Just look at Elm Street at Brownstown lined with campers and tailgaters, kids playing football near the field and lots of people cheering from the stands.

Then look at Seymour and the people in the parking lot tailgating before the game and then entering Bulleit Stadium ready to cheer on the Owls.

When the two schools collide on the football field, it’s another ball game. In fact, that’s not limited to football–it’s for every sport.

A lot of people look at it as “the big rivalry,” and that was revived only a few years ago after a several-decade absence. It was pitted “Jackson Bowl” last year, and I’ve seen it called “Battle at the Bulleit” this year. The big thing last year was Brownstown winning for the first time in the teams’ eight meetings. That was a back-and-forth game that was exciting to watch, and it was pure high school football.

When I talked to both coaches, Reed May (BC) and Jeff Richey (Seymour), about this week’s game, I got a new perspective on the game, and it’s one I think all people should consider.

While it’s a great money-maker for whichever school hosts it and it draws lots of people, it’s really just another high school football game. Both coaches said they want their players focused on the game–not what goes on in the community (i.e., talk about who’s going to win this year and who won last year, etc.) or the fact that it’s a rivalry game or what each team’s record is. When you get down to it, it really is just another game (as is the case in any sport).

I like that perspective, and I think it’s good the coaches choose not to overhype it all. It’s nice to see the stands full of people and people standing all around watching the game, but it’s another thing to see the players play hard and do their best. No one wants to see trash talk and bullying about who’s winning or going to win. It’s just a game, people. Like Coach Richey said, it’s not the Super Bowl, it’s high school football. I like that perspective.

When the players take the field, I would like to see them play to the best of their ability and do their best to represent their school. That’s what it’s all about, on the field and off the field.

I think that’s what we’ll see on Friday, and I’m sure all of the players and coaches would like to see you there. Whether you’re a football fan or not, just coming out and supporting these high school players is a good thing to do. Maybe it will give you a new perspective, too.

Post from: Journalism Rookie

A lot of this has taken place in the past few days, as fall sports practices have begun.

What about girls golf, you ask? Well, they’ve been at it for a whole week now, and they are beginning their second week. Their season starts a few weeks earlier than the other fall sports. They’ve already climbed around the golf courses and battled the heat in some instances.

Yep, whether you can believe it or not, the fall sports season is gearing up. Doesn’t it just seem like spring sports just finished? Doesn’t it seem like school just ended? It does to me. But, whether we are ready or not, it’s here.

We’ve been working on contacting coaches for our fall sports preview, which is set to print in the Thursday, Aug. 20 edition of The Tribune and online at tribtown.com.
There, you can look for interviews with coaches from Seymour, Brownstown Central, Trinity Lutheran, Crothersville and Medora, as well as rosters and season schedules.

We already ran previews for the girls golf season in the regular edition of The Tribune, and you can find those online. If room allows (and we hope it does), we will at least run a roster and schedule (along with results from matches already played) of the girls golf teams.

If you’re interested in getting a glimpse at some of the teams before the season begins, you have an opportunity this Thursday (Aug. 13) and Friday (Aug. 14) to attend some scrimmages. On Thursday, three county volleyball teams, Seymour, Brownstown Central and Trinity Lutheran, will play host to scrimmages. Seymour will take on Columbus East and Trinity will take on Austin, and BC’s will be intrasquad, including the freshman, JV and varsity teams. All of them begin at 6 p.m. (By the way, if you go to the BC scrimmage, the cost of admission is a bottled sports drink.)
Also that night, the BC tennis team will play host to Scottsburg for a scrimmage. It starts at 5 p.m.

Then on Friday, the Seymour and Brownstown Central football teams will take the field for scrimmages, a week before the season kicks off. Seymour will travel to New Albany, and BC will travel to Jennings County. Both of those games start at 7 p.m.

Check out the Friday edition of the paper and online for coverage of the tennis and volleyball scrimmages, and check out the weekend edition of the paper and online for coverage of the football scrimmages.

Some teams begin their seasons early next week (starting Aug. 17). You may ask why we aren’t running the preview section until Aug. 20. Well, that’s just the date that worked out best, and plus, many of the coaches are finalizing their rosters (and in some cases making cuts). So in the end, it’s just going to work out best to run it that date.

Be sure to stay tuned to tribtown.com and the print edition this fall for full coverage of all five county schools. Best of luck to all of the teams, and we look forward to following your progression this fall.

Post from: Journalism Rookie

At first, I figured there couldn’t be as much going on, and then maybe I could get down to the normal five-day workweek. Well, I am working five days a week, but there’s actually been a good amount of local stuff to cover this summer. But I’m not complaining. That’s a good thing. I’m sure our local reader would much rather read as much local stuff in our paper, given we are a local hometown paper. I know the wire stuff (meaning the national sports) is something people may want to see, too, but I feel we’ve had a pretty good mix this summer.

The summer camps have worked out really well this summer for local sports stories. I figured I would go to all of them between several of the local county high schools. There were several in one week, but that provided a lot of good local stories, and we were able to include two pictures from each camp, which put more kids in the paper (that makes them and their parents happy, I’m sure). I think it’s great to see so many kids involved in these summer camps. That tells the coaches and those helping with camp that athletics at the respective schools have a bright future ahead. It also shows that kids are keeping busy with something fun in the summer, while learning a lot at the same time. Some of these kids do multiple camps in the summer, and that helps them learn the various sports and maybe gives them an idea of what they want to pursue at the elementary, middle or high school level.

One thing I’ve found with the camps is that some of the stories feel like the same thing, but then again, I’ve found a twist to a couple of them. For instance, at the Seymour girls basketball camp, I discovered the high school varsity players are helping with the camp in hopes of obtaining a grant to help them with team expenses. They coordinated the camp and after the week was over they had to get together and answer some questions. I think they also had to include pictures and maybe even video of what they’ve done. I think that’s great.

Another example of a twist to a camp story was the Brownstown volleyball camp. It was for a variety of grades, just like the other camps, but I decided to go to the freshman camp. With all of the success that the high school team has had (making it to the state finals several times in the past seven years or so), there is a growing interest in the camp and the team. It was nice talking to the girls who will be entering that program, and I’m sure they will contribute well to keep that success going.

You go to some of these camps and there may be nearly or more than 100 kids participating. Then there was one camp that had six people. No matter what the numbers are, those kids are still obtaining essential athletic skills that will only make them better.

Speaking of that, I have also done several other feature stories that I just happened to come across. One was about Crothersville’s strength training program, which I didn’t even know existed until I was contacted by the athletic director, Drew Markel.

Markel said it was a growing program and that nearly 60 kids were involved. That’s a lot of kids for this small school. When I walked into the weight room to get some pictures and talk to Markel and the kids, it was a very serious environment, but the kids were having fun. Who knew lifting weights and sweating in the middle of summer could be so fun? Well, it was to them. Kids were scattered all around doing squats, lifting weights, jump roping, etc. and they were helping each other, too. After talking to a couple of the kids involved and to Markel, it was obvious that this truly is a big thing for everyone involved. It was great to see the enthusiasm and the dedication toward this program, which in turn, will boost their athletic program and make it stronger and make more kids interested in going out for sports.

