With current editor Leif Nesheim headed off to new horizons, I get to step into his seat at the Valley Record’s top newsroom desk.

Not literally, of course. I’m comfortable in my current desk and chair, facing the south wall with a window at my right hand that gives a view of Falls Avenue and the back stoops of downtown businesses, some real Snoqualmie character, if you will.

As a reporter who hasn’t always had a window close at hand- sometimes it’s been the dreaded cubicle – I appreciate having one, and I like being able to glance outside and see what’s happening in Snoqualmie. You see faces of the community walk past, and wonder what they’re up to. Once I saw a man screaming at the top of his lungs at a passing car. Another time, I saw a big yellow dog carrying a decent-sized cardboard box down the street. As a newsman, you recognize that stories are all around you, and that everyone has a story. Potential stories, like that furious man and that cargo-carrying dog, are always there, even if you never get them all.

Leif hasn’t had the same luck with the window. His desk is at a different angle, and the late afternoon sunlight strikes his computer monitor and makes it hard for him to see what he’s doing. So the shades close.

But me, the next morning, I’m eager to have those blinds open so I can see the world. I like my window on Snoqualmie.

A connection to the community is vital in an editor, but you need more than just a window. My job as a reporter has given me some much needed perspective and a feel for the communities of the Valley, which I represent as editor. I’ve never walked in every neighborhood, and I recognize that I may never know every face or everything about the community. The challenge of the job is to try.

I hope to fill Leif’s editorial shoes. He’s been a good editor with a strong design sensibility and as a reporter, it’s been great having him backing me up on the news desk. Taking the reins will be a learning experience, but it’s my goal that the papers I edit can stack up with his issues.

Leif has been a great example to emulate and I wish him well in his next endeavor. While I’m going to miss having him in the newsroom, I congratulate him on taking the next step in his personal and professional life. All those readers down on the Washington coast should appreciate having Leif working in their community. Here in the Valley, I’ll miss him, but I’ll work to follow his example.