Welcome to your virtual community gathering space, Canton-Sixes! For the past 48 days, my team of freelancers and I have tried to build a site that serves all of your needs. We want canton-ga.patch.com to become your one-stop shop for all things Canton-Sixes, but we need your help.

Sure, we live here. But you are the ones with the access to schools, businesses, city and county government, churches, and Little League groups. You're there volunteering every day. You've built relationships with these institutions and the people in them—relationships we're still trying to forge. YOU are our ears and eyes!

We've built Patch so that you have plenty of opportunities to send news tips, comment on stories, share your opinions, post photos and announcements, and add events to the community calendar. We hope that our site gives you—Canton and the Sixes—a voice.

1. Comment on an Article

We subscribe to the idea that "news is a conversation." Much of our reporting will emanate from what readers tell us in e-mails, in comments on our sites and in conversations around town. Share your thoughts and reactions to our articles by posting a comment directly below each story. And if you want to follow that story as it develops and we follow up with more reporting, be sure to click on the "Yes, keep me posted" button at the end of the article.

2. Ask a Question

So maybe you want to know when that pothole is going to get fixed, or maybe you're a local expert on native trees just dying for someone to ask why their allergies are so bad this year. Patch's Q&A section is the place for you to ask your questions and show off your expertise, all while connecting with your neighbors. Visit http://canton-ga.patch.com/questions and ask a question, or answer someone else's.

3. Post an Event

Do you know of a book signing at a bookstore, a celebrity chef appearing at a cooking store or an art exhibit at a coffee shop? Is there a garage sale or graduation coming up? If it's not on our Patch calendar, it should be. Feel free to add events to our site at http://canton-ga.patch.com/events/new. 

4. Send a News Tip

At the bottom of the homepage, there's a link that says, "Send Us News Tips." Tell us about stories we should cover. Your tip will go straight to Rodney Thrash, Canton-Sixes Patch's (incredibly grateful) editor.

5. Post an Announcement

Post births, engagements and wedding announcements. Tell us who made the honor roll, or share school awards, social notes and thank-yous. If you're looking for volunteers or searching for your lost dog, we welcome you to call on your community for help. Just remember, our Terms of Service say announcements should be for personal use and not for advertising. http://canton-ga.patch.com/announcements/new

6. Sign Up for Newsletters

The daily Canton-Sixes Patch newsletter brings you the articles and announcements that have been posted in the past 24 hours. It is delivered by e-mail every day between 6 and 9 a.m. You also can sign up for the weekly newsletter, which shows a subset of the content created and featured on our site over the past few days. It is delivered every Thursday at 10 a.m. Look for the Follow Us and Newsletter links in the right column of this and most every page.

7. Claim Your Directory Listing

Our business and organization listings aren't skimpy. Our team of researchers hit the streets and visited businesses, schools, parks, libraries and more to provide photos as well as detailed information such as products sold and hours of operation. To contact us about the listing for your business or organization, e-mail us at directorysupport@patch.com. If you own or manage a business or organization in our directory, claim it at http://canton-ga.patch.com/search/listings.

8. Shout It Out!

You can shout out on the site without adding a comment to an existing article. You can tell us what you have to say right now by using the shout box at the top of the activity stream on the homepage. Whatever you "shout" will go directly into the stream, right on the homepage.

9. Upload Your Photos and Video

Upload videos of high school football touchdowns or your Little Leaguer's first home run. Post photos from festivals, or send in a snapshot of your best holiday recipes. We invite you to share with the rest of the community the memories you've caught on camera.

10. Review Restaurants

Do you want to be the first to tell your friends whether the new restaurant in town gets a thumbs-up? You can post a review of your favorite (or not-so favorite) restaurants at http://canton-ga.patch.com/restaurants. Or, search to find what you're craving—you can filter results by cuisine, price or seating accommodations.

11. Social Media Engagement

You can "like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CantonSixesPatch and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CantonSxesPatch. (We know the 'I' is missing in Sixes. Twitter can handle only 15 characters.) Immerse yourself in our content and actively contribute and engage via social media. Let's start a conversation.

12. Send a Letter to the Editor

Patch would like to invite every member of the Canton-Sixes community to submit a letter to the editor. Express your thoughts or concerns about anything that might be stirring up conversation around town, and we'll post it. Make sure it's not longer than 300 words, and e-mail it to Editor Rodney Thrash at rodney.thrash@patch.com.

The more Canton-Sixes Patch serves as on online space for community dialogue, the more useful our site will be. So next time you have something to share with your neighbors, consider taking a moment to send a letter to Patch. Chances are, you're not the only one who feels that way.