Greg Grider, operator of Grider Drug No. 3 in Russell Springs, called the newspaper office on Friday, Aug. 26, 2005 and said his family's three drug stores would no longer advertise in the newspaper because of a story which recently appeared on this Web site.

Greg Grider's father, Leon Grider, was arrested on drug-trafficking charges on Monday, Aug. 15, two days after he and his wife filed a defamation lawsuit against the city of Russell Springs.  Eight days after his initial arrest, Leon Grider was indicted by a Russell County grand jury on 22 felony counts:  15 counts of drug trafficking and seven counts of witness bribery.

It's unknown whether Leon Grider or his wife, Anna Mae, are aware of or played any part in Greg Grider's actions.  No attempts to contact any of them had been made as of this story's Saturday night deadline.

RussellRegister.com was a joint venture of Apex Media Group, LLC and Russell Media, Inc.  Since its relaunch in May of 2005, RussellRegister.com has operated as a totally separate editorial entity from the newspaper.

The management of Russell Media, the publisher of The Russell Register newspaper, has decided to sever all ties with the Apex Media Group.  As such, RussellRegister.com will be unable to continue operating in its current form.

The staff and management of The Russell Register have never had any editorial control over the content appearing on this Web site.  Likewise, the staff and management of RussellRegister.com have never had any editorial control over the content appearing in the newspaper.

Development of the Web site was funded almost entirely by the Apex Media Group, as was the majority of the news coverage appearing on the site.  Russell Media contributed a small amount toward the cost of the site's ongoing operation, in exchange for a non-exclusive license to use content from the Web site in The Russell Register.

The lock on the door of the newspaper's office, shared with RussellRegister.com, was apparently changed on Friday, Aug. 26.

Preparations are currently being made to replace this Web site with a new one.  Like this site, the new Web site will also be dedicated to covering news in and affecting the Southcentral Kentucky region.

The new Web site will be entirely owned and operated by the Apex Media Group, but its Internet address hasn't yet been finalized.

Anyone interested in advertising on the new site or receiving updates regarding its forthcoming launch should e-mail newsite42642@yahoo.com.