I had heard of the success of the Brownstown Brave Wave swim team, and when I started receiving results from their meets and a schedule, I decided to go to one of their home meets. I remember how much I liked going to high school swim meets with Seymour’s team, so I figured I would like this, too. This was a little different, though. The Brave Wave involves right above 100 kids and they are age 5 to 18. They compete against three other schools in their conference and they all competed this past weekend in the conference meet, which I went to as well. Even though I only went to the two meets (they had six regular season plus the conference meet), I could see the seriousness these kids put into the team. I had the opportunity to talk with two kids after each meet, as well as their coach, Sharon Koch, and I was very impressed with the program. They have now won conference eight straight years and they’ve been undefeated eight straight years. Way to go, Brave Wave.

Another story I did recently came from a story I had received from a local woman. She talked about her sister, Ann Marie Miller, who had recently won a national cycling competition in Louisville. Miller is a former Seymour resident who now lives in New York City. After reading this article about the one race and a little bit about Miller, I knew I wanted to do more than just run the article that was submitted. I had a feeling there was more to this story. It turns it, there was.
It was one of the neatest stories, I thought. After graduating from Seymour High School in the early 1970s, Miller went to Ball State and pursued a teaching and music degree. While in college, she got her first introduction to cycling, but after graduation, she taught back at Seymour for a year. She reverted back to music and ended up in New York and traveled for eight years doing Broadway shows. While in New York, she got back into cycling and joined a club and eventually got her master’s degree related to exercise physiology. She later became a licensed coach and has done a variety of other cycling and fitness things. She’s even met Lance Armstrong a couple of times, and she’s ridden in competitions all over the United States. In all, she’s won nine national championships in her age group (she’s 54), with the two most recent ones being in Louisville within the past couple of weeks. It was just a fascinating story, and there’s more to it than what I just explained. You’ll have to read the full story on our Web site…just search for Ann Marie Miller and you should find it.

Most recently, I was able to sit down and talk with Chris Baker, who is a former Brownstown Central and Iowa State golfer who became professional a year ago. He had a lot of success at the high school level, qualifying for state three times and winning it his junior year. In college, he was the team’s stroke average leader all four years and competed very well there. He ended up winning an Indiana Amateur before he decided to go pro. He then took second in the Indiana Open in 2008, and a year later he was vying for the first-place spot in the Open. He held within the top three in three of four days and ended up placing fourth. But earlier in the spring, the 23-year-old won his first tournament as a professional.
I was able to talk with him and his parents at a recent event at Shadowood Golf Course where Baker invites people that have supported him in his pro golf endeavors in the past year. What people don’t realize is that it takes money to be a pro golfer. You may enter a tournament and pay to get in, but if you don’t place high enough, you go home with nothing. That is money you don’t get back. You may put $5,000 in to enter a tournament to try to make it to the next level (eventually the PGA Tour), and if you don’t make it past a certain stage, that’s lost money.
Can you imagine? I didn’t realize until I talked with him how much of a gamble being a pro golfer is. But at 23, Baker has accomplished a lot and he’s got a great future ahead of him. His ultimate goal is to make it to the PGA Tour, and at the rate he’s going, that’s possible. It’s great to see success like that, and I’m pretty sure he’s the only professional in any sport that’s come out of Brownstown.

Well, I think I’ve touched on quite a bit. This shows how busy I’ve actually been, and it’s been great. I hope you have enjoyed reading these stories about the success of local athletes. There is a lot, and I’m sure there’s more out there of stories we could do. If you think of something, let me know.

Before you know it, fall sports will begin. I don’t know yet if I’ll be back to working six days a week. Stay tuned. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Post from: Journalism Rookie

We are going to make rounds at the local sports camps that are held at the schools and try to work up some pictures and/or stories from that. If you know of a different twist or interesting story idea from these camps (other than just talking about the camps), let me know by phone at 523-7080 or by e-mail at zspicer@tribtown.com.

I’m sure there are stories out there from these camps that we don’t know about–maybe someone has helped with the camps for a long time….there are just things that we may not know about that you may know about that would make a nice story.

Or if you know of any other type of sports-related story (not the camps) that you think would be a story idea, let me know. I’d be glad to hear from you.

I look forward to your thoughts, ideas and input.

Post from: Journalism Rookie

Brownstown Central and Seymour each lost by one run in their first-round games May 26.

So that leaves the four baseball teams and the four golf teams that have yet to get through sectional, and eight track and field athletes will be competing in next weekend’s state finals.

Brownstown Central is the only baseball team that’s begun play. They defeated West Washington May 28 7-1. Games continued at Providence the next night, with the host school beating Austin 10-1 and Clarksville beating Paoli 4-2.
Play resumes there on Monday, when Eastern (Pekin) will take on Providence, followed by Brownstown Central and Clarksville. The Braves defeated Clarksville 3-2 earlier in the season, and they beat Providence and Eastern during the season, so it will be an interesting finish down there. Let’s hope the Braves come out victorious.

If they do, they’ll head to Austin that weekend for the regional.

For Seymour, they are playing host to the baseball sectional. Bedford North Lawrence and Jeffersonville won first-round games on May 28. Seymour plays Class 4A No. 5 New Albany this weekend (May 30) after BNL and Jeff face off. The championship will be Monday.

Whoever wins the Seymour Sectional will venture to Evansville North for regional the following weekend.

At the Class A Springs Valley Sectional, Crothersville and Trinity Lutheran both play Monday (June 1). Crothersville will battle Springs Valley in the first game, followed by Trinity taking on Northeast Dubois in the second game. ND defeated Orleans May 29 to advance.

The winner of this sectional will play in the Loogootee Regional.

Brownstown Central, Seymour, Crothersville and Trinity Lutheran golf teams will compete in the June 5 sectional at Bedford’s Otis Park Golf Club. Three of the teams will participate in invitationals and/or matches this coming week, and they also will have practice rounds at Otis Park. Check the paper next weekend to see if any teams or individuals advance to regional…I have a feeling there may be some.

Finally, boys and girls track will end after next Saturday (June 6). The boys state finals is on Friday and the girls is Saturday, and both take place at Indiana University in Bloomington.
Brownstown Central’s Mark Crossman and Seymour’s Nolan Fife will compete in the 800-meter run, BC’s David Baker in shot put and Seymour’s Drew Royalty in discus.
For the girls, BC’s Maria Allen will go for the title in long jump (she was seeded first and won that at regional), BC’s Jenna Hackman and Seymour’s Christina Moravec will run the 400-meter dash and Seymour’s Taylor Schultz will compete in discus.

Best of luck to all of these teams and athletes in the postseason. It’s been great watching how you’ve done so far, but for several of you, it’s not over yet.

Post from: Journalism Rookie

-You know what impresses me? The small schools in Jackson County, like Crothersville, Medora and Trinity Lutheran, giving students the opportunity to participate in sports (in some cases, more than one sport). In the first place, they are small schools and I think it’s great they offer the sports. Secondly, the kids have done really well this year. They don’t care about there being three or four, maybe a few more, competing in one meet or match. They just look to improve their own game, and that’s something to be admired, in my opinion. They go out there and put forth a great effort. Good for them.

