After more than a decade of award-winning journalism, the Mountain View Telegraph is ceasing publication with today’s edition, Thursday, June 14.

The paper began in 1988 as the East Mountain Telegraph before merging in 2003 with the Mountain View Journal and Number Nine Media, a sister company of the Journal Publishing Company.

The merger carried over to the publication’s name and thus the Mountain View Telegraph was born.

During its 15-year run, the Telegraph staff — reporters, editors and advertising representatives alike — regularly won state and national accolades for their work. The paper frequently received industry recognition as a participant in the

New Mexico Press Association and National Newspaper Association annual better newspaper competitions.

In 2011, the newspaper won big twice, bringing home General Excellence awards from both the NMPA and the NNA, recognized as one of the best weekly papers in the state and country with a circulation between 3,000 and 5,999.

That tradition of excellence continued, with the MVT earning the General Excellence award in the 2012 and 2013 NMPA competitions, and again in 2016.

Individual awards went to reporters in categories such as sports and feature photography, column writing, breaking news coverage and features, while the ad staff brought home awards for excellence in retail advertisement, black and white advertising and the classified ad section.

While recognition by peers is always welcome, a newspaper’s core mission is to deliver news and information to its readers, a task the Telegraph was more than adept at, according to comments left on the newspaper’s Facebook page.

“Thank you for your years of providing East Mountain residents with pertinent local news,” wrote Sandy Cox. “I appreciated being able to read about local issues and news items, things that affected me and my neighbors.”

Margaret Gomez said she always looked forward to grabbing the latest issue of the Telegraph.

“Thank you for your excellent coverage of the community,” Gomez wrote. “I have scrapbooks full of articles and pics from Pinto baseball in the glory days, and wonderful pieces written by (former MVT sports reporter) Harold Smith.”

Gomez said she was most appreciative of the kindness she was shown by the Telegraph staff in 2009, when the paper published her husband’s obituary.

“I know I speak for so many when I say that you all will be greatly missed,” she wrote. “Wishing you all the best in your future endeavors.”

The Telegraph reached not only readers in the East Mountains and Estancia Valley but those who now call elsewhere home.

A New Mexican at heart and now living in Virginia, Carlton Shrieves looked forward to the Telegraph’s online stories “to keep up with happenings effecting relatives in the Estancia area ... Good luck and God’s blessings to the staff and thank you.”

A reader of the paper for 30 years, Laura Woodbury said she enjoyed reading a newspaper that covered local issues, not stories that didn’t effect the areas.

Andrea Corvin thanked the paper and staff for their dedication to the community.

“I am reminded of all the featured articles, public service announcements and other little tidbits MVT has graciously published in support of the Edgewood Community Library over the years,” Corvin wrote. “Best wishes to all the MVT staff.”

Such comments demonstrate the excellent job the Telegraph staff has done in the serving East Mountain and Estancia Valley readers for more than a decade, said William P. Lang, president of Journal Enterprises.

The Albuquerque Journal will continue to be circulated in those areas and cover the major news stories and issues there.

“We appreciate the support we have received and the friends we have made over the past many years,” Lang said. “We look forward to continuing those friendships.”

Bound copies of the Telegraph will be taken to the Journal’s library, and the website will be redirected to the Albuquerque Journal’s home page. The website will continue to be active until the end of the month.