If you’re an observant reader of this fine publication that’s been informing Prince Edward County readers since a cold day in late December in the year of our Lord 1830, you may have noticed a for sale sign in the window of the Picton Gazette offices at 267 Main Street.

An even more studious inspection by local residents in more recent times would have revealed all the trappings of a forthcoming exodus. It’s your humble scribe’s duty to inform you, dear reader the great COVID 19-driven evolution in current day society and commerce has even impacted Canada’s Oldest Community Newspaper.

The lights were still burning at the offices on a chilly, late October eve as this edition was being prepared however yours truly was the last person sitting at a desk Tuesday night.

By the time you read this piece, all materials, archives, computers, files and the like will have been moved from our haunt on Main St. The Picton Gazette is going to continue with its primary mission of informing the local populace about the news in Prince Edward County however that process will now happen remotely.

Our business, like so many businesses across the globe, no longer require a bricks-and-mortar building and as such, the editorial, sales, classified and layout teams will be working from home starting as of today.

Myself and the reporters as well as Karen Gyde and Christine Demille will still be available during regular work hours for story leads, to advertise your yard sales, to post your heartfelt memoriams and promote your organization’s forthcoming event. The modern-day wrinkle is we will be working remotely. Some of us from home where space allows and some of us from subletted office space.

The editorial team will maintain a presence on Main Street where we have an agreement to bivouac at the Royal Lepage office at 104 Main St. Having the ability to meet with the public and stay central in Prince Edward County is something this editor felt strongly about but it’s clear when looking across east end of the Bay of Quinte to our sister paper the Napanee Beaver, remote operation can be accomplished and help news organizations not only survive but thrive in the new COIVD telecommute reality.

The team at the Beaver has been working from home since March of 2020 and hasn’t missed a beat. Nothing is ever easy on the first try and we expect to see some wrinkles as processes and communications are worked out. But please, dear reader, don’t heistate to call us at the same number 613-476-3021 and we can assist you with all the asks and tasks that brought you to darken our doorstep in years past.