The only thing I can say to that question is that it's still too early to tell. However, this makes the prospect no less a disappointment for me and many others looking forward. During this time, everyone should be aware that health-care professionals and first responders - and indeed all of us - are at risk of getting sick. It is extremely important not to forget this, and to practice social distancing and stay at home as is necessary...

If you haven't yet read Jared's recent Last Minute Musings column on how we at the Banner would address anonymity during the COVID-19 spread, I encourage you to. I think it would give some grounding into my thoughts shared here in this week's post...

Last Monday morning, I took a call from someone in the Roachdale area who asked if daycares were being ordered to close in light of the developing COVID-19 spread. I responded that I had not heard of such a mandate, after which she said she was shocked that a local daycare was being allowed to stay open. I got her single point being that daycares may be prime places from which the virus could spread quickly...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No it hasn't; and y'all should know me better than to let a week go without something. All our patterns and routines have been disrupted to some degree within the last week. I think the newsroom has paced well with how the COVID-19 spread has impacted our community. It's been stressful, because it has been an hourly development up to now...

When I left the office yesterday afternoon to take my customary pre-meeting snooze, I did not really have much of a notion about what I wanted to write about this week. Every once in a while, though, something will drop into my lap; and this one came to me as a surprise. I will turn the focus toward my alma mater once again for this post...

It is still true that religion or faith in something higher has rarely, if ever, come up in conversation between us in the newsroom. However, I've recently had to consider how I can approach them as a reporter. I have found the implications to be reflective...

A week ago, I was excited to attend a campus event up at my alma mater. I was hopeful that I would see some faculty and staff, as well as maybe a few alumni I knew. In the end, I sat by myself. As such, I was an easy target for a few interesting roasts...

For the past week, I have felt decidedly sluggish and a little off-kilter. I caught a head cold last Thursday, which brought with it a sore throat, stuffiness and clogged ears. But after some Cepacols, a Mucinex pack and replacing my usual coffee with Turkish tea, I am just about out of it. I think that I finally went over the hump a few days ago...

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...