If something feels a bit different – a bit off – in the city of Renton today, you are not wrong.

Today, Friday, marks the first day in, literally, decades that Dean A. Radford is not covering this city’s news in some capacity. Dean retired last night, after 43 years as a professional journalist, making this issue of the Renton Reporter the last one to which he will contribute.

Considering that Dean has been writing about Renton since the early 1990s as a reporter for the Valley Daily News/South County Journal/King County Journal and then as editor of the Renton Reporter from 2007-2013, as well as a major contributor to the paper since 2013, even as he was also editor of the Tukwila Reporter, that’s kind of a major deal.

Because while I obviously wish him nothing but the best in his retirement, I would be lying if I didn’t say I will miss not only his professionalism and skills as a journalist, but also just his presence as a calm and positive force in the newsroom and building.

Because somehow, despite being a hard-nosed question-asker and dead-eye reporter, somehow Dean managed to buck this industry’s trend and remains one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.

Seriously, retirement could not happen to a nicer guy.

I first met Dean several years ago at a company-wide editorial retreat when I was a reporter working for one of our company’s other papers. What I remember most about that meeting is that he treated me with respect, as an equal and a colleague, despite my still being little more than a newbie with a notebook and him having been the guy who covered the arrest and prosecution of Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer.

My first real experience working with Dean came when I was hired to be the assistant editor here in Renton. Dean spent the next few months preparing me to take over the big chair by not only leading by example, but by allowing me the leeway to explore the city while letting me peak behind the curtain on what it was to be a full-time editor of a newspaper.

When the time came for me to take over the Renton Reporter, Dean handed me the keys and stepped into something of an advisory role, providing not only his institutional knowledge of the issues, but also his years of wisdom in doing the job I was about to attempt. And he did it all without ever stepping on my toes as the editor of this paper, even when there were times I know we disagreed on how to proceed.

Without his mentorship, my transition to the editor’s chair would not have been nearly as smooth. I will always be in his debt for that. Not that he would ever hold me to it.

Because that’s who Dean is; just one of the best human beings I have ever worked with (which, admittedly is not saying a whole lot in this business…). He approached every day with a smile, always seemed to find the bright side of an issue and never seemed to have a bad word to say about anyone, even those who annoyed him.

I hope to be more like that. I really do.

And while losing his presence is one thing, losing his skills and experience as a journalist is quite another, and this week’s issue contains a prime example of what I am talking about.

This issue contains a story about how the city’s code enforcement division is working with the police to help deal with problem properties and trouble spots, like the house at 370 Earlington Ave. S.W., which has been visited by the police dozens times in the past three years.

It’s a good story, and an important one. But HOW that story got on our radar in the newsroom was simply a Master’s class in reporting that I and every other journalist in our company took note of and a prime example of the kind of dedication, tenacity and observation skills all journalists try to practice every day.

It went down like this: Dean was responsible each week for our Police Blotter column. Over time, he noticed that a single address seemed to keep appearing again and again and this spring he sent a Freedom of Information request to the police department asking for all the times that address had appeared in the past three years.

Turns out, as I said, it was one of the top destinations for Renton officers. On top of that, the police were getting ready to do something about it and Dean was there on the scene when RPD raided the house, pulling 23 people of the house and arresting two.

Since then, he has followed up that work with additional reporting on the house and how the city is dealing with it and others like it.

And all of that happened AFTER he had announced his retirement, a time when most people would have a case of senioritis. But not Dean. Dean never lost focus, keeping his eyes on Renton (and Tukwila, of course) and continuing to break news right up until his final issue.

We should all be that dedicated. Watching Dean chase down these stories in the final months of his career was an inspiration and I can only hope that when all is said and done and the final curtain falls on my career, I have accomplished half of what Dean Radford has done.

So here’s to you, Dean. Good luck, godspeed and enjoy spending your time with your wife and grandchildren. And thank you, not only from me personally, but from the entire Renton community for your years of service and work.

We’ll miss you, buddy.