Labette Avenue is a new reading product serving readers in the southern portion of Labette County, but it has roots dating back to post-Civil War days.Previously, the Chetopa Advance, Altamont Journal, Edna Sun and Oswego Independent served this market, each one founded well over a century ago.In October 2007, the owners and staff of these newspapers combined them into one newspaper and gave it a name that was common to them all — “Labette Avenue.”The reaction from readers and advertisers has been overwhelmingly positive, and we’re proud to introduce our staff to you:

Rena Russell

Labette Avenue editor Rena Russell has always lived in Oswego, graduated from high school there and has worked in the newspaper office for almost 30 years.After the Taylor Newspaper Family purchased the four newspapers in 1998, Rena took on added responsibilities and was named editor in 2001.Rena knows everybody, or so it seems.She’s an avid newspaper reader, which the Taylors say is a top qualification for being an editor. She is intensely proud of her hometown and countywide community.She and her husband, Jim, are active members of the First Assembly of God in Oswego and they have two children, Jeanette, who is now completing a Masters in Accounting from Pittsburg State University, and Jordan, a junior at Oswego High School.

Tammy Guinn

Tammy Guinn of Chetopa has been with the Taylor Newspaper Family for eight years and her responsibilities are varied — from handling the billing for all Taylor newspapers, managing the computerized circulation program, assisting the publishers with accounting and working with Rena Russell on Tuesdays to produce newspaper pages. And, now she and Rena have taken on more responsibilities as they work with our new taylornews.org website.Tammy is an accomplished pianist, singer, cake baker, computer whiz and mom. She and her husband, David, have three daughters and two sons: Shantel, Sharla, Shayla, Mark and Marek. They are active members of the Center Christian Church, rural Columbus, where she is on of the church pianist.

Marna Taylor

Marna Taylor joined our Labette Avenue staff in October as part of our restructuring of the newspaper. We wanted someone to be the “face and voice” of our Labette Avenue office and she has filled those expectations perfectly.Marna works part-time for us after retiring from Labette Community College where she served as an area recruiter.She and her husband, Fred, previously owned a real estate and insurance agency in Oswego. She answers the telephone, calls area friends for news, writes a delightful column and keeps us on our toes with at least one new idea each day.

Rudy Taylor and Emalee Mikel round out the Labette Avenue staff, although they have other responsibilities with the Taylor Newspaper Family. Emalee is sales manager for the Montgomery County Chronicle and Labette Avenue and works from her home office in Parsons.She and her husband, Mark, are parents of a daughter, Marlee.

Rudy and Kathy Taylor, co-publishers, reside at Caney where they oversee all four Taylor newspapers. Rudy is directly involved on a daily basis with Labette Avenue, thanks to the technology of the Internet. He and editor Rena Russell coordinate the production of the newspaper, communicating entirely by telephone, fax, email and an Internet-based file transfer program. Rudy does the same with the Flint Hills Express and Sedan Times-Star and he contributes editorials, columns and feature stories to the Montgomery County Chronicle — all from his office in Caney.

Kathy manages the headquarters office in Caney, serves as payroll manager for all Taylor newspapers and writes a popular column, “Life’s Little Lifesavers.”