Moving on

I've been putting this off for a few days, but time is running out.

Most of you will probably already know this, but I'll be leaving Kindersley soon. I have accepted a new sports reporter position with the Estevan Mercury effective next week.

It was a tough decision to make when the Mercury approached me about the job back in February, but at the end of the day it's an exciting opportunity and a good career move for me.

Tomorrow (Thursday) is my last day at The Clarion, and if all goes well I'll be settled in Estevan by the end of next week.

Kindersley was my first full-time sports writing job, and I learned so much in the two-and-a-half years I was here. I've covered just about every sport under the sun and met lots of great people.

Covering the Klippers has been a pleasure and I want to thank the players who have come and gone over the last three seasons for being welcoming and taking the time to chat when I shoved a recorder in their face. I've kept in touch with a few guys after they left and I can honestly say it's been a great experience.

I also want to thank Larry Wintoneak, Rockie Zinger and Kevin Edgerton for their cooperation and support. All three are good guys to deal with and I wish them the best in the future.

It'll probably be a little strange at first to cover the Klippers' division rival, but hey, newspaper guys aren't supposed to have loyalties.

I won't be around for the opening of Kindersley's second ice surface next season, but I'm looking forward to catching games in the brand new Spectra Place, which I had a chance to check out a couple weeks ago.

I've had a lot of parents and other folks in the community call me up or seek me out in person to wish me luck over the last week or two, and that means a lot to me. It's a business where most of your feedback is negative, so it's nice when people tell you that they appreciate your work.

As for this blog, I'm not sure what will happen. If my replacement at the Clarion wants to keep it going, I'll turn it over to him. Otherwise, I guess this is the end of the road for the Klipper Report. It's been a blast doing this over the past eight months. The blog not only built a good following, it also helped land me a new job.

You can still follow me on twitter, though. I haven't changed it yet, but my new handle will be @joshlewis306

Thanks for reading this season! Signing off.