EVERETT — Sound Publishing, owner of Kitsap News Group, has purchased the Pacific County Press, a weekly newspaper based in South Bend, the company announced Oct. 5.

The Press primarily covers the northern portion of Pacific County but coverage extends into the Pe Ell area of Lewis County and the Tokeland, Grayland and Westport areas in Grays Harbor County. It also covers state news that pertains to the area.

The paper has published continuously for 23 years. The paper’s former owners, Loretta Hodgson and Chris Petrich, will stay on.

“The Pacific County Press is a well-respected local newspaper and we are glad we get the chance to work side-by-side with Chris and Loretta,” said Gloria Fletcher, president of Sound Publishing. “We want to help make the newspaper’s connection to the community and area even stronger, if that is possible.”

Sound Publishing owns The Daily World and six other publications that make up the Grays Harbor Newspaper Group. Some aspects of the Pacific County Press’s operation — administration functions, distribution and production — will now be handled by the Grays Harbor Newspaper Group. With Hodgson and Petrich being freed up from some of the business functions, the net result will be enhanced editorial content and more time for ad sales, said Stan Woody, regional publisher for the group.

Hodgson and Petrich said in an announcement of the sale, “We are excited about the sale to Sound Publishing and The Daily World. We look forward to providing our subscribers with a larger variety of local news from Pacific, Grays Harbor and Lewis counties. We would like our readers to know that we will continue to welcome their emails, photos and stories as we have for the past 23 years.”

Woody is familiar with the Willapa Harbor community. The veteran newspaperman’s first job in the business was as an advertising salesman for the old Raymond Herald and the South Bend Harbor Pilot.

He was the publisher in Raymond when the two north Pacific County papers merged to become the Willapa Harbor Herald. Asked about returning to where he got his start in newspapers, he said, “The people in Raymond and South Bend have always appreciated, and have shown their loyalty to good journalism. I’m glad to be a part of that continuing legacy with a publication that has a solid reputation for good reporting.”

The Pacific County Press publishes in a tabloid style format and covers a broad spectrum of life in Pacific County – local government, sports, community news, entertainment, opinion and public safety news.

The Grays Harbor Newspaper Group consists of The Daily World, The Vidette in Montesano, The North Coast News in Ocean Shores, The South Beach Bulletin in Westport, The East County News, On the Harbors, Washington Coast Magazine and now The Pacific County Press.

Sound Publishing is the largest community media organization in the state, with a combined print circulation of more than 660,000. It employs more than 500 people around the state.

Its publications in Kitsap County include KitsapDailyNews.com and BainbridgeReview.com (daily); Bainbridge Island Review, Central Kitsap Reporter, Kitsap Weekly, North Kitsap Herald, Port Orchard Independent (Fridays); and the monthly Kingston Community News.