By the time many of you read this column, my nearly two years with The Oskaloosa Herald will have ended.

Though it is sad that I must address such an issue as my Vennard College column and my departure, I feel I must because rumors have a tendency to start flying. Let me make this abundantly clear, my reasons for leaving do not have anything, I repeat anything, to do with the Vennard column I recently wrote expressing my displeasure, to say the least, about the way the situation was handled.

However, to address the several pieces of mail disagreeing with my opinion, including a letter to the editor recently published in The Herald, I will say that people seem to address the idea that I need to forgive and forget and know the situation more than I did and what a hypocrite I am for being an evangelical, born-again Christian and having the audacity to write what I wrote.

But, what I think people are missing is that there is such a thing as accountability and consequences for one’s actions regardless of what faith you subscribe to.

Also, I will say that in attending the University Park City Council meeting, at which Vennard President Dr. Bruce Moyer was in attendance, I had the pleasure of meeting George Toubekis, one of the parents that Herald Staff Writer Michael Schaffer interviewed for the original story.

It was indeed a pleasure to shake his hand and know the gratitude that shown on his face, which echoed in the words he spoke thanking me for the column I had the courage of conviction to write.

That’s all the thanks I need.

You’re welcome Mr. Toubekis. You are truly welcome.

With that said, I will get to the point of my column. I have many personal reasons for my departure, but what I will divulge to you is that it is simply time to move on.

As a young, green journalist coming out of the University of Iowa’s Journalism School, I applied to The Oskaloosa Herald as my first job in the real world.

After going through the application and interview process, I started in June of 2005 and started learning more and more about my chosen career field right out of the gate.

As any college student knows, classroom knowledge is great, but it certainly doesn’t beat real-world experience.

After roughly six hard months on the job, I was promoted to assistant editor, a position I held until my departure.

With that new title, part of my responsibility included presenting The Herald to the world, both on its front page and the Web site, and it was a job that I took very seriously and took great pride in.

I certainly hope it showed.

At times, being a journalist at The Herald was fun and at times the job was, well, not, but it was always challenging.

Some highlights include meeting many famous, or infamous, depending on your political perspective, people including current presidential candidates Democrat John Edwards and Republican Sam Brownback.

But I was also there that frigid late January night in 2006 as the Oskaloosa First Church of the Nazarene building was destroyed by fire.

I’ve seen the ups and downs that a job as a journalist can bring and I thank each and every one of you, even those that disagree with me or dislike me for one reason or another, for reading as I did my best to chronicle your history.

To those of you on my regular beats — the New Sharon City Council and the North Mahaska School Board — I thank you for your time and kind words and the pleasure of covering both. All of you made it easier for a young journalist to cope with covering what could be considered challenging beats.

To those of you in composing, advertising and those of you at the front desk, your excellent work does not go unnoticed and makes life back in the newsroom that much easier.

But now I feel that it’s time to go and I will take with me what I learned as a result of my relationships, both at The Herald and out in the Mahaska County area, and skills, tangible and intangible, back to Iowa City at the Press-Citizen.

As my time here comes to a close, I look back and realize that my time here at The Herald challenged me as a journalist, as a leader, as a person, but, most importantly, in my faith.

Once again, I thank you, Oskaloosa, for the time and experience and wish my fellow remaining newsroom reporters nothing but the best of luck.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Oskaloosa Herald or its employees.