RATHDRUM - Tom Burnett had an unwavering belief that local newspapers are the glue that holds communities together.

Burnett, who founded the Rathdrum Star weekly newspaper before it closed in December due to his retirement, died of natural causes at his Rathdrum area home on Friday night, acquaintances said. He was 70.

He worked at several newspapers over the past 50 years, including as a copy boy in Stamford, Conn., to owning the former weekly Post Falls Tribune in the 1980s.

"You always knew he would stick to his journalism principles no matter how hard you tried to convince him it's just a promo article," said Lance Bridges, Rathdrum's parks and recreation director. "He always was the first to raise his hand on helping in the community.

"His joy in life was journalism. He had his set principles and at times could be quite cantankerous, but still had the little boy smile and could laugh with the best of them. He has been a staple in the community for many years."

Burnett founded the Rathdrum Star about eight years ago after he lived up to a dare he received at a local concert. He was selling real estate at the time.

"It was worth every minute of every day," Burnett told The Press in an interview after the final edition.

Rathdrum Mayor Vic Holmes said Burnett had a knack for getting to the bottom of issues.

"He always tried to be fair and some of the stories that he had to write ate at him," Holmes said. "He felt obligated to cover the news. A lot of people went to his shop just to talk about city business or classic cars he was interested in."

Burnett was involved with the Rathdrum Area Chamber of Commerce, the GEM Community, the Rathdrum-Westwood Historical Society and a planning committee for the opening of the new Majestic Park.

Even until recently Burnett was a regular attendee at city meetings.

Burnett's wife Sandy, who works at the Rathdrum Library, is also involved in chamber and served as a volunteer proofreader for the Star.

Jeannie Peugh, who worked with Burnett at the Post Falls Tribune, said Burnett spent his life loving what he did. He graduated from Eastern Washington University with a major in journalism and also taught there. He also worked for newspapers in Oregon, Spokane, Montana, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

"Journalism was his passion and owning his own newspaper was the ultimate goal in his long career," Peugh said.

Rathdrum Police Chief Kevin Fuhr recalls taking Burnett to an emergency vehicle operations course training last year to do a story.

"It was those local types of stories that he did a great job with," Fuhr said.