The New Era has a new owner.

Scott and Miriam Swanson, co-owners and co-publishers, announced this week that local resident Chris Chapman, a former employee of the newspaper, took ownership July 1 of the company, which has produced Sweet Home's local newspaper since April 2005 and also publishes the Lebanon Local monthly and a variety of visitors guides, business directories and entertainment programs, along with three websites.

"It's a sad day for us, because we're going to miss being intimately involved in The New Era," said Scott Swanson, who has operated and published the paper for mo...