As of writing this week's post, I feel like I have covered and followed more than a week's worth of news - and we're just getting ready to finish out Wednesday. Not that you'll see me complaining. I certainly won't do so given how relatively quiet things have been around here in the past week or so, save for a few bad crashes and other more "featurey" stories which Jared has written about...

Wabash College will have its Commencement for the Class of 2019 on Sunday - which, for a lot of lucky moms, is also Mother's Day. It's a great day for them, and I will make my way up to Crawfordsville to see a few very good friends get their sheepskins...

Okay, maybe you won't catch me singing (unless you saw me in my Beetle "syncing" with friends to "Play That Funky Music" or "Highway to Hell" while at Wabash...). This past weekend did give me a good reason to be excited, though, as I was treated to a wonderful concert by the Wabash College Glee Club Saturday evening. This week is devoted to the men's choir and two professors who have been instrumental leading it...

In the bustle of the daily grind here at the paper, I recently had what could be counted as a "teachable moment" as a reporter, as well as a community member. A week ago, I got a call from someone who was at the forefront of issues which I reported in a recent article. It didn't necessarily put the individual in a positive light, and he wanted to tell me that he took exception with my detailing of what occurred...

Maybe half-an-hour after I came back from lunch Monday afternoon, I first heard from Jared that the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris was on fire as he came into the newsroom from an errand. "Someone's just told me that Notre-Dame is on fire," I remember him saying as he looked on his phone. It did not really hit me right away as to what he meant, though I knew instinctively that he was referring to one of the City of Light's most enduring architectural and religious monuments...

I do not have anything particularly original or reflective to talk about in this week's post. This is due to the amount of assignments that I have on my plate, which have made this week one of the busiest I've had in a while in terms of writing. Today is not necessarily a "free day" for me to think or comment about what's happening on here...

This week, I'm going to make a change of pace and comment on a topic that I have been starting to really think about. It has broadly to do with my alma mater; however, it specifically has to do with giving. I'm talking about charity in both the sense of giving one's time, as well as giving one's treasure to a cause. An issue I have wrestled with is how the two can be genuinely reconciled...

The long-awaited report submitted last Friday by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, which covers his nearly two-year investigation into ties between Donald Trump's campaign and Russian agents who worked to influence the 2016 election, has caused a frenzy in Washington...

Well, it's the first day of spring, and that means a lot of good things are coming. First off, it means an end to the snow, and the salt dumped all over the roads that might still be eating away at my Trailblazer's pan. The days will be getting warmer and longer, and the flowers will start to bloom soon. I will appreciate it even more when our flowerbed will deign to untangle itself...

Before I came in this morning, I had intended for this post to sort of be a reaction to some of the past week's bigger stories - both in and out of Putnam County. However, I want to try and succinctly talk more about what being a reporter for a small newspaper like the Banner Graphic is like. I don't think a lot of people grasp how complex or fast-paced getting a story or managing the newsroom can be...

At the outset of this post, I want to make another public service announcement that I will plan to start posting my blogs again on Wednesdays. I just recently completed my math class at Ivy Tech, and I (as far as I know at this point) will no longer be out of the office all Monday and Wednesday morning...

Talking about the Bible has rarely come up in the newsroom. Indeed, I just had a conversation with Merlin, one of our advertising gurus, about how it is taken literally by some as a history book. Conversations of a similar nature have often cropped up, but pretty much all of them have had to do with politics and other peoples' general behavior, both good and bad. ...

The past few days have been rough on Wabash College, but I have to admit I'm impressed with how the students responded ... Their cooperation with police kept everyone safe, and the professional responses from the student publication staff, the school's administration and the quick calls made by students made sure nobody was left wondering where their loved ones were. ...

"The better part of valour is discretion; in the which better part I have saved my life." - Falstaff, Henry IV, Part 1 by William Shakespeare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------...

Before I get into this blog, I sincerely hope that all of you were able to survive the bitter cold last week relatively unscathed. It goes without saying that the -35-degree wind chill last Wednesday was absolutely no joke. For me, not only were my hands freezing inside my gloves, it hurt to breathe...

To say that I'm looking forward to the winter weather coming our way soon would definitely be an overstatement. I imagine that local readers have the same sentiment. By this time tomorrow morning, central Indiana will be under a wind chill advisory, as they are expected to reach -30-to-45 degrees. We should be mindful that frostbite can effect exposed skin within 10 minutes in this kind of cold. That's a legitimate health concern...

Let me start off by saying that this cold weather has already gotten old. Yesterday we saw below-freezing wind chills for the first time this winter. Today is not much warmer, and the forecast through Thursday predicts temps in the 30s, with rain and snow mixed in for good measure. It's typical west-central Indiana weather...

This week's blog is more of the public service announcement type, rather than making a comment or just rambling about this or that as has been the trend. It has to do with a continuing development that may affect my regular Wednesday postings...

My morning got off to what is not normally a "bad" start. As today (Wednesday) is considered to be a day off because we don't print a paper Thursday, I thought I would get up a little earlier and actually make myself some breakfast at the apartment...

As I sit here drinking my coffee, I'm anxiously awaiting trying to figure out my schedule for the next week or so. I'm also still in a kind of recovery mode from the holidays. My scale at home says that I have gained at least eight more pounds than I weighed at the beginning of December (either I have built muscle from the new exercises I've been doing at night, or I have fallen into the snacking trap)...