-You know what impresses me? The teams that have turned their seasons around is something to be looked at. Seymour’s softball team is one, as they were 4-12 last season and they are currently 7-7. Also, Brownstown Central’s baseball team was 8-21 and they are 10-7 as of May 15. The Braves recently had a five-game winning streak.

-You know what impresses me? Speaking of winning streaks, the Seymour baseball team put together 10 straight wins recently. Yeah, they then lost three straight, but they’ve picked it back up by winning their last two. They have about five games left before sectional to improve their 17-6 record. Also, kudos to senior Jesse Wilson, who set a school record for career home runs (14) earlier this month.

-You know what impresses me? Trinity Lutheran’s boys and girls track and field teams have done well in their debut at the school. They have participated in five meets this season. The girls won a four-team meet midway through the season and the boys and girls were second in a five-team meet in their final outing. The girls will compete in the Seymour Sectional May 19 and the boys will be at Bedford May 21. Who knows? There may be some Cougar runners advance to regional and beyond.

-You know what impresses me? The Brownstown Central girls track team won the Mid Southern Conference meet May 12 at Eastern High School. It was their eighth straight year of winning the MSC. The girls have had some strong performances this season. They won eight of 10 meets, and they were second in a three-team meet at Jennings County and fourth in a tough Jeffersonville Invitational. The boys and girls team continued their streak at the BCHS Relays, too, each winning for the 16th time this season. They may very well have some runners move out of sectional, too. Same goes for the Seymour track teams.

-You know what impresses me? Two of Jackson County’s baseball teams made their way onto the state rankings list in their respective classes. In recent weeks, Trinity Lutheran moved as high as No. 7 and they were No. 9 last week in Class A. Seymour is on the brink of the 10 top, as they stood at No. 12 in Class 4A last week. Trinity has had a few winning streaks along the way, and they are currently 12-5.

-You know what impresses me? All of the county golf teams have had their ups and downs this season. Part of that is due to young squads. But for the several of the teams, those underclassmen have stepped up quite well. At Seymour, two freshmen, Travis Thompson and Austin Felix, started out the season competing in one of the top four spots in matches, and they have basically remained there. The Owls also have several seniors who have produced some nice scores in different matches, and they are expected to fill that role.
For Brownstown Central, a group of sophomores have had some solid scores this season, and junior Zach Pranger has been consistent. For the seniors, Jeff Turmail recently had his best round of the season (41) and was able to be a part of the team’s match score.
At Trinity Lutheran, a bulk of their players are underclassmen, too. Their scores have varied throughout the season, but the team was 4-1 at one point. Finally, at Crothersville, the golfers have struggled to find a rhytm lately, but earlier this spring, the team won the school’s first-ever match, as they defeated Columbus Christian. The Tigers have only had a team about three years, and several of them play other sports in the spring. Golfers will compete in conference tournaments the weekend of May 23, and all county golfers will play in the Bedford Sectional.

-You know what impresses me? Seymour’s No. 1 doubles team of Rachel Haskett and Kelsey Black have put together a winning senior season so far. The young Owls squad has lost some tough matches this season, but the team will once again play host to the sectional this week, and I’m sure they are looking to put forth a great effort. Haskett and Black advanced to regional last year.
Brownstown Central and Trinity Lutheran also will be at the Seymour Sectional. BC has lost several 3-2 matches this season, and they won their first match of the season (against Trinity Lutheran) on May 14. Trinity also has only won one match this spring.

-You know what impresses me? It’s not about spring sports, but two things have recently happened that are worth mentioning. Two Seymour girls athletes have recently signed to play college sports. Junior Erin Murphy verbally agreed to play basketball at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne after she graduates from SHS in 2010. This past winter, Murphy scored her 1,000th career point, and she has a whole season to add to that.
This last Thursday, May 14, senior Chelsea Hendrix officially signed to play volleyball at the University of the Cumberlands. She’ll begin there in August, and she’s going to study pre-med.
Congratulations to both of these young ladies on quite an accomplishment. People should keep in mind that these are student-athletes, and they have to balance school and sports. That’s no easy task, and I’m sure if you ask them, they’ll agree. But they have shown that it’s manageable.
I’m sure they’ll represent Seymour well.

There may be some other things that I’m forgetting to mention. There also may be some things coming up that I could add to this list. Sectionals for different sports begin soon, with tennis this week and softball the following week. I can’t believe it’s wrapping up already. It’s been a busy one, even with the many rainouts.

Are there some things that have impressed you about spring sports or anything that’s gone on in local sports this spring? If so, feel free to e-mail me at zspicer@tribtown.com. I would be glad to hear your feedback.

So to the Jackson County teams, I wish you all the best of luck as you close the chapter on another season of spring sports.

Post from: Journalism Rookie

Who would have thought you’d be wearing your winter coat and gloves in April? And how does a person manage to get a sunburn while wearing two coats and gloves at a baseball game? Welcome to southern Indiana.

I don’t know how many 40-degree days we’ve had in the past week, but it’s feeling more like winter if you ask me. And I’m sure the athletes and coaches will say the same thing. I’ve heard several of them talk about it. While they are actually out there running or swinging the softball or baseball bats, the tennis raquets or golf clubs, you might think they would be warmer since they are moving. I’m just standing in one place, usually, taking pictures and taking in the action, and I stay cold.

But if you ask them, I’m sure every one of them would say it has an effect on their performance. You have to give them credit, though, for going out there and practicing and competing in weather like that. And so far, I’ve seen some pretty good performances in this weather, so it looks like they are pulling through quite well.

It has, however, caused many events to be postponed, and some are set to be made up and others are unknown. It’s surprised me at the number of things called off so far. Some nights I’ll have 10-12 things scheduled, but by the time I get all of the cancellations, I’m down to about half or even less. Before the season began, some of the spring sports coaches told me they had several games they lost to the weather last year. Some of them even said, had they played those games, they might have had a better record. That’s too bad the weather has that effect on the sports, but that’s certainly out of our control.

From what I have seen so far this year, I’ve been impressed. Like I said, it’s my first time covering any spring sports. Even in high school, I didn’t compete in many sports at all (just my freshman year, I played tennis and golf) and I didn’t go to any spring sport events. I did go to many basketball and volleyball games, but those were indoors. Before this past winter, basketball was my limited writing knowledge, but I got into wrestling and swimming and I liked covering those events. It was a learn-as-you-go thing for me, but I feel more comfortable with it now.

That’s kind of the way I felt about some of the spring sports. Yeah, it may not be too difficult to understand things at a track meet, tennis match or a golf match, but with baseball and softball, you really have to know quite a bit of different rules and things as you are watching. I have learned more in the past few weeks about baseball than I ever knew. I remember going to Louisville Redbirds games when I was a kid, and I used to play minor league, but that was a long time ago. To me, those things really don’t count. Writing about them and keeping your own statistics is a lot different, I’ve learned.

To get to my point (finally), if you haven’t been out to see any of the local high school teams compete in track and field, baseball, softball, golf or tennis yet, I would suggest it. Sometimes, you may think you don’t have an interest in it or even a knowledge of it, but, like me, the more you go to the games the more you learn.
For instance, a few years ago, I didn’t have the slightest clue about football. But when my brother introduced me to it and the more I watched it, I understood it more than I thought I ever would. And now, I really like going to Indianapolis Colts games and watching them on TV.

