Star dimmed forever

RATHDRUM - Tom Burnett lived up to a dare to start a weekly newspaper in Rathdrum more than seven years ago.

"I wanted to start a newspaper, so I did," said Burnett, who was dabbling in selling real estate at the time.

"I borrowed $5,000 to buy computers and programs and I ran the newspaper out of my bedroom for the first couple months because I didn't have an office."

Wednesday marked the final publication of the Rathdrum Star, a free newspaper mailed to about 10,100 homes in Rathdrum, Hauser, Spirit Lake, Twin Lakes Village and Blanchard.

The newspaper published a front-page photo of the Star's office window painting of a cigar-smoking reporter tapping away at a typewriter with "Sorry; We're closed" written over the picture.

Burnett, who turns 70 in January, said the publication has ended due to his retirement.

"It was worth every minute of every day," he said. "It's heart-breaking to close this operation. Newspapers are the glue that holds communities together."

In his column last week announcing his retirement, Burnett also wrote about the newspaper's "crippling financial burden each week."

"When the recession hit, people started to pull back (on advertising)," he said. "We've suffered, they've suffered and now the town suffers."

Burnett said mailing free newspapers to every household in the area it covers was attractive to advertisers when the economy was booming. But when advertisers began to cut costs during the recession like most businesses, the mailing cost of 14.2 cents per newspaper became tough to handle.

George Holcomb, a Rathdrum resident for 22 years, said he understands Burnett's desire to retire.

"He's been running that (newspaper) almost solo," Holcomb said. "It's a lot of work to put out a newspaper. He's done a great job of keeping people informed."

Burnett was the only full-time staffer as editor/publisher. Two others, advertising executive Crystal Jensen and graphic designer Shelley Chambers, worked part time. The paper used correspondents to assist with reporting as needed. Burnett's wife Sandy was a volunteer proofreader.

"She'd catch me going off on a tangent, then she'd corral me back in," he said.

Elsie Harvey of Hidden Valley said she has enjoyed the Star because it was free. A story in the Star also helped her spread the word on her annual open house featuring local artists.

"I got more customers thanks to the story," she said.

Burnett has worked at several newspapers over the past 50 years, including from being a copy boy in Stamford, Conn., to owning the former weekly Post Falls Tribune in the 1980s. The Star was the first paper he started.

Burnett said a few people have expressed interest in taking over the Star, but he declined to name them. He hasn't set a price tag on the business and adds that it's negotiable.

"I'm not closing any doors, but no contracts are on the table," he said. "I laid out what it takes to run a newspaper. I remind people that, just because you can make a good cherry pie, doesn't make you a restaurateur."

Burnett said he plans to maintain an office in the back portion of the Star to work part time on public relations, free-lance writing or publishing projects. The front portion will be rented to an antique/second-hand store called Treasures on Main.

Burnett said printing and journalism has always been - and always will be - in his blood. At the end of the day, there's a feeling of accomplishment, he said.

"The Star has, for sure, been a dream come true, an ambition and a challenge," Burnett wrote in his column. "For the life of me, I cannot envision a more rewarding endeavor than publishing a weekly newspaper."