After seven years and seven months — to the day, by coincidence — the Wheat City Journal is no more.

As you can see by looking at the front page of this issue, we’re now known as the Westman Journal.

Same paper, with a number of fantastic changes and additions, but a new name.

Instead of circulating 19,000 copies only within the general boundaries of the City of Brandon and immediate outside area, the new Westman Journal will now be at least 35,000 strong and will have a major impact on the entire Western Manitoba region.

A lot has happened since that first issue, Vol. 1, No. 1, back on April 25, 2002. We’ve had changes galore, most significantly the change in ownership when Glacier Ventures (now Glacier Media Inc.) saw the value in a strong community newspaper in a vibrant prairie city and decided to get involved.

That was in the summer of 2004. Since then, Glacier’s regional arm in these parts, the Prairie Newspaper Group based in Estevan, has added a number of publications to its family — solid community publications in Neepawa, Virden, Souris, Melita, Deloraine and Reston — the heart of Western Manitoba.

If you live in Brandon, the Westman Journal paper that you’re holding in your hands right now — looks nearly identical to the Wheat City Journal, right? — will also be included every week as a supplemental section to the aforementioned six newspapers. Additional circulation and coverage areas will be announced in the near future.

We think it’s great for readers, because city people will see regular feature stories from the rural area, and rural readers will get a regular glimpse of life in the city. Advertisers will also benefit. Brandon businesses are well aware that more than half of their customers come from outside of Brandon, while rural advertisers always love the opportunity of luring some of the 45,000 Brandonites to their communities for a special event or a special sale.

It’s a win-win situation, and you’re paying the same price as you were before.

All this activity around the Journal has also resulted in additional staff, so we’re doing our part for the employment situation, too.

Brandon needs Westman and Westman needs Brandon. We hope everybody finds they need — and reads — the Westman Journal.

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Out for a nice supper at a local restaurant a few days ago, I happened to bump into (figuratively, not literally) one of my favourite people, 103-year-old Winnie Greaves, who was out for a meal with a female friend.

Miss Greaves, as I knew her when she taught me in Grade 4 at Fleming School in 1959-60, still lives on her own at Hobbs Manor and, amazingly, still gets out regularly, even though her eyesight has begun to fail, and her hearing isn't what it once was.

After she finished her meal, she moved over to sit beside me for a chat, and I couldn't resist asking her to confirm — out loud, of course, so the other people at my table would be sure to hear — that I, in fact, was the brightest child in her class back then. I was almost certain that her kind demeanour wouldn't allow her to give any other answer except 'well, of course, you were.'

No such luck. "Well . . .." she said. "I don't know about that. But I guess you were one of the nicest."

Maybe when she gets to be 105 she'll learn how to tell a little white lie to make me look good in front of friends and family.