the editor talks with you

The loss of a business is a sad occasion. People lose their jobs. The owners lose a lifetime’s investment. The community loses the services the business provided.

Even worse, the community loses the support business owners give in sponsoring youth programs, charities and businesses license fees to support the town and help keep everyone else’s taxes lower.

In the loss of a town’s newspaper, people lose a way to talk with each other, to keep up with what’s going on and see how their taxes are spent and officials perform.

Chapin did not lose just a business last month when Bud and Dee Timmons closed the Chapin Times. It lost much more.

In a farewell note, Bud and Dee wrote, “It is with great sadness that we announce that the September 20, 2018 issue of The Chapin Times is the last one.

“As many of you know, Bud’s illness has become increasingly debilitating, and that has made it difficult for us to produce the paper each week. Dee also has recently encountered health issues and hospitalization.

“Beyond all of that came the sudden and unexpected decision by Bruner Publishing Company of Lexington to cease operations. Bruner has printed The Chapin Times since its inception.

“We extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to all of you who have subscribed and supported us with advertising and information throughout our 42 years.”

The first issue of The Chapin Times was published on February 25, 1976. Thad Bruner was the first editor and publisher. Homer “Bud” Timmons, a Chapin resident, was general manager and advertising director. Later Bud and Dee Timmons bought the paper and continued its service.

Thad Bruner, whose parents had published The Dispatch-News in Lexington, wrote in the first issue, “The Times will seek to offer a voice, a means of communication, and a source of news for all residents in the growing Chapin area.”

In their note, the Timmons family wrote, “Who could have predicted in 1976 the growth the greater Chapin area has experienced? And who could have predicted then the changes that would take place in how people receive their news?”

Back then, community newspapers were where most people learned whether the rumors they heard were indeed true.

It was one of the standing jokes that people read the local paper to find out if the editors had confirmed what everybody else was already talking about. This included the good, the bad and the often ugly.

“We are living in a much broader information age than when we started,” the Timmons’ note read. “Unfortunately, it has become increasingly difficult for newspapers to survive with rising costs, declining numbers of subscriptions and ever increasing competition for advertising dollars.

“We want to thank our friend and former Chapin Mayor Stan Shealy for his help through the years. It is our hope that you will continue to be informed and served well by the Chapin News, offered on Face-book and on the Internet, and that you will give them the same support and encouragement that you have given us.”

Subscription

If you are a Chapin Times subscriber, we offer you a subscription to the Lexington County Chronicle. In it you can keep up with local news and read Leisha Huffstetler’s Around Chapin and Irmo column. Call us at 803-359-7633.