Sometimes this community makes the newspaper’s job mighty tough.

Since last July the Miss-Lou has seen the opening of the Doctor’s Pavilion and with it a new after hours’ clinic, the construction of two new hotels, the demolition of one old hotel, the promise of a federal prison, the production of biofuel at Delta Fuels, a slew of developments in the Rentech Inc., project, the opening of a several new restaurants, a new location for a well-known bookstore and so many changes with the exit ramps at the Liberty Road bridge that no one can keep up.

In fact, keeping up in these parts these days is just plain difficult.

Yet, time is fast approaching for The Democrat to publish our annual guide to life in the Miss-Lou — Natchez & its Neighbors.

In this large special edition we attempt to tell newcomers and the old-but-interested a little bit about our community.

The section starts with the basics — how to hook up power, water and the all-important TV.

We’ll give readers some information on local schools, and government bodies.

The section guides hunters and fishers in need of new licenses and outdoor spaces to explore, and parents seeking playgrounds for children can survey their options before heading out to fight the sun.

Balloon race and a brief history of our fair city typically make the cut, as do the Natchez Trace and Historic Jefferson College.

Most of these stories are fairly easy to compile, because schools, history and the Natchez Trace don’t change much from year to year.

But other things do.

One of the services we try to provide each year through Natchez & its Neighbors is a medical directory. The section will list doctors, dentists and other health care professionals, their phone numbers and addresses.

We started working in early June to update our medical listing from last year. We are fortunate enough to benefit from the time and know-how of several teacher interns who come to us each year through the Copiah-Lincoln Community College Tech Prep Internship for Educators Program.

Co-Lin, the Mississippi Department of Education and the Office of Vocational Education and Workforce Development combine forces to put public school teachers in various local businesses for one week each summer. The program gives the teachers a chance to learn something new, and in our case, it gives us a willing worker.

This year, Natchez High teacher Susan Freeny helped us a great deal by working through the medical listings to update information.

She spent five days on the phone, and compiled a pretty good list.

But with all the changes, we may still wind up missing something.

If a new doctor opened up his practice last week, then he’s not yet in the phonebook. The newspaper may not know he exists, so it’s impossible for us to know to call him.

We need your help.

If you are a medical professional of any sort, or know of someone who is, who has opened up shop, changed a phone number or moved to a new location since last July, contact me so we can include the correct information for you. My contact information is below.

Things are changing quickly in the Miss-Lou. And though it may sometimes be frustrating to keep up, it’s a good thing overall.

We’ll take the change, and do our best to keep up.

This community is definitely keeping us on our toes though.

Julie Finley is the managing editor of The Natchez Democrat. She can be reached at 601-445-3551 or Julie.finley@natchezdemocrat.com.