Someone really wants the community to believe that the Rocky’s death is imminent.

Wednesday morning, the Rocky Mountain News reported about a draft letter produced by the Denver Newspaper Agency anticipating that Denver will be a one-newspaper town as of March 1, 2009, and that newspaper will be the Denver Post.

Here’s what we really know.

First, Denver Post owner Dean Singleton said the Rocky planned to close down “as soon as practicable.” We’re still here.

Then, we were supposed to be dead on Jan. 16. We’re still here.

Now, the DNA is getting ready to tell advertisers that Singleton will be operating a newspaper monopoly on March 1.

However, the owner of the Rocky has only announced its intention to sell the newspaper. E.W. Scripps has said nothing about closure. Singleton, on the other hand, has taken every opportunity to portray the Rocky as a dead newspaper walking. That’s hardly surprising, given that in the last week, the Rocky Mountain News reported that he has borrowed heavily from the Denver Newspaper Agency just to make his payroll and is planning to take over the agency once the Rocky (he hopes) goes away.

But today is Feb. 4, and we’re still here. And we plan to be here on March 4, as well. As long as there are two newspapers, the Denver Newspaper Agency works for both of us. That’s the way it was set up, and that’s what the attorney general of the United States sanctioned – a 50/50 partnership.

Thank you to the loyal readers. Our owners and the owners of the Denver Post know that you will not accept just any newspaper on your doorstep.

Keep sending your messages of support. But please don’t send flowers, because we’re not dead.