Three of the Jackson County high schools — Seymour, Brownstown Central and Trinity Lutheran — have all five spring sports. Crothersville has all of the sports besides tennis and Medora only has track.

The most important thing about going to these games, I think, is supporting the student-athletes. Do you realize how much time these kids spend after school working to perfect their swing or their pole vault or their pitch? Plus, they are doing that on top of all of their school work. I don’t see how they do it, but you know what? All of these kids do it, and many of them excel in academics and athletics.
And they should be applauded for their efforts.

Also, no matter how good an athlete is, I think just the fact that they are out there competing and working hard, and in some cases, trying new things, that’s something to commended, too.
Best of luck to all of the student-athletes of Jackson County. I look forward to seeing your progress throughout the (much warmer) season.

***Be sure to follow these teams with complete coverage in the print edition of The Tribune and online at tribtown.com.

Post from: Journalism Rookie

The Tribune has devoted five pages of Section B of the Friday, March 27, 2009, print edition of the paper for the boys basketball state-bound Brownstown Central Braves. The Braves will play for the Class 2A state title Saturday at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

In the section, you will find a front-page story that includes comments from Braves coach Dave Benter as well as an analysis of the other team, the Fort Wayne Bishop Luers Knights.
Information regarding team rosters, recaps of both the teams’ seasons, notes on each team (including a comparison of each), information regarding tickets for the game, directions to Conseco Fieldhouse, complimentary programs, coverage via radio, TV and the Web of all the games, and more can be found in the print edition.

Also, look for pictures from the regular season, sectional, regional and semistate games. There is so much we could have included, picture-wise, but we tried to use as many new things as we could, and we also wanted to be sure to include at least one picture featuring each sectional team player.

So I hope you find the information helpful and valuable and I hope you like the pictures we chose. It is something many people will want to keep, so we tried to put as much info in there as possible. And the pictures really tell a story of the Braves’ stellar season.

You can also visit tribtown.com to read the stories and get all of the information you need. Just click on the blue “Sports” tab at the top of the main page. You can view the photo galleries as well and look around at the sports photos by month and there’s also a special gallery for the Braves’ sectional and regional wins.

If you go to Saturday’s game, I hope you enjoy the experience. Conseco Fieldhouse, I think, is one of the premier sports arenas in the nation, and Indianapolis also is lucky to have the new Lucas Oil Stadium, which is the home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts and it’s also where the girls high school basketball state finals games were played.

Here’s to the Braves, and best of luck to the team. You’ve made Jackson County proud so far, and win or lose, you can still look back on a great experience that you’ll remember the rest of your lives.

***Feel free to leave feedback to me, the sports editor, either here on my blog or e-mail me at zspicer@tribtown.com. Also, you can give me a call at 523-7080. I’d be happy to hear your thoughts on the special section, the Braves, etc.

Post from: Journalism Rookie

There were so many photo opportunities along the Braves’ postseason journey, and it’s a been a great one to follow. Yeah, those group photos, with the players, cheerleaders, coaches and managers, may get repetitive with the trophy or trophy plate designating them the winners.
But the best thing for me to see is the joy and excitement in everyone. It’s really what high school basketball is all about, and that’s always been a big thing in Indiana, of course.

I feel like I’ve covered the Braves quite a bit over the past year or two. I started out covering games a few times a week in February 2007 for The Tribune, and my first one was at Brownstown. Then, the next winter, I did a few games while I was a full-time reporter. Finally, this past winter, in 2008, I became sports editor and covered the Braves some more, as well as the other four high schools in Jackson County.

I have truly savored every game I’ve had the chance to cover since December. I like going to all of the games and following the teams throughout their seasons. But once you cover a team so many times, and see their ups and downs along the way, you really feel like you understand them better.

Brownstown has had some great games this season. Their first win, a Mid Southern Conference game at Salem, was a good way to open the season. Three days later, they played host to county rival Seymour in a game that took two overtimes for the Braves to conquer the Owls, 68-63.

Their third game of the season, an MSC matchup at Scottsburg, was their first bump in the road. The Braves lost by four points. I remember, as a student at Austin High School, seeing the Eagles and the Scottsburg Warriors duke it out every year. Austin always seemed to falter against the Warriors, no matter where they played. But Scottsburg’s Meyer Gym, which is where the Braves played this season, always seemed to be a tough place to play. I don’t know why, but it was, and it still is.

BC then won two straight, but another slump came at the Graber Post Buildings Classic over the holiday break. They went 1-2 there, and they had a season-low by only scoring 38 points in one of the games. They could have faltered from that point on, but they knew they had to pick up the pieces.

In the new year, the Braves seemed to pick it back up as they won all five games in January, and they were 6-3 to close out the regular season. One of the toughest losses came Feb. 7 at Paoli, when the Braves had the game in their hands until the Rams hit a desperation 3-pointer to win 61-58. Also, their makeup game at Austin was rough, as the Braves also had a good lead through the game but the Eagles made a comeback and won 60-55.

But the one game that has stood out to Braves players, coaches and fans is the final home game of the season Feb. 27 against Orleans. It was their only home loss of the season, and they only had 10 points at halftime and lost 51-39. Turnovers also were a factor in that game, and it was just one that the team wanted to forget, but at times it was hard to.
That game was the week before the sectional, which could have played against them.

The good news at sectional was the Braves received the bye, but the bad news was they would have to play the winner of Paoli and Austin, the two teams they lost to in February. It ended up being Paoli, and the teams battled it out on March 6. The Rams’ Logan Laswell produced 33 points, but he was really the only one doing anything for the Rams this time around. The Braves held on and won 58-49.

Then, in the final game the next night, the Braves met up with the host team, Providence, who barely scraped by West Washington on March 6. Providence was the only team in the sectional that the Braves didn’t play in the regular season, so they had to expect the unexpected.

Going into the game, coach Dave Benter knew the Pioneers liked to slow down the ball, and he was right. It was a pretty tight game, except for the first few minutes when the Pioneers scored the first eight points. The game ended up going into overtime, and it was Ryan Shoemaker who took the final shot and made it for the Braves’ first sectional title since 2004.

The next stop was the Southridge Regional at the Huntingburg Memorial Gym, and what a place that was to play. It’s the 19th largest gym in the nation, and there is so much history around the walls of the gym.

The Braves knew going into their first game with Bloomfield that the Cardinals also liked to slow the ball down. It was a pretty tight game until the end, too, but BC won 38-35 to advance to that night’s finals against past regional nemesis Forest Park.
The Rangers defeated the Braves in 2003, but the Braves got redemption the next year, and that was also the year BC advanced to the state finals.
The Braves surprised the Rangers by winning 55-47 to move on.

This past weekend, on March 21, was another neat environment at the Southport Fieldhouse. The Braves were facing another ranked team, this time No. 4 Winchester, who claimed the semistate victory the past two seasons. The Braves got a great start from Spencer Allman, who sank 3-pointers to give BC an early advantage. Then, Winchester’s top scorer Tyler Koch went down with an injury in the first quarter. The Braves took control, but Koch returned in the second quarter.

