Here at the Blue Mountain Eagle, we take pride in bringing you a wide variety of content. Most of the stories and photos you see in our pages are produced by our newsroom staff, which consists of two reporters and one editor. In addition, we have half a dozen or so local columnists who produce “Grant County Seniors,” “Shooting the Breeze,” “Off the Beaten Path” and “Farmer’s Fate.” And of course we also draw on some of our sister EO Media Group newspapers, such as the East Oregonian out of Pendleton and the La Grande Observer, for stories and commentary on issues that affect our region.

For many years we have broadened our offerings still further with a pair of national publications that are inserted in the paper on a monthly basis: Relish, a food-focused periodical packed with recipes and cooking tips, and Spry Living, a compendium of health, wellness and lifestyle advice mixed with inspirational stories. Sadly, both publications are going away. The Arena Group, which publishes both titles, recently informed us that they will no longer be produced after this month. We know that many of our readers are fond of Relish and Spry, and we’re sorry that we will no longer be able to provide these periodicals as part of your Blue Mountain Eagle subscription.

There is a silver lining to this dark cloud, however: The Arena Group’s announcement also carried the news that it was transitioning Parade, the well-known national lifestyle and entertainment magazine, from print to digital-only distribution. And while the Eagle does not carry the print version of Parade, we will be able to provide our readers with the digital version as the transition moves forward. According to information from The Arena Group, Eagle subscribers should start seeing Parade in our online e-Edition starting Nov. 23.

We know many of you will miss Relish and Spry Living, but we hope the digital version of Parade will help make up for the loss. And of course we’ll continue to deliver all your local news, sports and feature stories in print and online, as well as our weekly GO! Eastern Oregon supplement and a rotating assortment of special sections such as last week’s Grant County History section, the Grant County Hunting Journal, the Kickoff prep football preview and Explore Grant County, our annual glossy visitors guide.

A word about letters

Letters to the editor make a lively addition to our Opinion page, and we love seeing the variety of views expressed by our readers. But sometimes a reminder about publication guidelines is in order.

We recently received a letter that ran considerably beyond our 350-word length limit. Fortunately, we were able to contact the author, who graciously agreed to send us a shorter version. Another recent submission was dropped off at the office with no signature, return address or contact information of any sort. Like the vast majority of newspapers, we do not print anonymous letters. We also ask that letter writers include their phone number and mailing address — not for publication, but for verification purposes.

Other rules of the road: No personal attacks — challenge the opinion, not the person. No thank-you letters, please. No petitions. No more than two letters per person per month. And deadline is 5 p.m. Friday (although sooner is always better). The full policy appears on the Opinion page when space permits and can also be found on our website.

So please keep those letters coming, and please keep these guidelines in mind.