[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 6, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S22-S23]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    Recognizing the Plainville Times

  Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, my hometown is Plainville, KS. The 
population, according to Google just this morning, is 1,746. I rise 
this morning to recognize and pay tribute to my hometown newspaper, the 
Plainville Times.
  Several months ago, the headline of the paper--the very top story 
was--``Newspaper for Sale.'' Last month, the Times published its final 
edition as a standalone newspaper and announced it will merge with a 
neighboring town's newspaper, the Stockton Sentinel, to continue news 
coverage for local residents. So I take sadness in the demise, the 
departure of my hometown paper. I take pleasure and pride in its 
continuation with the news being covered by the Times Sentinel.
  For more than a century, the Plainville Times has served the 
surrounding communities by providing information, education, and timely 
reporting. The paper first began in 1800, though it changed its names 
several times over the years, and it became known as the Plainville 
Times in 1904.
  Growing up in this small town in western Kansas, I saw firsthand how 
the newspaper supported the community and brought neighbors, friends, 
and even strangers together. Community journalism pulls us together. 
National journalism has the habit of tearing us apart.
  Over the years, the Plainville Times has kept the community informed 
on important local issues like a new business coming to town, a city 
council meeting, or the score of a high school football game. Rural 
papers bring community residents together for special moments. It is 
where we see when we have a new birth. It is where we see when we lose 
a fellow citizen. It is where we celebrate with others about a 50th 
wedding anniversary. It is the joys of graduation and holiday 
celebrations. It is about ribbon cuttings. It is the pain of funeral 
services and natural disasters and really everything in between.
  Community journalism is important to the future of communities across 
Kansas and the Nation. Today, community journalism faces growing 
challenges with a rapidly changing media environment, as well as 
workforce struggles and financial strains. Many rural newspapers have 
very limited staffs, and it is not uncommon for one person to fill the 
role of reporter, photographer, and editor.
  Those who dedicate their lives to this profession, in so many 
instances in newspapers across Kansas, I find the person that is just 
doing the job because nobody else would do it. Despite these 
challenges, that newspaper, including the Plainville Times, leaves 
lasting marks on the rural towns they cover.
  As a kid growing up in Plainville, then representing my hometown as a 
Member of Congress, and now as a U.S. Senator, I had the opportunity to 
know and speak with, get acquainted with the Times editors during my 
lifetime, including Harlan Lill, who was the editor when I was a kid; 
Carol Van Dyke, who then replaced him; and the current editor Candace 
Rachel, whom I grew up with in my hometown. She is a longtime native of 
Plainville, and Candace is deeply committed to our community and has 
devoted her life to providing news and information to Kansans.
  Whether I am attending a Lions Club meeting or visiting the local 
high school, Candace is always there with her pen and pad and a camera 
slung over her shoulder. She is one of those editors who does it all. 
Candace is always there at everything. She loves supporting local 
sports, the athletes, their parents, their families. She loves to 
celebrate the victories and bemoan the losses. She always can be 
spotted on the sidelines of a local football field, the basketball 
courts, and at baseball games. I appreciate her. I appreciate her love 
for our community, and I appreciate the way she treats every citizen of 
my hometown--with the greatest of respect.

  I want to thank the Times' publisher, Frank Mercer of Main Street 
Media, as well as its staff, Bret Greenwood and Tonia Goertz, for their 
commitment to local journalism.
  Over the years, the Plainville Times has been dedicated to pursuing 
the truth in informing local communities and providing a critical 
service to rural America. The paper has gained a reputation for 
informative, fair reporting,

[[Page S23]]

and it has earned recognition from the Kansas Press Association for its 
work.
  With the merging of the Plainville Times with the Stockton Sentinel--
Stockton, incidentally, being our cross-county rival--the unified paper 
will continue to cover Plainville and Rooks County. That is the good 
news.
  I want to congratulate the owners of the Stockton Sentinel, Bart 
Hamilton and Susan Hamilton Schneider. I am grateful for their 
investment in local journalism and their support for Stockton, for 
Plainville, for Palco, for Damar and Zurich, for Codell--for the 
communities that make up our small county.
  I look forward to staying informed on local news. I receive the 
Plainville Times every week. When I get home, it is in the stack of 
newspapers that I have yet to read. It is the very first one. My wife 
would say my first comment is: Oh, the Plainville Times is here.
  I look forward every week to seeing what is going on in my hometown, 
and I appreciate the publication that has provided me and so many 
others with that information. The Plainville Times and now the Stockton 
Sentinel Times will be important to every resident who lives in the 
area.
  I again thank those who made this newspaper what it is, and I 
congratulate and wish the best for those who will make what this 
newspaper will become.
  I yield the floor.