Ag reporter says goodbye after 37 years

Bob Crider of The Yakima Herald Republic writes Sunday about Dave Lester, who retired after 37 years of covering the agriculture industry at the paper.

Crider writes, “But Dave gave it his all. Not just reliably reporting for work for almost four decades, but reliably reporting on stories — most notably water resource issues, including their impact on the lifeblood of the Yakima Valley, agriculture, and on fish runs throughout the Yakima River Basin.

“Editors readily turned to Dave to handle some of the toughest stories, knowing he’d do a thorough job and meet his deadlines. No story was too big for him; no story too small.

“He is a consummate professional who went about his business in a quiet, low-key manner.

“‘It may sound corny, but I felt I had an obligation to my employer, and the reader, to do the best job I could,’ Dave told me last week as he reflected on his career.

“‘And frankly, a lot of my motivation was to gain the respect of people I respect and worked with.'”

Read more here.