A Texas County newspaper is under new ownership, it was announced Monday.
The Licking News, continuously published since 1896, was purchased by Shari Harris and Scott Hamilton, both of Edgar Springs. Katie Anderson will continue as managing editor.
“I absolutely love the Licking News, and this was not an easy decision,” said Marie Lasater, who purchased the paper from the Salem News in 2016. “I’m pleased that local residents will continue as owners of the paper, and there are also several exciting changes in the newspaper format. As always, we highly value our citizen journalists, and I’ve always emphasized that the primary mission of The Licking News is to document the written history of our town.”
Shari Harris started reading The Licking News while growing up near Edgar Springs. She developed stronger ties with Licking when she attended high school. She graduated in 1985. In 1990, she earned a BHS-PT at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and has worked as a physical therapist since then. About 22 years ago, she returned to the Edgar Springs area and has never regretted “coming home” to her family and the beauty of south-central Missouri.
Scott Hamilton comes from a background in high performance computing and network security. He holds a degree in electrical engineering with a minor in English literature. He said he is passionate about small town American history and fell in love with the idea of owning The Licking News as soon as he heard about the archives going back to 1896. He said he is passionate about seeing the community grow and is looking forward to contributing to the town. He said he can’t wait to add to the history archives by reporting on the recent events in Licking and surrounding areas.