Roundup Record Tribune & Winnett Times -

Citizens of Musselshell and Petroleum Counties,

The decision of the Musselshell County Commissioners to publish legal and public notices in both the Roundup Record Tribune and Winnett Times, and the Roundup Herald is costly to the public, and confusing. If the idea is truly to save the county money, then the decision should be brought forward the proper way. According to Commissioner Pancratz, they are intending to publish in both papers and then decide who they want to go with for future publications.

If the commissioners decide to publish with the Roundup Herold, the end result would likely be the end of the Roundup Record Tribune and Winnett Times. As one of Roundups oldest ongoing business, this would be the end of an era, and a financial impact on multiple levels to several people. We have always tried to keep the paper afloat in times of electronic information, this is not always easy. What we do provide is the information for those who are not tech savy to see what is new and have something special to read about someone they may know or a local business. We also include local news from Winnett by Rayanne Lund once a month, and have many who look forward to the Roundup Panthers, Winnett Rams and Melstone Broncs sports photos.

The reach of the Roudup Herald, is less than a third of the reach of the Roundup Record Tribune & Winnett Times to the public. The outlying communities, including Winnett, would likely not see most of the notices pertaining to the county. In particular, the impact of this decision could leave Petroleum county with a forced decision of having to also post to the Herold or through the Lewistown News Argus newspaper. We have been their paper of record for many decades.

Whatever the motivation is for this decision, I hope that the commissioners will first consider the impact of the community. Regardless of the opinions of the Roundup Record Tribune and Winnett Times, the paper has been a landmark of all that is Roundup and Musselshell County. If you are reading this and are concerned about this coming decision in a few weeks, please contact the commissioners and let them know.

Lura Pitman

Roundup Record Tribune & Winnett Times, Editor