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uch like the rest of the state, in March, we closed our offices and sent our staff to work from home. 

For two months, our employees figured out how to adapt to working at home during a global pandemic. They rose to the occasion and made sure we still produced a newspaper, we still served our communities and we still helped local businesses with their marketing needs in an unprecedented time. 

We know untold numbers of other businesses had to do the same, and we were proud to see how our community adapted to the changes needed to slow the spread of the coronavirus and to save lives.

We also understand that many people lost their jobs and their livelihoods, and we don’t take that lightly.

Like other businesses, our newspaper has been severely affected by COVID-related restrictions on commerce. We’ve felt a huge blow to our advertising revenue as small businesses in the community have suffered. The federal Paycheck Protection Program helped us, along with many of our clients, push forward through the spring and summer. As economic restrictions are reimposed, we urge Congress to act again with bipartisan legislation to support small businesses.

Since we returned to our offices in May, our staff has been practicing commonsense measures to protect themselves, their coworkers, and our customers.

We’ve been wearing our masks, using hand sanitizer, washing our hands, and distancing as much as we can.

Our reporters have been utilizing online services like Google meetings or Zoom, emails or phone calls to conduct interviews and dig up information. We’ve still been on the scene when needed, but we try our best to maintain a safe distance and we always wear our masks. 

It’s been a strange time for us, too, but we’ve found ways to adapt to continue on with our critical role in the community.

As our state sees another surge in the virus and our governor has issued new mandates to try to mitigate its spread, we have decided to close our offices to the public once again and to allow our employees to prioritize their health and work from home as much as possible. As of 5 p.m. Friday, per Gov. Andy Beshear’s executive order, we will close our offices to the public.

Despite the doors being locked, we’re still open and we are still here to serve our community and our customers.

Our reporters are still covering all that is happening in our community.

Our customer service representatives are still here to help you with whatever concerns or needs you may have involving our products.

Our advertising specialists are still working day in and day out to help local businesses with all their marketing needs.

If you need to reach someone at our business about any concern, suggestion, or question, please call our office at 859-744-3123. Our customer service representatives will help direct you to the right person.

We will continue to publish our newspaper two days a week, as well as sending out our daily newsletter via email. You can also keep up with news on our website at www.winchestersun.com.

Much like many other businesses in our community and across the state, we’re making the necessary changes to protect our customers and our valued employees.

These changes are not easy and they put many businesses in a scary financial situation. It is our hope that these measures will be effective at slowing the spread of the virus quickly and that we can once again reopen our economy and help our businesses get back on their feet and back to serving customers.

We cherish and value our neighbors, our loved ones and our community as a whole. These are small steps we are able to take as a business to help protect you and ourselves.

We hope others will take whatever steps necessary to protect their customers and employees, and we understand that looks different for every business.

During this difficult time, we ask that you prioritize your health but also be considerate of others.

Please wear your masks. Please wash your hands. Please avoid large gatherings. Please make smart and safe decisions.

We also ask that you try to support your local businesses as much as you are able, and that includes your local newspaper.

Shop local. Eat local. Read local.

It is time for us to buckle down and reprioritize fighting this deadly virus. It will take all of us working together to do so.