The Braves led by 10 at halftime, and Koch and the Golden Falcons came alive in the third quarter by going on a 10-0 run and tying the game twice, one of which was the end of third quarter when it was 37-37.
BC scored the first six points in the fourth on their way to the 54-43 win. Two unforced turnovers late in the game for Winchester doomed their bid to the state finals.

So it was then time, once again, for the Braves to take the floor for another group photo, cut down the nets and join the fans in celebration. It was nice for me this time just kind of standing around watching the celebration unfold, and just seeing the excitement on these players’ faces as well as the fans, coaches, managers and everyone involved.

There was a lot of red and black (BC’s school colors) backing the Braves, and I thought it was a nice opportunity for the Band of Braves to get to perform at the game, including doing the national anthem. That’s something they’ll remember, too.

I wonder if it really helped the Braves by having all the fans there and having the band there, because it may have felt more like playing a home game than playing a game that was one away from the state finals.
I didn’t see too many nerves set in throughout the game, and I would think that could easily happen at that stage.

But the Braves have done just the opposite in postseason play so far. Turnovers have been limited at sectional and regional, and that was good to see after the Orleans loss. Yeah, they had more turnovers in the semistate game than they had the previous four games, but they got the win and that’s all that mattered.

This Saturday, when the Braves take the court for the final time this season, I wish all of them the best. They will be facing Class 2A No. 2 Fort Wayne Luers, but so far, the unranked Braves have done well against ranked teams, so who knows what will happen? Maybe third time’s a charm.

Getting the chance to play at that level and getting to play at Conseco Fieldhouse is such an honor and it has been well-deserved. That’s not something that just happens…it takes work and dedication and consistency along the way, and I have really seen that of late.

And it all couldn’t come at a better time. This weekend, Braves, it’s your time to shine once again.

Post from: Journalism Rookie

Really, my job has worked out well. That first week was a little shaky. I had to readjust and get used to not getting up in the morning anymore. Now, I can sleep in a little bit, but I practically have somewhere to go every night. Plus, I’ve had to get used to writing sports again.
The first time I ever wrote sports was in February 2007. In January that year, I had gone to a journalism job fair at Franklin College. Among the editors I met there was Dan Davis, editor of The Tribune. He’s the only one I ended up hearing from, and at the job fair, he asked if I was interested in helping with sports. It was nothing full-time, but I thought maybe it would turn into something. So I took him up on the offer and a few weeks later, I was going to my first basketball game. It was a boys game at Brownstown Central.

I did that for about a month, covering different games at different places. At the time, I didn’t have a full-time job. I had quit my previous employer the summer before and had been looking for a job all that time.
But you know what? Getting my foot in the door via the sports writing paid off. That May, I was hired as a reporter at The Tribune. The job I had been looking for for 10 months had arrived.
The next time I did sports was helping former sports editor Arv Koontz during the winter of 2007-2008. When Arv made the decision earlier this year to retire on Dec. 1, Dan Davis had asked me if I would be interested in taking on the job. I thought, well yeah. For one, it would be a new experience. Two, it was something I was interested in. Three, it was a good way to advance and challenge myself.

So here I am. I now have about one month on the new job. And I can tell you, I feel like it’s going to suit me well. So far, I have written nearly 20 game stories, including boys and girls basketball and wrestling and swimming. I have written a few preview stories, highlighting the weekend’s game. I have done two feature stories, and I have covered one awards ceremony.
Plus, there’s the games and events you have to get results for that you can’t get to or one of the stringers (other writers/photographer) can’t get to. Having those extra people helps, and Arv is still around helping out.
I have appreciated all of the help I have received so far, and I know it’s going to continue. It’s a lot for one person to do, covering five county high schools and three winter sports. Plus, you consider all of those schools have boys and girls basketball, but only one has wrestling and swimming. Oh, and that school (Seymour) has a bowling team, too, that is new this year.

It’s a lot of work, I’ve discovered. But it’s something I enjoy and it definitely requires organization. I actually had tonight off (and yes, it’s Friday during winter sports and I have it off!). That won’t happen for another two months, so I thought I would take some time to write a blog. Better late than never, I guess.

While I may not see people I used to see a lot, covering town government in Crothersville or going to the schools or other places to do stories, maybe if you come to a basketball game or other sporting event, you can see me there. I’ll be there somewhere with a pen and notepad in hand watching high school sports as it happens. If you haven’t ever been or it’s been a while, I would recommend it. The games can get exciting at time, and believe me, I’ve been to a couple of those barn-burners this year. It takes me back to my younger days at Austin Schools, going to volleyball and girls and boys basketball games. The environment is really neat, I think.

So, I guess I’ll see you at the game.

Post from: Journalism Rookie

First and foremost (and I’m sure it’s on everyone’s list…or at least it should be) is family. I’ve always been thankful to have a loving family–my mom, my stepdad, my brother, my grandpa and all my aunts, uncles and cousins. It’s always been nice having family close by. I also have family in other states, such as Connecticut, Tennessee and Georgia, that mean a lot to me, and it’s nice to go visit them or have us visit them when we can. It may not be too often, but when I do get to see them, I enjoy every minute.
I also was thankful to have family when my grandmother passed away in July. She was one of the close family members that I had. She lived right next door and I would visit her as often as possible. She was a strong lady and a true inspiration to me. Knowing the kind of person she was and having family around after she passed away helped me get through things. I still miss her so very much, but knowing I, along with my mom, grandpa and other close family, had support from other family helped tremendously. I’m forever thankful for that.

Secondly, I am thankful to have the friends I do. That’s something that’s also probably–and should be–on everyone’s list. Everyone has friends. It doesn’t matter how many you have, but that you do have them. For that, you should be thankful. They, like family, are there to support you in a lot of things you do. How can you not be thankful for that?
Some people, like me, consider many of their family members their friends, too. So that definitely makes me thankful.

Thirdly, I am thankful to have a job. Amidst the economic downturn and struggles, everyone that has a job should be thankful. It took me about 10 months to find the job I have now, and through that time, I was unemployed. But now that I’ve been on the job for nearly a year and a half, I’m definitely keeping it for as long as I can. I don’t want to be put in the situation of quitting a job and trying to find another one. I don’t recommend you do that, but I know sometimes it just happens and it’s out of your control. If you are unemployed, I can only wish you the best in your search for the right job that suits you and that you like going to every day. It can be tough, and I’ve heard recently that unemployment levels are high. That’s too bad to hear, but it doesn’t surprise me with all the struggles everyone is going through. I enjoy my job and I’m going to keep doing it to the best of my ability.

Fourthly, I am thankful for the hobbies I enjoy, like music, exercising and sports. Music is a true escape, and it’s always something I want to surround myself with. I’m not a musician and I don’t sing. I didn’t mean that kind of music. I enjoy listening to it, and also going to concerts to hear and see it live. That’s a totally different thing. It doesn’t require me to sing, and for that, you should be thankful. I’m thankful to have a mother and a brother who go to these concerts with me. And there was that one concert I went to with a couple people from work, and that was definitely fun, too. But sometimes, it’s hard to get people from work together because of schedules and everything. When we do get the chance, I’m sure we’ll do it again.

