The year 2011 has been a year of change for me and for the Hartselle Enquirer.

The first change occurred just days after the New Year began. I was offered the managing editor’s position here at the Hartselle Enquirer, a move that I’m glad to say has been a good one for me.

We have also changed some of our procedures regarding posting to our website. We no longer wait for our newspaper to be printed to post stories to the Internet. I hope that change has been a big benefit to our readers as we try to report the news as it happens instead of waiting for each new publication.

We’ve also eliminated the Sound Off column, a change that has been a positive for our community.

Now, as we are about to go into 2012, we have one major change that I believe will benefit our readers and advertisers in a big way.

As of Jan. 1, the Hartselle Enquirer will be published on Wednesdays. That’s one day earlier each week, but that one day represents a huge impact on our week.

That means our newspapers will come out when the sales start each week. Most of your stores will begin their weekly cycle on Wednesday, especially grocery stores and other retail shops.

From an advertising perspective, it’s a benefit because our readers will see your ads one day earlier and may be more likely to pay you a visit.

It’s also one day closer to Friday nights, which means our football and other weekend games will be published a day earlier in the week and it will give you another day to look forward to this week’s matchup.

It won’t change your news coverage too much because news is news any day of the week. Some of the events that happen on Tuesday nights may not be in the paper, but they will still be posted on our website and then covered in depth in the following week.

One thing that will change is our deadlines for submitting information to the paper. Most of those times have been set already.

Birthdays, engagements, births, weddings, anniversaries and other lifestyle announcements will be due by Wednesday at 5 p.m. All sports and calendar items must be turned in by Monday at 10 a.m. while news items will be due by Monday at noon.

Also obituaries must be turned into the Enquirer office by Monday at 4 p.m. to ensure its publication in the following week.

These new deadlines will begin starting with the week after Christmas.

I know it’s going to be an adjustment, but it’s a change that is for the best.

So get ready, your news is coming a day earlier.

Brent Maze is the managing editor of the Hartselle Enquirer.