It is the end of an era, as we publish this, the final Sunday edition of The Times.

Our Sunday editions have been published for the past 11 years, when the decision was made to take one weekend edition (then published on Saturday) and split it into two — Fridays and Sundays.

It was a bold decision at the time, as the B.C. economy was mired in a recession, although not as deep as the current one. However, the management of Black Press, which had bought The Times and other Lower Mainland newspapers the previous year, felt the time was right for expansion.

It is important to keep in mind that this newspaper, and most other news outlets, had a minimal Web presence at that time. In fact, many people had never gone on any websites, and most people who did have Internet access used dial-up — their telephone lines — to get to Web sites.

Thus a printed newspaper on a third day of the week was popular with readers in Langley, and the initial response was very favourable. It was a sign that Langley was no longer a quiet rural backwater, but was growing, expanding and changing.

For the news staff here, it gave us the opportunity to report on events that took place after our former press deadlines. It also gave us considerably more room for features, and one part of the initial Sunday package was a regular photo feature page, along with a full-page sports feature.

A great deal has changed in 11 years. Langley is larger than ever, but people get their information in a much wider variety of ways. One of those ways is The Times’ vibrant website, with content that changes every day, and often hourly. People who want to know what is going on in the community don’t have to go any further than their computer.

Most of our readers now have high-speed Internet in their homes and offices, and checking news websites is a daily fact of life for many people.

It costs a lot of money to print and distribute a newspaper, and it was felt that we can use that money more wisely by putting more effort into the Wednesday and Friday print editions, along with the website, which now features videos of many of the events we cover.

We also now publish a free daily, the Golden Ears Daily (we were serving Maple Ridge and Langley together, even before the bridge opened) and The Times plays a key role in assembling the Aldergrove Star for the press. Eleven years ago, The Star was under different ownership.

Our commitment to news isn’t changing. The Times strives to bring readers the very latest in news and features that are strongly connected to Langley. We do so on our website and in our print editions — and that won’t change.

Publisher Dwayne Weidendorf says our long-term goal is to be Langley’s premier media centre — the first choice for anyone interested in Langley. We will provide them the latest information about this community, no matter where they are.

Thanks to all our readers and advertisers for the support they have given to the Sunday edition, and look for many good things to come in the future.