With exercising, I know I don’t do it as often as I should. But I do enjoy walking and running, although I can’t run that fast. It’s not like I run a mile a day or anything. I don’t even want to think about that. Just enough to get the blood pumping, and hopefully get some weight off. I will say that’s not working out too well. When you go eat Mexican food and then go home and watch “The Biggest Loser,” that may be a bit of a contradiction, but hey, that’s just what happens sometimes. Losing weight is still a goal of mine.

And with sports, I have my brother to thank for sparking this interest. I’ve always liked basketball, and my favorite teams are the Indiana Pacers and the Connecticut Huskies, although I follow the Pacers a little better than the Huskies. I really like going to Pacers games when I get the chance, but I will say it’s just not the same without Reggie Miller.
A couple years ago, my brother got me into football. Up to that point, I had no clue about how football was played or anything. Now, I really understand it. Granted, there are still some things I don’t know, because there is a lot to know, and it’s a learning process. What’s really good is having the chance to go see Indianapolis Colts games. I enjoyed the several games I saw in the RCA Dome, but it’s no longer there. Now, there’s the brand new Lucas Oil Stadium. And if you ever saw a game in the Dome and haven’t been in the new stadium, you are in for a treat. This new place is unbelievable (in a good way), and it’s absolutely amazing. I will say that, with Lucas Oil and Conseco Fieldhouse both in Indianapolis, fans should be proud because they are two of the elite stadiums in the country, in my opinion.

I know there are probably other things I’m forgetting to mention, but I have already mentioned a lot. These were the first things that came to my mind, and to me, these things are really important. They help me along through every day, they have made a difference in my life and for all of these things, I truly am thankful.
I hope you have taken the time to think about what you are thankful for. I know you are probably busy, but I ask you to take some time to think about it. If it helps, write it down or type it out like I did. But just so you at least think about what you are thankful for, the effort will be well worth it. It doesn’t take that much time, and believe me, it will give you a good feeling inside.

Post from: Journalism Rookie

I’ve used the words honorable and respectable recently, and those words truly describe veterans, too. We should honor them and we should respect them. Each and every one of our veterans did something that not everyone could do. How could you not respect what they did?

Several schools in Jackson County held programs. Cortland Elementary, Margaret R. Brown Elementary, Redding Elementary, Emerson Elementary and Crothersville Schools all held programs. Also, programs were held at the American Legion Post in Seymour and in front of the courthouse in Brownstown. These programs varied in length, but just the fact that people took time out of their day to honor veterans says a lot, I think.

I went to the Crothersville program on Monday, the day before Veterans Day. Crothersville FFA has organized the event for several years. There were two differences with this year’s program. First, it was moved from the cafetorium to the gymnasium, because this year, they invited the elementary school students to the program. They also were part of a special presentation at the end, which was another difference this year. They unfurled an oversize flag over the bleachers and high school Principal David Schill read the story about Old Glory.
The whole program was very moving for me, and I know a lot of other people there were moved as well.
From Erica Doyle’s essay about her grandfather, who is a veteran, to Leah Schill and Joey Needler reading a poem to the state FFA officers explaining and demonstrating the 13 steps to properly folding a flag, it was amazing how quiet the gym was and how attentive that many students could be. But there was more.
While the huge American flag was unfurled over the bleachers and Schill read the patriotic salute, there practically was silence in the gym. The way Schill read the salute was just as moving. I was very impressed with the students participating in and attending the program.
There were five veterans on hand. I was sitting next to one of them, Mike Fink, who is also the county veterans affairs officer. He told me, after hearing Doyle’s essay, how moving that was for him. He was very impressed.

Then, sitting behind me was Zack Nease, a veteran who is originally from Austin and who now lives in Crothersville. It was his first time attending the Crothersville program, and he said it won’t be his last. One reason he came this year is that three of his grandchildren are students at the school, and one of them helped unfurl the flag. I talked to him after the program about his service, which he said is difficult to talk about at times. That’s totally understandable, though. He said, while watching the program, he was moved to tears at times.

I also attended the Veterans Day program at the Legion Post in Seymour. Pastor Philip Bloch of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Seymour was the main speaker. His words were so thought-out, honest and sincere. I thought the way he presented his words was perfect. While looking at the veterans and their families in attendance, they were listening to every word Pastor Bloch was saying. All the words were true, how these men and women paid the ultimate sacrifice for all of us.

While I didn’t get the chance to attend any other programs, I was happy with what I got to go to. Some of the other reporters went to a couple of the other programs. By looking at the pictures and reading the stories, many people put a lot of hard work into each program in Jackson County. All of them should be proud of their work, and those who attended the programs should be acknowledged, too.

Another word describing veterans that I thought of while writing is unselfish. Don’t you think it takes a lot of a person basically volunteering themselves to fight for their country in a time of war? I know some people entering the military because it’s truly what they want to do or what they felt the call to do. Or maybe their family has a long line of military background, and they just want to carry on the tradition. There are also those, like Nease, who were drafted, and that’s another story. But whatever the circumstance, they were unselfish for putting their life on the line and helping provide things we are grateful to have today–like our freedom, our rights and our safety.
Be grateful for those things every day, and also, be grateful for veterans, too. If they hadn’t done what they did, where would we be today?

Post from: Journalism Rookie

I think it’s great that grandparents are honored in these ways. The local schools, Immanuel Lutheran and St. Ambrose Catholic, have done that for the past couple of years, but I’m sure it’s been longer than that. Last year, I visited St. Ambrose and reporter January Wetzel wrote about Immanuel’s day.
I enjoyed seeing the kids interact with their grandparents. Whether they were playing checkers or Connect Four or they were making photo frames together, it was a neat thing to watch. Seeing the smiles on the faces of the kids and the grandparents was priceless.

This year, I wasn’t able to cover either event, but January and reporter Jill Treadway did. Their article and photos will appear in the paper sometime this week, and I look forward to reading about them. I took a glance at some of the pictures already, and it reminds me of the activities I saw last year.

To me, grandparents are people that you respect and honor with dignity. They are such special people and it’s hard not to love them. There are people out there that don’t get along with their mother or their father, but you hardly ever hear about someone not getting along with a grandma or grandpa. It’s unfortunate that some people don’t get along with one or both of their parents, but sometimes, that’s just the way it goes.

I lost my grandmother, Marjorie Fields, in July of this year. Things sort of happened fast. She unexpectedly had to go into the hospital. She was there for about two and a half weeks, then returned closer to home into a nursing home for a couple days before ending back up in the hospital for about five days. Then on July 16, she passed away.

I remember that day so vividly. I was here at work and got a call around 4:30 and my mom told me to get to the hospital as quickly as I could. I didn’t have a good feeling then, and she didn’t go into details. Then, I got there and found out she had passed away. All I could do is just stand there in shock, trying to hold back the tears. It was a hard day for my family and for me.
It helped, however, when three of my grandma’s family members came in from Connecticut and Tennessee to come to the funeral and be with all of us for a few days. I think that really helped my mom, too. She was having a hard time.
Having those people around, though, seemed to make a world of difference.

