As each year draws to a close, at The Beachcomber we take stock of the previous 12 months and all the stories that appeared in our pages: the good news and the disappointing news, amusing happenings and heart-warming events. And, as always, it is clear just how important the community support of the paper is; it truly takes a village to get a community newspaper out each week.

It is a challenging time for newspapers, but we remain passionate about the importance of community journalism and are thankful to all of those who helped make our work possible in ways both large and small last year. A huge thank you is due to our 1,600 subscribers — and the 1,600 who buy the paper each week. That financial support and interest in the news of the community is vital to our ongoing work. Similarly, a large thank you is due to those who advertise in our pages. But our gratitude extends far beyond those who provide financial support and includes those who write stories for us that we simply do not have enough staff to do ourselves, particularly regarding high school sports. We are always grateful to the coaches and parents who go above and beyond and tell the stories of what happened on the sports fields, courts and gyms.

Also, in this era of social media, where it is most expedient to post opinions about pretty much anything online, we are grateful for those who write commentaries and letters to the editor. Their words, reflecting a range of opinions and viewpoints, fill the pages of the paper that truly belong to the community and are important elements of the ongoing island conversation.

Finally, there are islanders — experts in their fields — whom we call on when we want to know more about any number of subjects, ranging from island history to animal predators to — as is the case this week — the changing face of island real estate. We are grateful to each person who has taken the time to share their knowledge with us — and by extension, the broader community.

As we look ahead — in a time of transition ourselves, after the former editor left in November — we want to encourage islanders to keep reaching out to us. If you see something in the community you think we should be paying attention to, let us know. If you have an opinion about something in the community, send us a letter to the editor. And if you think we got something wrong (or right!), feel free to call us up and share your views.

Thank you for your support last year. We wish each of you health and happiness in the year ahead. With your support, we are looking forward to telling many more of the island’s stories in 2018.