You hold in your hands the culmination of many months of work in our 2006 Horizons edition.

From the exhaustive amount of research that went into each section by the editorial staff to the advertising department's work in making this year's edition bigger than last, Horizons 2006 has truly been a team effort. And when we say, &#8220team”, we would like to include our generous advertising partners who annually afford us this tremendous opportunity to deliver our readers something wholly unique.

In November 2005, the editorial staff put together a comprehensive section-by-section plan for this year's edition. We looked at some of the things that had worked in the past and eliminated some that hadn't, while also bringing in new ideas gathered from our Boone Newspaper colleagues.

Truthfully, our editorial plan was almost like a Christmas &#8220wish list” because some off of the stories originally planned for inclusion in Horizons 2006 unfortunately didn't make it into the final product. But you're sure to see those stories in future editions of The Advocate, so rest assured you won't be shortchanged.

The primary sections this year includes: Our Health, Our Stories, Our Technology, Our Industry, Our Lives, and Our Heroes. We are proud to name Betty Watts as our 2006 Citizen of the Year and you can read all about Betty, as well as eight of our county's Unsung Heroes, in the Our Heroes section of Horizons. Our Industry spotlights things like I-65's impact on Butler County, while Our Technology looks at some of the devices we use in our everyday lives like digital cameras and cell phones. Our Health takes you inside the life of a man who fought a daily fight against Parkinson's disease and Our Lives gives you a child's eye viewpoint through the lens of a camera. And just for fun, Our Stories looks at the legends of Butler County, including the savage half-breed Savannah Jack, who killed Capt. William Butler, and how aptly named Poorhouse Road is.

Also included this year is a special tabloid sponsored by the Butler County School System that highlights where the school system is headed and what makes each individual school in the county unique. And again, the City of Greenville and the Greenville Police Department has generously sponsored a special annual police report for the benefit of our readers.

We hope you enjoy this year's Horizons edition as much as we had fun in bringing it to you.

Kevin Pearcey is Group Managing Editor of Greenville Newspapers, LLC. He can be reached by phone at 383-9302, ext. 136 or by email at: editor@greenville.advocate.com.