Newspaper readers love their papers.

The Express community newspaper wants all readers to have their paper where and when they want it, whether they read it in print or online. Those who enjoy their paper in traditional, printed form often depend on a carrier to deliver the news, and The Express has many carriers who know their jobs and do them well.

This week we at The Express are very thankful that one of our extremely dedicated carriers was not killed in a horrific crash early Tuesday morning. She was out driving on rural roads hours before sun-up, delivering copies of our newspaper to you, when a man speeding away from police struck her vehicle on Route 150.

Jennifer Jackson of Lock Haven, lying in an ambulance with a severely injured leg at 4 a.m. Tuesday, called her supervisor to tell him she could not complete her Express delivery route. She told him where she had already delivered the papers and exactly where she had been forced to stop doing her job because another driver had caused a terrible traffic accident.

Her supervisor told her just what you would expect — stop thinking about the papers and get to the hospital as soon as possible!

Thanks to local medical response, Ms. Jackson was taken to Geisinger Medical Center where she had surgery later that day. We are pleased to say she is recovering and is soon to enter a rehab facility.

The Express is grateful, not just for Ms. Jackson, but for all the dedicated and responsible people like her who make sure you get your newspaper, every day that a paper is printed.

Yes, newspaper readers love their papers. Sometimes they feel a little disgusted with their hometown paper, depending on the day, but for the most part, all of us must have our daily newspaper, just as if it were our daily bread, as Will Rogers once said. After all, newspaper delivery is guaranteed in the United States Constitution, isn’t it? Well, no, it really isn’t — but perhaps it should be.

The days are gone when carriers came to the front door to collect payment each week — and sometimes a cookie or two. Some customers rewarded their young carrier with an extra dollar bill if he or she made the honor roll at school.

Today most of us are lucky if we even recall our carrier’s name. When our paper is late, or doesn’t get delivered at all, we don’t call our neighbor and ask if Tommy is bringing our paper soon. Instead, we pick up the phone and call the Circulation Department.

The Express listens to each and every call about delivery. We all feel our readers’ pain.

And we ask you, gentle reader, to remember that sometimes there is a reason — a very good reason — that your paper may one day be delivered a little late.