[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 162 (Thursday, October 19, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1982]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO BYRON McKELVIE

                                 ______


                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 19, 1995

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. Byron 
McKelvie of Cortez, CO, who recently retired after more than 30 years 
in the news business. As an acknowledgement of the many years of 
service Mr. McKelvie gave as an objective reporter and editor of the 
Cortez Sentinel and Montezuma Journal, those papers recently printed a 
wonderfully written farewell. I would like to insert that editorial 
into the Record, Mr. Speaker, and I ask that my colleagues join me in 
honoring Mr. McKelvie's devotion to his work, his community, and our 
country.

               [From the Cortez Sentinel, Sept. 9, 1995]

       There's an old joke about a little boy whose parents were 
     very concerned that he could not talk. He seemed to function 
     quite well in every other way, and the years went by until, 
     lo and behold, one night at the supper table an amazing thing 
     occurred. ``This roast beef is burnt,'' he said, quite 
     clearly. His parents and siblings were amazed. ``Jimmy,'' 
     they said, ``you can talk! Why have you never said anything 
     before?'' ``You never burned the roast beef before,'' he 
     said.
       That's the way the newspaper business works; until we 
     publish something disagreeable, every one of our thousands of 
     readers remain silent. Much of an editor's time is spent 
     fielding complaints about not printing enough information, 
     printing too much information, printing information too soon 
     or too late, and occasionally but not nearly as often as one 
     might think, printing incorrect information. Newspaper work 
     is thankless, but the time has come to say thanks to a man 
     who has spent much of his life contributing to the public 
     exchange of information.
       Byron McKelvie retired this week, after 36 years in the 
     news business, most of them at Cortez Newspapers. First as a 
     reporter and columnist and then as editor, he has been 
     responsible for shining a clear light on issues of great 
     importance to Montezuma County. While covering topics too 
     numerous to list, his primary area of expertise has been 
     water issues. He reported the development of the Dolores 
     project from the early 1960s until its fruition, and he 
     accomplished the delicate balancing act required of an 
     objective reporter who was also an ardent supporter.
       Writers are often remembered for the subjects about which 
     they've written, but the true story of a newspaper man's 
     career is the story of line after line of copy, year after 
     year of deadlines, meeting after meeting to attend, newspaper 
     after newspaper after newspaper to put out.
       That's why the profession is called journalism, because a 
     newspaper done well is a journal of life in its community. A 
     newspaper is not a collection of stories, but thousands of 
     chapters in a single story. For 8 years as this newspaper's 
     editor, ``Mac'' has been responsible for telling that story. 
     His accuracy, fairness, persistence and dedication are 
     appreciated by his readers and by those of us who follow in 
     his footsteps.
       Thanks, Mac. Cortez and Montezuma County will miss you, and 
     so will the Sentinel and the Journal, and myself.

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