In a given month, my meeting schedule is split even between town councils and school boards. The only places that I don't cover in this way are Roachdale and Greencastle. I've thought about which of them I look forward to the most. It varies month to month; anything can happen. Still, the modes of the boards and their audiences can be predictable (e.g., Cloverdale's monthly meeting and its eclectic host of personalities)...

It has been a renewed focus of mine to get away from the controversial or political in this blog. However, there is one recent comment that I feel cannot be ignored or let go. I'm calling out subscribers here who wax poetic and, at their most basic, have been overtly hateful. The point here is not to denigrate our readership on the whole, but to pinpoint those who have constantly plagued the comment sections with this nastiness...

As I was going through my Facebook timeline recently one evening, I saw that one of my friends had shared an article which I had read and thought about before then. It is a piece written by Jeff McCall, a communications professor over at DePauw University, in which he opines that media continues to lose credibility. More directly, he calls out the national (or the "mainstream") media for valuing controversy over accuracy and accountability for their own reporting...

As has been the case on only a couple of occasions before now, I have found it rather difficult to come up with anything remotely of interest to talk about for this week. I could give my take on what is happening with President Trump's impeachment trial in Washington D.C., but I don't feel like enticing the trolls. Nobody wins on this topic...

This week, I am the only Selvia in town. My sister went back to Purdue University over the weekend, and both Mom and Dad left for Tulsa, Okla. last Monday afternoon. The trip from Greencastle to Tulsa is a nine-hour drive through Illinois and Missouri, so there should be a good reason why you do it in January. If you ask me, there is...

Last weekend, my family and I made a trip down to take in a taste of the history and craft behind Kentucky's bourbon region. To be specific, I'm talking about the whiskey. This is something we've talked off and on about doing for the last few months. ...

As we come up on the end of 2019 and the beginning of a new decade, it has been interesting to take a short reflection on all that has happened in the last 12 months. 2019 doesn't really seem to be a bombshell year for me personally. The only event I think makes it of note in this way is that I recently began my studies toward a master's in journalism. ...

Fixing to getting some work done on this Christmas Eve morning, I have gotten back into the office after having a hearty breakfast at Bert and Betty's over in Fillmore. I was happy to receive a bag of sweets as a gift from Jackie and Amanda, and I will be nibbling on them in the coming days. Some sugar is part of a complete holiday diet...

Yesterday proved to be an exciting - even though divisive - day on Capitol Hill as the U.S. House of Representatives finally voted to impeach President Donald Trump. With bitter charges from both sides highlighting what was meant to be a day of debate, the Democrat-led House passed an article leveling the charge of abuse of power in a 230-197 vote. ...

With some relief on my part, this Wednesday marks the end of my first semester of online classes toward my journalism master's degree through Ball State University. I turned in my first master's "thesis" (I use this term lightly, because it truly is incomplete at this point) a week ago. ...

Of all the issues which we regularly discuss in our corner of the Banner Graphic office, I can't recollect whether or not religion (or spirituality as a concept) has ever come up. While Jared is a member of Greencastle Christian Church, and has set out his convictions in other ways, I don't belong to any church in town. Perhaps a lack of a discussion about a belief in God is assumable, because we don't share the same stake...

I've made it a point that this one shouldn't be overtly sentimental or hit in "the feels." With Thanksgiving and the burgeoning of the Christmas holiday (judging by the lights being put out on the square this week and Kroger having a Christmas section, it's already been here), we're entering the season of reflection, family and staying warm...

As a recent Wabash College graduate, a Greencastle native and a local journalist who regularly covers the "home team," The Monon Bell Classic puts me right in the middle of the oftentimes intense rivalry between my alma mater and DePauw University...

For many connected to my alma mater, this is the most wonderful time of the year. I would like to think quite a few at DePauw see it the same way after the last few games. A consistent statement I've heard being taken as matter-of-fact is that Wabash takes the annual contest for the Monon Bell much more seriously than the "Dannies" do. The further addendum is that DePauw only cares about the Bell during this one week...

Before I get into the crux of this week's blog, I think it is appropriate to at least acknowledge Tuesday's municipal elections which happened here in Putnam County. There are takes which I could provide on a few individuals voted in and out, and you could either agree or disagree. ...

As a social event and from historical context, Halloween is a curious holiday to me. Halloween as a singular day takes its cue from the celebration of Samhain, during which ancient Celts marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter with bonfires and rituals to appease the Aos Sí, or spirits which dwelt underground...

It has been quite a while since I have posted to my blog this late in the week. Indeed, the last one I remember going live on a Friday was from this past June when I reflected on my one-year anniversary as a staff writer here at the Banner Graphic...

While we're now just getting used to the chill of the fall season which really came in this past weekend, we are also halfway into what is the "spookiest" month of the year. We're only two weeks removed from Halloween, when little ghosts and superheroes will go door to door asking for candy. Others may get a rush out of teepeeing a house...

As I was walking around trying to get photos from First Friday a week ago, I was stopped by a town council member who had something rather peculiar to say to me. "You gonna make me look bad in the paper again?" he asked, as if nothing was wrong other than that my coverage of his council's recent meeting would be published soon...

For a recent assignment in one of my online master's classes I'm currently taking, I had to create a short presentation which covered an "innovation" that failed. There are myriad examples I could've talked about. I almost chose the failure that was the Edsel, a large car Ford put out in the late-1950s which was considered overhyped and ugly. The name itself has endured as a byword for a commercial failure...