If you’ve dropped by The Fountain Hills Times’ website (fhtimes.com) or subscribe to our 4:30 daily news update, you might have noticed last week that both have undergone something of a facelift.

These projects have almost exclusively been the work of Duke Kirkendoll. Along with being a sales representative for the paper, not many folks know that he handles a heck of a lot of The Times’ technical projects, too.

Several team members were brought in to offer input but, in the end, Duke did all of the heavy lifting while the rest of us offered a yay or nay on important decisions like “do you like this color of blue” or “how big should these pictures be?” Alan, Brent, myself and others threw in our two cents while Duke worked his magic to make it all come together.

According to several very kind emails we received last week, our readers seem to be enjoying the changes just as much as we are.

On the website, you’ll notice a cleaner, more modern look. We didn’t want to change things too drastically, but we think the alterations will make it easier for folks to get to the news they want to see more quickly. We’re going to try and include more pictures with more stories, too, so the page should become even more interesting to peruse in the coming months.

I think the best part of the new site is the way articles appear on the page when you go to read them. The font is big, bold, and utilizes more of the screen’s real estate to make reading more enjoyable.

Similarly, our daily 4:30 emails boast a new format that’s equally easier on the eyes. From the day’s stories to upcoming events, it should be easier than ever for folks to find out what’s happening around town. Those 4:30 updates also now offer updated weather information on a daily basis, for those of you who enjoy following those sorts of things.

Finally, that all ties back in to our presence on social media. Our Facebook page has become more active, though we’re being careful to keep daily updates to only two or three per day, tops. We want to keep you informed, not flood your wall with stories.

You might have also noticed that we’ve started dabbling in some new video projects. Assistant Publisher Brent Cruikshank has some exciting ideas in this area that he’ll be rolling out throughout 2017 but, for now, we’re doing a “commercial” for each week’s issue. If you’re curious what kinds of stories will appear in the paper, these very short clips show off some of the biggest stories you’ll find on the page.

But, again, while we’re working to provide more content through our website, 4:30 news and social media, you’re only going to get the full picture by grabbing an issue of The Times. We’re a rather large publication for a town this size, but that’s only because you folks keep us on our toes with so many events and news-worthy happenings going on each week.

Moving forward, we look forward to continuing our coverage of all things Fountain Hills. Thanks for joining us on the trek.