This week the Cortez Journal has made two very public changes: the advent of home delivery within Cortez, and the increase in the price of a copy of the Journal to 35 cents.

The first change is entirely welcome; the second was necessary. Since 1982, readers have been able to put a quarter in a newsrack and take home a copy of the Journal. Meanwhile, the price of nearly everything else has increased dramatically. Newsprint costs more, ink costs more, computers are a major factor in our operations, and our payroll has expanded. The Cortez Journal employs 45 people plus contract workers, contributing a major payroll to the local economy.

We knew why we needed to raise the price of newspapers, and in department-head meetings we talked about what we could offer for the money: a long list of new features, including comics, crossword puzzles, Ann Landers, Hints From Heloise, and Associated Press stories that related to what was happening here in the Four Corners. We’ve offered sections on business, agriculture, education, religion, sports, family issues, food, gardening and other topics of interest to local readers. We’ve constructed a web site. Above all, we’ve expanded local news coverage. Over the past year, the Journal newsroom has added a reporter, an editorial assistant and a managing editor, all dedicated to covering local events and issues.

That’s worth 35 cents, we all agreed. Keep in mind, too, that by buying a subscription, you can have the paper mailed or delivered three days a week and avoid the price increase!

The next big change on the radar screen was home delivery, and this morning, we implemented the first phase of that plan. Nearly 1,000 subscribers within the Cortez city limits found a Cortez Journal in the front yard this morning, rather than having to wait for the mail carrier or feed change into a newsrack. Business owners found the paper by the front door when they opened up. Over the next few months, we’ll be expanding our delivery area.

Home delivery has many benefits. Readers will receive their papers on schedule, regardless of postal holidays, and they’ll receive them in time to plan the day ahead. Local businesses will receive increased value for their advertising dollars, because their advertisements will be available to readers much earlier in the day — before, for example, they decide to spend a Saturday shopping in Farmington.

I live two blocks from the post office, yet my mail arrives in mid-afternoon. During the week, that means it’s not available to me until I get home from work, and on weekends, it arrives far too late to inform me about local yard sales. Until now, the choice has been to wait for the mail or run to the newsrack in front of the post office. Now I can read the paper over morning coffee and decide where I want to shop during my lunch hour — or, for that matter, where I want to eat lunch!

Every new system has its glitches, and while we’ve tried to plan for every eventuality, we expect a few will crop up. If your newspaper doesn’t appear where and when you expect it, call our Circulation Department at 565-8527. They’ll answer the phone beginning at 6 a.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and they’ll get your paper out to you that day, we promise.