Through all of this, however, I will always remember a couple of things from the day of the funeral. First, I was able to speak at the funeral. I shared memories of my grandmother, ones that I will remember forever. Also, I was one of the pallbearers, and that’s an honor in itself, I think. And two of my cousins that were visiting, Jennifer Martin and Larry DeVivo, were pallbearers as well. I appreciate them for doing that, and I know it was an honor for them, too. It sure was an emotional day, and I think about Nanny every day.

Hopefully, you have the same respect for your grandparents as I do. There are so many good things I can say about both of them. I’m lucky to still have my grandpa, Roger Fields, and I see him nearly every day. It was always nice having them right next door, and I enjoyed going over and seeing them. It always put me at ease and made me relax from all the things I had gone through that day. It always put a smile on my face to see my grandparents, talk to them and just be around them. I loved joking around with them, and since my grandma didn’t drive, I never minded taking her places she needed to go. It’s hard to go over to their house anymore, without my grandma sitting there in her rocking chair. I still call it Nanny and Grandpa’s house.

But it’s the memories of her that are kept alive, and that’s what I think about. So, for you, make sure you do the same thing. Respect your grandparents, love them for who they are and savor every minute you have with them. I wish when I was in school, we did programs like this honoring grandparents. I’m sure the kids and grandparents that participate in these special events enjoy every minute. Those moments, along with all of the other ones in your everyday life, are ones that will last a lifetime.

Post from: Journalism Rookie

People were lined up down Interstate 65, U.S. 31, Interstate 265 and Indiana 62 to get to the rally. I couldn’t believe it. I arrived two hours before the program was to start and I ended up being about an hour late. I was able to maneuver my way in to where I needed to be, and I was lucky to even get in. When all was said and done, I was pleased with what I was able to get and do. It was neat to be a part of that for everyone there, whether they are Republican or Democrat.

Same went for the other political events in southern Indiana I’ve covered this year, including Bill Clinton’s visit to Seymour on behalf of his wife, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, when she was running against Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in the primary; Obama’s visit to Columbus East High School for a town hall-style meeting; and when Chelsea Clinton stopped by Jennings Township Volunteer Fire Dept. in Austin to campaign for her mother and also do a town hall-style meeting.

Why is all of this good for voters? Because, for Hoosiers, there are several important races on the ballot. And, for once, people are saying, Hoosiers’ votes for president actually will count, make a difference and matter. If that isn’t encouragement for people to get out and vote, I don’t know what is.

Of course, you have president to vote for. That’s the one on top of everyone’s mind, for sure.
Statewide, there is the race for Indiana governor, featuring Republican incumbent Mitch Daniels against Democrat Jill Long Thompson and Libertarian Andy Horning. Then, throughout the state, there are Senate and House races. Breaking it down even more, locally, there are races for county offices and school boards.

Each one of these races are significant. I don’t want to hear anyone saying, “Oh, my vote doesn’t matter.” You know, this time it really does. And in the May primary, it did, too.
So kudos to those who voted in May, kudos to the people that have taken advantage of early and absentee voting and, while I’m at it, kudos to the people that go out on Election Day Tuesday and vote.
I may be among the people that don’t like to be hounded at the door on Election Day while being handed things like matchbooks and cards from poll workers. Those things aren’t going to sway my vote. I already have an idea of who I’m voting for anyway. But that’s beside the point, I guess. I still go and exercise my right to vote.

So on Tuesday, make a difference, let your voice be heard and vote. I know it’s your right and you don’t have to do it, but when you do it, I think it makes you feel like maybe, just maybe, your one vote may make a difference. That’s what elections and politics are supposed to be about anyway, right? Making a difference, offering a change. I’m ready for both of those things, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Post from: Journalism Rookie

It doesn’t mean you have to follow every little thing said or done by either candidate, but at least listen to their main issues and what they want to accomplish. That’s what’s important anyway.

This person should be strong, tough, straightforward and ready to get right into the issues. No, you can’t expect them to come in and change or save the world. That’s impossible for anyone to do. But you’ve got to have someone that relates to people, that will make a difference, that listens to the people and, of course, since it’s been mentioned numerous times during this election, that will offer change.

Watching the second presidential debate, which was televised live from Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday night, I will honestly say that I wasn’t overly impressed with either candidate, Barack Obama or John McCain–and that was just after the first hour of watching the debate. I know it’s a debate, but I don’t like to listen to two people, especially politicians, discredit each other’s accomplishments or their past actions. That really turns me against someone when that’s all they do. I don’t know if they realize what it makes them look like, but if that’s all they do, well, I can guarantee they won’t have my vote.

Also, did you notice how many times Tom Brokaw, the moderator, would ask a question and Obama and McCain would start on topic but eventually slide off topic and go back to another issue or statement that was brought up? It was often a way to “correct” a false statement about their view or past voting in the Senate, or even their belief on issues, that the other candidate made. Many times, too, they were going well over their one- or two-minute timeframe to answer a question.
And why is there so much focus on the past? If they did something so horribly wrong in the past, they wouldn’t be running for president. I’m more concerned with the future. Aren’t you?

One thing that I did like about the debate is the style in which it was done. The town hall-style meetings are great. Obama used that style when he stopped in Columbus in April before the primary election. It’s a much better way to interact with those who are there, since after all, those are the people who care about what they have to say and those are the ones voting. I think it’s a much better atmosphere, more personal.

You know what I want to hear from presidential candidates and from any local candidates? The issues. That’s right, the issues. Nothing else. That’s what matters anyway, isn’t it?
I don’t like to see ads on television slamming or name-calling the opponent or saying this or that. I notice the ad, but it sure changes my view on that person, no matter what political party they represent. That’s what any type of advertising tries to do: to draw you in and get your attention, to make a statement and make it quick. Some people may think these political ads accomplish these goals. But in the end, I think the more important ads, and the ones that really stick with me, are the ones just about the candidate.
I don’t know how many times I’ve seen these ads and found myself wondering who the ad was really for. Usually, you have to wait until the end of the ad and someone “approves this message.” That’s who the ad is for, but if the ad was more about saying this or that about their opponent, I honestly won’t consider that person when voting.

There are going to be some very interesting elections here in Indiana and in the nation. Locally, once again, you have Baron Hill vs. Mike Sodrel, and Libertarian Eric Schansberg is on the 9th District Congressional ticket again, too. The discussion of political ads has already come up between these two. Yeah, I’ve seen the “attack ads,” but Hill does have ads out with local veterans, for example, and other ads focused on just him. Not Sodrel, not anyone else, just Hill. That’s what I want to see.

In the state, the governor’s race is the one on people’s minds. Will Mitch Daniels, the Republican incumbent, be re-elected? Or will Jill Long Thompson, who narrowly beat out Jim Schellinger in the May election, come in and offer her Democratic stance and jump in the Statehouse seat?
Who knows, but I think both of the above mentioned races will be good ones.

Then, of course, will it be Barack and Joe Biden or McCain and Sarah Palin? I watched parts of the vice presidential debate last week. I will say that that debate caught my eye more than the presidential one. Biden and Palin were pretty confident in their words, and there were good things said by both, I thought. Of course, the critics were quick to judge and say things about each candidate, but what I’ll consider is what I thought of both candidates. Same will go for the presidential election.

