By Richard Caines

SALISBURY – Greg Bassett, the founding editor of the Salisbury Independent, will be remembered forever for his contributions to a community he deeply loved.

The intersection of Riverside Drive, West Carroll Street and Mill Street is now known as “Greg Bassett Circle” after an April 28 informal ceremony held at the roundabout in Downtown Salisbury.

Mr. Bassett, a longtime journalist with the Daily Times for years prior to the founding of the Independent in 2014, was remembered fondly by dozens of community leaders and friends during the ceremony, which concluded with Bassett’s daughter Annie and Salisbury Mayor Randy Taylor removing the first of multiple black covers hiding the commemorative signs attached to the circle with Bassett’s name.

The Greater Salisbury Committee and the City of Salisbury partnered in the initiative.

The location was a fitting choice, with Mr. Bassett having closely followed and advocated for the 4,000-pound obelisk within the circle. The Fred P. Adkins monument, a 30-foot aluminum sculpture, was originally placed in another downtown location in 1970.

Fifty years later, Mr. Bassett was among those who attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Like Mr. Bassett, Mr. Adkins was a champion of progress in the city.

But Jack Heath, former mayor and council president, said Bassett at first was not enamored with the plan.

“The first time he saw the drawings, he said to me, ‘Jack, I’ve got to tell you something. That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of in my life,'” Heath said. “And he told me the same thing the next year.

“Well after it was built, he looked at me and said, ‘Before we start, I want to tell you something. I was wrong. That’s one of the best things that’s happened in the city.’”

State Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-District 38), said when she heard there was a plan to honor Bassett, she knew that the roundabout would be the perfect location.

“Greg loved nothing more than the back story to the real story,” Carozza said. “This was a project that he certainly expressed his concerns about from the beginning.

“And then throughout the process, he played a key role in having the landmark symbol here. But in the end, when you think about it, he did a roundabout on his whole position.”

Carozza noted that while Bassett was always a well-respected and longtime journalist, he really made his mark by founding the community-driven Salisbury Independent and through his work at PAC 14, the public access channel for Salisbury and Wicomico County.

“He was our storyteller,” Carozza said. “He could tell our story and our way of life because he was one of us. This is not only a nice tribute to Greg Bassett, but I also think it is a reminder to stay focused on the community and for that standpoint, today is a day to celebrate what he was all about.”

Annie Bassett recalled one day after her dad’s passing, when she cleaned out his office located across North Division Street from the Government Building. She discovered a kindness bracelet made by kindSBY founder Grace Foxwell Murdock. Her bracelet, also made by Murdock, previously lost the letter k.

“It reminds me of how much people loved him,” Bassett said. “He wanted to be in the community talking to people and getting the real stories on the ground. That’s what I really loved about him.”

Longtime friend Roger Follebout joked that Bassett always beat him to a good story, which “frustrated” him. He noted that you could give Bassett one sentence, and he could write an additional 1,200 words on the subject.

“He worked his way up through the Daily Times from a general reporter up to the managing editor of the newspaper and then when he left the Daily, he really resurrected the old Salisbury News and Advertiser into the Salisbury Independent and built that paper up to what it is today,” Follebout said. “Greg was just a respected newsman. He was one of the best journalists I’ve ever known in my life.”

Local business owner Michael Weisner, who attended the ceremony, said it was a great tribute to Bassett and his family.

“He was a wonderful person and meant so much to Salisbury,” Weisner said. “His heart was in Salisbury and now a piece of it stays here for us to enjoy and remember him by.”

After the ceremony, Mike Dunn, president and CEO of the Greater Salisbury Committee, pondered what Bassett would think of his name being forever displayed downtown.

“Part of me says he would be mortified and embarrassed, but part of me says oh my gosh, he would think this is the best thing ever," Dunn said. 

Cathy Bassett echoed Dunn, saying, “He would be embarrassed about it, but he’s truly deserving. He cared deeply about the community, and so I think this would have meant the world to him.”