I suspect the regular readers of the Triplicate have noticed over the last few weeks, the name of Daniel J. Schmidt has not appeared in the paper.Over the last few weeks, we have received several phone calls and emails, asking what happened to Dan, so I wanted to clear some things up.First of all, Dan was not fired. When we hired him, he admitted he was going to write some stories and columns that might fire up some of our readers. And he did exactly that. While neither I, my boss or Country Media agreed with everything Dan wrote, at no time did we ask him to take a step back and at no time did we tell him any topic was off limits.#placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');Dan used the opinion page in the Triplicate to share his views on abortion, one of the most hotly-debated topics in the nation. His views were rigid and are not something he is willing to or going to change. Again, his views are not something our company has stated, but we never asked Dan to stop writing about the issue, and we certainly didn’t punish him in any way for doing do.The opinion page of this paper is designed as a place where people can take stands on controversial issues. Whether it’s the editor, one of our columnists or letters from our readers, we welcome differing opinions on local, state and even some national issues. That has not made all of our readers happy, because many believe anyone who disagrees with them should be removed from print. We don’t, so we welcome all sides of controversial issues.Several weeks ago, Dan reached out to me telling me he had to resign due to personal issues in his family. I can’t give you all the details, but I can assure you, they were important to Dan, important enough for him to give up a job he gave his all to while he was here.It is my understanding that Dan still has plans to make Crescent City his home, although he does have family, personal and business dealings in other parts of the state.From a newspaper perspective, Dan Schmidt is an old-fashioned news guy. Before a career in law, he ran several newspapers in California. Much like me, when his name is on a paper, he feels an enormous responsibility to put out a good product that will inspire, motivate and sometimes, anger, the readers.At the Triplicate, Dan did just that. Many of the changes he made have carried forward to the paper you are reading today and will be reading in the future.This is just my opinion, but I believe once Dan gets settled you will see him being active in Crescent City. Exactly what role he chooses to do that in, I don’t know. But I can’t imagine he will sit on the sidelines too long, when he has a dream of helping the city move toward great things.As for the Triplicate, we will move forward. We will continue to do our best to share the news, advertising and, yes, opinions, that are important to Del Norte County. Without Dan, things will be different, but our goal is the same one he had, to share with our readers news that’s important to you.If you know of any stories we should be chasing down, feel free to reach out to me directly at worldeditor@countrymedia.net. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });