Thank you to all of you who give your time, at Christmas or throughout the year, to make our community as great as it is. To those of you who have lost a loved one this year, our sympathies are with you. To those of you who are struggling with the extra pressures of Christmas, please know our community cares, and reach out to one of the many great charities or groups around and let them know you need a listening ear or a helping hand.
As Alyssa and I work on this final edition of the Stratford Press for 2019, we have picked just a few highlights from each month for this special lookback edition.
For every great story we have included there are several we had to leave out, so we apologise if your personal highlight isn't featured in these pages. With so many great stories, wonderful people and awesome charities and groups in our town, we have really been spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting five for each month.
Thank you to all our advertisers for your support this year. Without our advertisers, we would have no paper to print your news in, so when you do need that last minute gift for great-aunt Mavis, make sure you shop local and support those who support us.
Thank you also to all our readers for your support too. We love the letters and feedback we receive and Alyssa and I both enjoy meeting you all.
We hope you enjoy this Christmas edition of your local paper and look forward to bringing you plenty more great news from your town next year.
Our first edition in 2020 will be in mailboxes from January 8, with our office closed for the Christmas break between December 19 and January 6. Follow us on Facebook and keep an eye on our website in the meantime, as we will still be keeping you up to date online.