As a number of our readers have seen, there have been some changes to The Leader during the last several months. Changes we believe are important for our readers to be aware of.

In the June 6 issue of The Leader, the editorial board highlighted some of the new items coming to the readers.

As a newspaper, it is our job - literally our careers - to provide an accurate snapshot of our community that week.

For most people, picking up the paper is part of their daily routine. Whether it’s the first thing they read, or what they engulf themselves in after work to bring up topics around the dinner table.

As the New York Times famous slogan, “All the News That’s Fit to Print,” goes by late owner Adolph S. Ochs, it is our intent to cover the gamut of topics as impartial and honest as possible.

One of our worst failures is when we leave you, the reader, wishing you knew more.

We would rather hear complaints about readers receiving too much information than not enough.

In the same June 6 article, we asked readers for feedback to hear what else they would like us to provide information on.

We have received calls, letters, emails and stop-ins at the office, which, to us, is amazing. We thank you for reading the paper every week and expressing your interests and dislikes about The Leader and our coverage.

And, everyone who has voiced their opinions so far has not gone unheard.

Of the comments, a handful of people have asked, why we feel it’s necessary to print the names of those arrested and business establishments receiving health inspections.

The answer is transparency.

Not only do we hold our local governments and boards accountable and help to keep them transparent, we do that for the whole community as well. It is our opinion, sunlight is the best disinfectant.

We print arrest records, not only to inform readers of the types of crimes going on around them in their neighborhoods, but to know people are being held accountable for the crimes they have allegedly committed. It also shows us the clear statistics of what our public servants are paid to do.

The same goes for restaurant inspections. As a consumer of local food, it is important to know how establishments are handling food the community consumes. It holds the establishments accountable and keeps them transparent, just as it keeps our inspectors honest. We don’t print rumor and innuendo. As a consumer, or a purveyor of those goods, you know it is above board.

This news isn’t something thrown into the paper recklessly. We have in-depth conversations among the staff and our community leaders to see how to address certain topics, to decide what should be addressed and how to move forward.

The Leader believes the information we provide to the community is valuable and important. We are a time capsule for future generations. It should be a reflection of Jefferson County and you, the reader. It’s information the readers can read, digest and decide for themselves how they want to use it in their everyday lives.

We encourage readers to continue sharing with us what they like and don’t like about The Leader. We are listening.