A week ago now, I got my second and final shot of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Fortunately, this time around was much easier side effects-wise than the first dose. Being done with the shots feels liberating in a way. I think it is because we are on the cusp of summer. School is winding down now, and the weather surely is warming up. Maybe we're all used to the "new normal,", but things are continuing to get better...

Whether it is a town council meeting or an emergency, I think taking good photos is one of the best parts of reporting. I like to get as close as I can and be in the moment. It is often about being at the right place at the right time. The camera I use can also be finicky. ...

A week ago, myself and a couple of buddies from my whiskey group went up north to the town of Newtown. It has fewer than 300 residents in the middle of scenic nowhere. It is also home to a pretty remarkable operation: a distillery with top-notch whiskey...

In my coverage of the most recent Community Conversation, I was able to get away with a tenable sin when it comes to using the Associated Press' (AP) writing style. That sin was an instance in which I referred to Christina Wagner, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at DePauw, as "Doctor." However, it was then absolved because Wagner is also a licensed clinical psychologist, though I didn't make this clear...

A week ago (March 12), I received my first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the Putnam County Health Department. It has been an interesting week since then. I was able to schedule it because my Spina bifida is a special consideration under the state's vaccine guidelines. I am at even greater risk because of the Type 1 diabetes...

After trying to find inspiration, I found out that today (March 12) marks 88 years since President Franklin D. Roosevelt began sharing his "fireside chats" through the radio. The president began his first such address to the nation thus: "My friends, I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States about banking." The aim was to be self-assuring and to help listeners understand why banks had been closed...

I have been notorious within my family unit for inexplicably losing my things. Well, oftentimes it's just been me sitting something down and then forgetting about them. I have been missing both my pledge pin and fraternity pin from the Delts since the last time I remember the tornado sirens going off here in Greencastle. They were lost in transport between my apartment on the courthouse square and the Selvia household...

To say I have enjoyed the 40-degree temps this week is pretty well an understatement. It is a far cry from the 10 inches or so of snow that we had dumped on us last week. A little bit of rain has washed some of the road salt away, which is all I can really ask for...

Well, we made it. We survived the (first?) "snowmageddon" of Winter 2021. I would say we did so pretty well unscathed, despite the single-digit temps and 10 inches or so. However, this made for an uninteresting week for me in terms of getting out. Both the Russellville Town Council and North Putnam School Board canceled their regular meetings, though the latter was rescheduled. These two were my only commitments...

As I was coming back home from covering the South Putnam School Board's regular meeting Wednesday evening, it was my luck that I got caught behind a salt spreader. From Plessinger’s Hill until it finally turned into the Casey's on Greencastle's South Side, I wondered how long I would have to wait before I could run it through the car wash. ...

When we wrapped up the 2020 Putnam County Leadership Academy in December, I thought maybe the last column in my series would be the last real mention of it here. However, this was as fellow PCLA 2020 graduate Melissa Ensor became serious about establishing an alumni group on Facebook. During "detention" after our last class, we also decided on a plan where we could meet once a month to check up on each other...

Perhaps an odd way to describe my job is that I tell stories for a living. I will come in, write up a narrative and go to a town council meeting, then do it all again the next day. I myself have been guilty of saying this, though. Maybe I have said it sort of jokingly or out of some fear of going down a rabbit hole of detail. While I can be the quiet one in the group, I do love talking about what I've seen and done as a small-town journalist...

This week's blog was published in the Friday, Jan. 22 edition of the Banner Graphic. _ When I went Tuesday evening to cover Gobin Memorial UMC's honoring the Putnam County residents we've lost to COVID-19, I didn't expect it to inspire this week's blog...

It has been a packed week for me here at the Banner Graphic. Five meetings later, I finally have time to jot down a few thoughts which have cropped up in the meantime. The second week of the month has generally been my "busy week," with the Cloverdale School Board, Cloverdale Town Council, Area 30 Board and South Putnam School Board all having their monthly meetings. ...

It might seem a little too sentimental to consider a new coat as anything other than that. It is just going to keep me warm during the winter and into the spring months. What perhaps came with it, though, was a sort-of sense of empowerment. Or maybe it is a sense of professionalism, a feeling of slimness, I might have been lacking before...

Very much like the rest of you, I am ready for 2020 to finally end. Saying that this has been one for the books might not get to the heart of what we've each experienced. Overhanging it all has been COVID-19, which I think has upended a lot of what we might take for granted. It has also been a traumatic year of socio-political frustration. It has been a year synonymous with social distancing, masks and the Zoom meeting...

Each December, the religion and music departments at Wabash College sponsor a program which is an important event for me -- one which I always look forward to. Called the Christmas Festival of Music & Readings, it is modeled after a century-old program at Cambridge University in England. Verses from the Bible telling of the birth of Jesus Christ are mixed throughout with carols, hymns and other seasonal songs...

On the heels of the first measurable snowfall we've had in the Putnam County area, the cold temperatures have prompted some uninvited guests into my apartment recently. I came back from covering the North Putnam School Board Thursday evening to a mouse scurrying in my bedroom. I scared him into my closet, where he hid behind a stand-up mirror and junk stacked against the wall. He was obviously not coming out...

At the risk of sounding a little crazy here, it seems like Monday or Tuesday was just yesterday. I did have two regular meetings for this week -- but wait! there's more. Indeed, last Tuesday turned into one of the most hectic days I've had in a good while...

The end of my series on participating in the Putnam County Leadership Academy. Last Wednesday, our group had its final session. It was also our wrap-up as we were recognized as graduates of the newly revived Putnam County Leadership Academy...