Newspapers in survival mode, too

Given the ongoing shutdown in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, like nearly all local businesses, we had to make some difficult decisions last week.
Among those was the decision to reduce the number of print pages.

So in balancing our lack of print "real estate" with increasing news and feature coverage, we've opted to put more on our webpage, www.hometowndebate.com, and our Facebook page.

Another tough decision that local businesses are making is to cut back hours and even layoff some staff. We have not done that. We are seeking help through the federal government's payroll protection stimulus. Employers, talk to your bank about this. The process is very straight forward. My application took me about 15 minutes to fill out.

We didn't make these decisions lightly. They, and others, were born out of necessity. We thank you in advance for your understanding.

What can you do to keep the news flowing in print? Shop local. Order local takeout. Keep other businesses in Raymond, South Bend, Winlock, Toledo and Vader alive.

Newspapers are a secondary business, meaning the economic failure and successes of local businesses are reflected in the number of print pages we can produce. So if local businesses thrive, so do we.

Here in Pacific and Lewis Counties, your grocery and convenience stores need you. Hardware and ranch and home businesses need you. And local restaurants and other businesses need you.

It may be more convenient to shop online, but doing so is more damaging to the local economy now more than ever. Patronize local business.

Keeping local businesses in the green will help ensure you get the quality news and feature coverage from us that you expect and deserve.

We can be there for you, but only if you are there for local businesses, and they are there for us.