“The vital measure of a newspaper is not its size, but its spirit - that is its responsibility to report the news full, accurate and fairly.”
Arthur Hayes Sulzberger,
The New York Times, 1956
(Reprinted in the Southern Ulster Times,
Dec. 17, 2003)

In the spring of 2003, the McKinney family sold their three publications - the Southern Ulster Pioneer, the Highland Mid Hudson Post and the New Paltz News - to the Ulster Publishing Company, parent company of the Woodstock Times. Within a short period of time, the Post, Pioneer and the News were all merged with another weekly paper - The Herald of New Paltz, to form a single publication. And it would set the wheels in motion 20 miles to the south to bring hyper-local news back to the river communities on the west bank of the Hudson.

The Southern Ulster Times made its debut on December 17, 2003. Our mission, then as now, was to serve the towns of Marlborough, Lloyd and Plattekill and to “focus on the things that make your town what it is - the schools, the government, the events, and most of all, the people.”

Over the past 20 years, we’ve attempted to bring our readers inside the schools, the meeting halls and to the local events in our communities and shed some light on the issues that make our towns so unique.Along the way, we’ve undoubtedly irritated some of the powers that be, but hopefully informed and perhaps entertained you.

After 20 years, the local news landscape has changed dramatically. The above-mentioned titles that once graced the newsstands of Ulster County are gone. Yet the Southern Ulster Times stands tall in the news desert. Our mission remains, to be informative and accurate, to operate ethically and to serve the public interest. That mission continues as we enter our third decade.

It is hard to imagine how far we would have come without the help and dedication of those who helped guide us in those early years:

- Bruno Battistoli, our first managing editor, who shared the vision that this was a worthwhile endeavor and helped establish our first office in the historic C.M. Woolsey Building in Milton.

- Andrew Hackmack, reporter and graphic designer whose presence in schools, around town and virtually everywhere made him the first face of the Southern Ulster Times.

- Debbie Kwiatowski, who replaced Bruno as managing editor, with professionalism and a thorough understanding of the community we serve. She, sadly, left us too early.

- Mark Reynolds, who has written countless stories in his tenure with us that has spanned most of those two decades.

- Craig McKinney, who came over to our side after a short time with Ulster Publishing. He brought with him a solid work ethic and a genuine love for our community. His weekly column was loved by some, reviled by others but was well-read and is very much missed.

We thank our readers for allowing us the honor of entering your home each week. We thank you for yours words of encouragement, your suggestions and even your constructive criticism. We are proud to be your local newspaper.