When it comes to the Citizen Tribune, Omer Perryman was there at the beginning.

It was 1965 and Perryman – owner of the Firestone Tire & Service Store – was part of a group of local businesses that wanted a local newspaper that met their needs as advertisers, produced local news and carried it out into the larger Lakeway Area, not just Morristown.

In fact, it was Perryman’s idea to recruit R. Jack Fishman back to town. Perryman had been part of the group that hired Fishman to run the local Chamber of Commerce. Fishman had left town to work in a similar job in Middle Tennessee, but Perryman knew they could lure him back.

He was right. The paper launched in 1966 with Fishman at the helm and Perryman on the board of directors.

Over the ensuing decades Perryman, who died Thursday at the ag

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