Why is this on my porch?

MARYSVILLE More than 30,000 people will get something new on their porch today at least new to them.
The Marysville Globe and The Arlington Times have begun volunteer-pay carrier delivery in the two communities beginning with this issue.
Under the voluntary pay plan, readers will get either the Marysville Globe or Arlington Times each Wednesday with no obligation to subscribe.
The all-advertising Express Shoppers have been discontinued.
Both papers might be new to some of those getting the paper today but both have been their community weekly newspaper for more than 100 years.
A sampling indicated that many residents will be happy to get The Times or Globe delivered to their home or business.
Lawney Rochester, 44, has lived in the Marysville and Smokey Point areas for more than 20 years. She likes the idea of getting the newspaper delivered to her door at no cost and likes The Globe in general.
It gives you the option to read local stuff, to see whats going on locally, she said, adding that the paper includes plenty of information you cant find elsewhere.
Brie Danielle Williams, the newly hired circulation manager for both papers, said she hoped residents would enjoy their copy of the paper.
Both papers have won numerous awards over the last 10 years from the state press association for news reporting, sports and feature writing and design. They have traded off being first or second in their circulation in the General Excellence category almost every one of those years, said Williams.
They cover education, land use planning, police and fire, and a complete listing of local obituaries. They cover high school sports and local arts. They have not been afraid to go after tough or controversial issues that affect their towns. They arent just good news papers but cover all the news, said Williams. We are just happy to get them into the homes of more local people who are directly affected by that news.
We may periodically run subscription drives in some neighborhoods but we wont stop delivery of your newspaper unless you specifically request that, said Williams. Readers have no obligation now or in the future to purchase a subscription in order to continue to receive their copy of the paper.
Williams said also that questions from current subscribers would be handled directly by Coni Bowman, who has kept the Globe and Times records for more than 10 years. (See Box.)
When newspapers move to voluntary pay it is not always easy to predict how many subscribers will ask about how voluntary pay plans work, said Williams. We hope people will be a little patient with us because those calls may all come at once. We will try and answer everyones questions as quickly as possible.
Carey Waterworth, a local community artist who lives in Arlington, said she thought the wider carrier distribution would be an advantage.
I think its cool that it will go to everyone. Its great that it will get to a wider audience, it looks good, its a professional paper, Waterworth said.
Chris Jones of Arlington and husband of Arlington United Churchs pastor, Deena Jones, said he thought a free paper was a good idea if it meant more people would read it to find out whats going on in their community.
Williams spent six years as a carrier for the Seattle Times and said she is excited about the opportunity with the Globe and Times. We are still looking for carriers. It is a great job for someone who wants to make some extra money. Since the papers are weeklies there isnt that constant grind of a daily routine. We even have some routes for junior carriers.
Arlington resident Carmen Bush was worried about critters making mischief with a porch- or driveway-delivered newspaper. Residents with similar worries or who may have health or age-related problems may request special delivery options. Beginning mid-December many of the more rural routes will have newspaper delivery tubes installed and others who prefer delivery receptacles may request them. For more specifics, check out the information box that runs with this story.
New Marysville resident Jeffery Timbre, 37, who moved here about six months ago said he was pleased to find the city had a local paper covering local events and issues in depth. He learned about the Marysville Globe from one of his neighbors.
Tembre said he hasnt picked up the paper every week but was genuinely delighted about home delivery, which means he wont have to go searching for it anymore.
Williams and the other folks who work at the Marysville Globe and Arlington Times hope there are many more people like Jeff Timbre just waiting to hear that plop as their local newspaper hits their driveway or porch.

Reporters Sarah Arney and Tom Corrigan contributed to this story.