Now is the time to say goodbye.

After working at the Columbia Basin Herald for nearly a year and a half, I have decided to return to college to pursue a master’s degree in teaching.

I hope to teach high school English when I finish.

There are so many great things about the Columbia Basin and its inhabitants, I don’t know where to begin. So, I will start with the first logical place.

I want to thank all of the coaches, athletic directors and student-athletes who put up with me since I began last June.

Appreciate your timely responses to e-mails, the callbacks, the information requests, but most of all, I appreciate your time and patience.

I want to thank the coaches for answering their phones whenever I call to find out the results. No matter how late I call, all of you are helpful, polite and encouraging. I really appreciate it.

I want to thank the athletic directors for repeatedly sending me schedules, photos and any information I might ask for. I truly appreciate your quick responses and helpful attitudes.

And I would like to thank the student-athletes.

Without you, my time in the Columbia Basin would not have been as enjoyable as it was.

I played sports in high school and I know and understand the sacrifices, patience and dedication it takes to excel in both the classroom and on the field.

I appreciate the opportunity to watch you compete and let the rest of the Columbia Basin know about it. And I get paid for it.

I would also like to thank the staff at the Columbia Basin Herald.

I can’t begin to thank everyone for their help, encouragement, suggestions and support. But I truly appreciate the Columbia Basin Herald for providing me the opportunity to pursue a career as a professional journalist.

I can’t believe how quickly a year and a half flies when you are having fun.

I would also like to thank you, my readers. I appreciate the phone calls, the e-mails and the kind words when you see me at sporting events throughout the Columbia Basin.

Sadly, I know there are people I will forget and as soon as I see this in print, I will remember some I forgot to mention.

I apologize in advance.

The Columbia Basin is a great place to live, work, and experience life.

I would not be against returning to the Basin in the future if life points me in that direction, and that is a credit to everyone who makes the area an enjoyable and safe place to live.

So, it is with a heavy heart I say goodbye.

I will always look back upon the Columbia Basin with fondness.

Thank you.

Derrick Pacheco was the Columbia Basin Herald sports editor. The staff will miss him, his work and his tales of dodging traffic in Western Washington. We will also miss talking to him about movies and sports, and listening to him suffer when his beloved Notre Dame loses.