger and the population is a little more centralized, but it has a similar feel.

I’ve felt honored to report on the struggles the town has faced. It hasn’t been about headlines and selling newspapers — I’ve felt honored reporting on the struggles of McCleary because highlighting the struggles in an appropriate way has, in some way, helped the city pull out of those struggles.

First and foremost the city has pulled out of its struggles because of the tireless efforts of the people who live there. There’s no question. Stories in The Vidette are not responsible for McCleary’s rebound, I’m not saying that at all. But reporting has, I hope, given the city a focus and a voice when they were struggling.

No matter how close I’ve gotten to McCleary, there’s one story I’ve not been able to connect to. That’s the story of Lindsey Baum.

It’s not that I’ve not reported on it. I have — when the Sheriff’s Office released an updated photo, I reported on it.

And I have a little girl so the sadness was not lost on me. Long before last week, I had also read about Lindsey in The Vidette’s archives — I’m talking months of stories one after the other. It was heartbreaking. It is heartbreaking.

But that said, I’ve always realized it’s not my story. I’ve dutifully carried the torch of the story, but I wasn’t here when it broke, and I didn’t stay up nights in those first weeks, months, years.

Knowing that, I reached out to Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin, the retired Vidette reporter who covered nearly every story when Lindsey first went missing.

I’m hoping she can better reach the heart of the situation through an opinion piece.

For my part, please allow me to say simply — I felt a deep sadness when the Sheriff announced that Lindsey’s remains had been recovered. No family and no community should have to endure this kind of pain.

Parents, hug your children. Let’s all love our neighbors. And be well, everybody.