This past week was one of those that has only happened occasionally since I started here at the Banner Graphic. Even so, this blog post isn't going to be all that positive. With this being the second week of the month, normally I would have four meetings to cover with the Cloverdale School Board, Cloverdale Town Council, Area 30 Board and South Putnam School Board. This might seem like a good bit, and, really, it all can be...

I have seen a few of my Facebook friends make a 10-Year Challenge post. I am not really one to get on such a bandwagon. However, I figured I could "bite" on this one. The "challenge" is to pair a 2011 photo of oneself with one from 2021. A similar trend apparently took off in 2019. Meanwhile, it hasn't seemed like the 2021 iteration has had much traction, at least tabloid-wise. It is neither here nor there for this, though...

As we wrap up the year, and as I have had some time to really think about this one, I feel I can discuss the experiences, as well as the complexity, which defined my 2021. Coming in last January, I was hopeful we would be able to put COVID behind us for good. I had an optimism that I would be done with my graduate studies by this time...

Actually, Christmas 2021 being "odd" is more akin to it now being a loaded affair. This time around, this is not going to be like our Christmases past for me and my family. First off, my mom just recently fell from a ladder and broke her left shoulder. She is doing fine and has at least been able to get around. However, with her having surgery on it Thursday and Dad working, our "normal" Christmas plans have changed as such...

First responders have more or less kept me occupied within the past week. This is along with covering two meetings in Cloverdale and a crepe breakfast at Area 30. There was the gas leak that occurred on North Indiana Street in Greencastle last Friday afternoon. Then came the porch light fire at a residence in Cloverdale Sunday morning. (I was basically still in my pajamas for that one.) Then there was my quick turnaround for the rollover on County Road 650 West near Reelsville last Monday...

I would generally describe myself as an "open" agnostic in terms of religion. I don't outrightly deny the potential existence of God or gods. Religion to me is as a coping mechanism, and many take exception with this interpretation. This is okay, though...

Just the other night, a Greencastle firefighter announced to me that he had to go home and "take a dump." This totally random declaration has me now thinking about gossip. I jested that this tidbit would be great for a specialized section in the Banner Graphic: "Greencastle firefighter ------------ lost weight after defecating at his home Thursday." Or something like that. There's not much tact here if you don't have a sense of humor...

Unlike many, my family and I did not visit relatives for Thanksgiving. My maternal grandmother has been in the hospital, and I was told some on my dad's side were sick. I stayed here and "took it easy." I'm okay with this, and getting this post written gave me the impetus to try and flesh out some difficult thoughts about what I do and why...

I have had my 2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer since before I came to the Banner Graphic more than three years ago. Except for maybe one car crash I can remember, I have driven it to every event I've covered. It has issues but has not been truly unreliable...

About a week ago, one of my Wabash buddies asked me if I was dying or in hospice. The context is that he saw a Facebook post about me filling out an advance directive...

Something crazy happened this week that I always hope never will: Covering a major emergency (i.e., a fire or crash) and then having to scramble to a meeting on my beat. It happened with Thursday's two-alarm blaze at John Collier Logging near U.S. 40...

I will not discount the idea that 423 E. Franklin St. might be haunted. Haunted by who or what, though, is more interesting than seeing an apparition. To me, this is history. My mom used to tease me — and maybe still would — that long before the "Great Remodel," she would see a rocking chair move on its own in the living room. I can recall her also professing that she used to hear footsteps which belonged to no one...

As I would assume it is for many, funerals are my least favorite occasions. So far this year, I have attended two family ones, one on my dad's side and the other on Mom's. To give a comparison, my grandpa's was the traditional Mass of Christian Burial. The other, I could say with some hint of irony, was a remembrance for my late aunt which probably took 15 minutes. I am not accounting for the processions to the cemeteries...

Last Monday, I tagged along with the 2021 cohort of the Putnam County Leadership Academy on a whirlwind tour. We also had a very special individual be our tour guide. Jinsie Bingham was an entertaining one to boot. What makes her remarkable, though, is how she is an invaluable wealth of remembrance of how things were, and also have changed, in Putnam County over many years. She has been right here her entire life...

Last Monday, I had the opportunity to talk about the Banner Graphic and what I do as a local journalist with the 2021 cohort of the Putnam County Leadership Academy. They also heard from Scott Monnett and Lea Durbin about the important community service work they do with Family Support Services and the Beyond Homeless shelter, respectively. I insisted that I'd go last, because I wanted Scott and Lea to set the pace...

Many, if not all, of my friends and acquaintances know that I was born with a spinal defect. However, I recognize that many might not know how it affects someone's life. October is Spina Bifida Awareness Month, an annual campaign focused on advocacy and support for those with spina bifida. People like me are also encouraged to share perspectives about the challenges — big and small, occasional or everyday — we have...

In my not quite three-and-a-half years here at the Banner Graphic, I have been to my fair share of crashes and fires. As such, I have developed good rapports — or at least acquaintances — with many of our fire, police and medical personnel along the way...

I readily admit that Facebook and Instagram are big parts of my everyday, especially the former. This is not only in terms of my personal life, but my professional life, too. I always have Facebook up here at the office so I can follow Paul's Scanner, as well as be on the lookout for potential news which doesn't come to us directly. ...

With the caveat that I was only six years old, I don't remember how the days went after the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked back on Sept. 11, 2001. Though it comes in a moment, what I do remember is coming home from school and seeing a photo of the burning twin towers on the front page of the Banner Graphic. This was when we printed six days a week except for Sunday — and how early you got yours depended on how quick your paperboy was. Things have changed since then...

It seems much longer than November 2019 since the last Wabash football game I went to. However, the wait ends this Saturday when the Little Giants return to the gridiron. Wabash will face off against the Rose–Hulman Fightin' Engineers in a non-conference scrimmage beginning at 7 p.m. Aside from it being at Rose, this one will the first night game I've been to. It will not be the first non-Wabash/DePauw campus game for me...