"The Times" makes changes to ensure its future

WAITSBURG — Due to increasing print production costs, I am transitioning “The Times” from a print to an exclusively online publication beginning February 6, 2025. The transition will allow the paper to continue covering local news and support businesses, non-profits, schools, and healthcare systems in the Touchet Valley. “The Times” is committed to providing accurate, fair, and relevant information to its readers and community.

I purchased the paper at the end of 2018 when the previous owners planned to close the publication after they could not find a buyer. I began publishing “The Times” in January 2019 with Dena Martin as editor, Teeny McMunn in the office, and Brianna Wray, Michele Smith, and Bradley Trumbo as contributors.

One of my highlights has been working with my son Luke Chavez. He took over from Teeny McMunn when she retired from the paper, handling bookkeeping, advertising, and legal notices, as well as the recipe column. Each week he created, prepared, and photographed original recipes for his “My Recipes” column, the most read column online.

Initially, my interest was to keep the paper in print. I quickly learned that being an avid reader of newspapers is not the same as being a newspaper publisher; over the last six years, I have learned how to fact-check, edit, and lay out the paper in Adobe’s InDesign.

I have been fortunate to have published articles and photographs by local contributors, including:

Justin Jaech, Vicki Sternfeld-Rossi, Bill Rogers, Karen Huwe, Paul Gregutt, Beka Compton, Eric Umphrey, Mike Ferrians, Terry Lawhead, and Paul Ocker.

“The Times” has offered online access since 2015 at http://www.waitsburgtimes.com. We will update the website on Thursdays with the new e-edition of the paper and a PDF file, which readers can print on a home printer. The site offers more space for additional photos, longer articles, additional content, and local advertising. Subscribers can access the entire site and leave comments on articles with a password available on the website.

Over the next few months, I will be working on finding a permanent home for the hard copy archive of “The Times” and digitalizing the issues of “The Times” kept by the Washington State Library.

Anyone with questions or comments about the change can email me at lane@waitsburgtimes.com.

I want to thank all the contributors, advertisers, and especially subscribers who continue to support local journalism. “The Times” journey is not over.