Hello Winter Park Times readers,

We want to thank all of you for supporting our local efforts.  We started our publication because we believe hyper-local news coverage is a viable and much needed part of American society. Our passion is to share the great things about our community and the people in our lives.

I realize that you may or may not agree with the things you read in our publication and occasionally the subject matter may cross a line that strikes a nerve but isn’t that what makes America great?

I believe America was built on the ideas and views of independent thinkers. I realize opinions in any publication is part of the fabric but in the spirit of the free press, we believe it is important to give some latitude to our contributors. I want to be clear, our opinion columns are the opinion of the contributing writer and are not meant to express the views of our organization, publication, editorial board or staff.

We received a letter last week stating, “remarks were so offensive that I am thinking about not reading your paper anymore.”

I respect the opinion of that reader and take it to heart. I took a minute to read the column referenced again. I may, or may not, like what was written but did we, as a paper, cross a line?  Should I have censored the columnists view?

I encourage you to share your views. That is what makes America great!