Election Day is less than a month away. Are you ready? Did you register to vote if you weren’t already? This is an important time and an important election. Yeah, the candidates will be coming into office at tough economic times in the country, and there are other issues, I know. But over time, at least give the candidates who are elected time to sit down and begin their work to make a difference, take a stand and move the country–and state–forward.
That’s probably what most people want, and that’s what everyone deserves. We need a leader, a fighter, a “tough cookie.” And I think we’ll get that.

I know who I’m voting for already. Do you?

Post from: Journalism Rookie

John Mellencamp’s concert Tuesday at the Crump Theatre in downtown Columbus was the most intimate concert I’ve ever been to. And after talking to a few people afterwards about the show, they felt the same way.
Mellencamp last performed at the Crump on Oct. 4, 1976. That was when he was known as Johnny Cougar, and the performance followed his show at the Seymour National Guard Armory. So in this area was where his career began.
It was only fitting to return there as A&E was filming the concert to insert in its new series “Back Where We Started” for the Biography Channel.
To John, this was a historic event because it’s where his career kicked off. To the spectators, it was a historic event because they were a part of this intimate setting.

What made it that way was how personal Mellencamp was throughout the show. After beginning the show with two classics, “Pink Houses” and “Paper In Fire,” following with a new song “My Sweet Love” and then another classic, “Check It Out,” Mellencamp went through an acoustic set. That’s when it became personal. It was just him, his guitar and the audience.

First was “Minutes to Memories.”
“When this song was written, I was 32 years old,” Mellencamp told the audience. He wrote the song with fellow Seymour native George Green on the lawn of Indiana University in Bloomington. The song presents a straightforward message with one line reading “You are young and you are the future, so suck it up, tough it out and be the best you can.”

Next, Mellencamp played some old songs, several of which he hadn’t played in 30 years. “I Need a Lover” was the first one, then as he strummed his guitar searching for the right melody, he began singing “To M.G. (Wherever She May Be)” and two others which he stopped in the middle and admitted he couldn’t remember the words.
“I’m going to play one more I don’t know, then I’m going to go back to the regular show,” Mellencamp joked.
“Longest Days” and “Small Town” were the two other acoustic numbers. The first one is from his July release, “Life, Death, Love and Freedom.” He told the story of his 100-year-old grandmother from Seymour. He had returned to Seymour to see her when she was dying. She suffered from dementia.
Mellencamp said she told him to lay down with her, and she began praying and saying “Me and Buddy are ready” (she called John “Buddy”). Then, John replied, “No, I’m not ready.”
But one line she told him before she died was the inspiration to the song: “Buddy, life is short, even in its longest days.”

At the end of “Small Town,” John’s amazing band members rejoined him onstage for the rest of the evening. But first, he was talking about returning to the Crump, admitting he barely remembered playing there 30 years ago because he’s played about 50,000 shows since then.
His worst show, he recalled, was in 1977 in Liverpool, England. It was a time when the Beatles were popular, and it was an exciting time for music. John and his crew carried all their stuff down many flights of stairs in the run-down venue in which they were playing. Upon finally reaching the stage, he looked out and there were only three people in the audience.
And for his best show, John said, “I’m still trying to do that one.”

His band then resonated sound and John belted out “Rain on the Scarecrow” and two new songs, “Troubled Land” and “If I Die Sudden.” Then, he asked the audience if they were ready, and he went into “Crumblin’ Down,” “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.,” “Jack and Diane” and ending the night with his 13-year-old son, Speck, joining the band on guitar with “Authority Song.”
Before his last song, Mellencamp told people in the audience that he hoped they have peace in their lives and achieve all their dreams. He said he was fortunate to come from a small town like Seymour and do what he does for a living. By touring all over, he said it’s given him a “broad vision of the world.”
“Don’t give up, even in this crazy world,” he said, and to never give up “because life goes on.”
What an inspiring message at the end of one of the best shows I’ve seen (and probably one of the best shows for many others there). Since Mellencamp’s last appearance at the Crump, he has sold 40 million albums, he has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and has had 12 Grammy nominations, among other things. Pretty amazing, I think, for a guy from small-town Indiana.

Also, another highlight of the night was the opening act for Mellencamp, the Debuteens and Musicmen from Columbus North High School. They had a great opportunity to sing three of Mellencamp’s songs a cappella: “Our Country,” “Peaceful World” and “Your Life Is Now.” I was extremely impressed, as I’m sure many others were, too.

The next night, my mom and I went to “An Evening with Vince Gill” at the Indiana University Auditorium in Bloomington.
Fifty-one-year-old Gill has had a successful career, spanning nearly 30 years.
This was also a special performance. It was just Gill and three band members in a relaxed atmosphere. It wasn’t your typical concert, with people on their feet the entire night. But sometimes, I think, it’s good to just sit down, relax and enjoy the music.
That’s what Gill said he was aiming for with this specific tour.

He played several of his hits as well as newer songs from his four-CD, 43-song release in 2006. He did songs he wanted to do, but he also asked the audience several times what they wanted to hear.
Among the audience selections was “Go Rest High on that Mountain,” a sombering, moving song he said was written about his late brother, who suffered a bad wreck at age 21 and had been drinking. He was in a coma for months, but he pulled out of it before dying several years later.

He also sang a song, “Buttermilk John,” which was a tribute to a steel guitar player he used to have in his band.
I would say, though, that the most humorous stories of the night came when he was talking about his father. Gill said his father supported him through the hard times when he was trying to make a music career. Then, when he finally reached the top of his career, and he had many hits, was host of a country music awards show, among other things, that’s when his father became a critic, he said.
Gill’s fame was something new for his father to take in.

Growing up watching “The Porter Wagoner Show” with his father, Gill enjoyed those times. But many years later when Dolly Parton asked Gill to provide vocals on her hit, “I Will Always Love You,” Gill quickly took up on the offer. Parton was a staple on Porter Wagoner’s show for many years, and the audience adored her, including Gill’s father.
Many years later when Gill talked about Wagoner’s songs, his father said he didn’t know any of them. Gill told him they had been watching the show all those years, and he didn’t understand why he didn’t know the songs.
Come to find out, it wasn’t Wagoner he was watching–it was Dolly.
When Gill was asked by Dolly to sing the song on TV with her, Gill called his father up in the early-morning hours and told him the news. His father said, “Really?”
That’s when his father drove the 8-hour trip from Columbus, Ohio, to Nashville, Tenn., to get the chance to meet Dolly backstage.
His father was the most excited he had ever been, Gill said, with the biggest smile on his face. All his father wanted was a picture of him and Dolly together. But the best part was yet to come.
When Gill got the photo processed, he looked at it and laughed. His father was standing there with the biggest grin on his face, not looking straight at the camera, but at Dolly’s…um…”assets.” (I think you know what I mean…).
I just thought that was a really funny story, one of several Gill spoke of his father.

These are some of the reasons why these two shows were not your “typical” concerts. It was good to experience something like this and truly feel a part of it. If you ever get a chance to do something like this, I really recommend it. For those who were there, it’s something to remember forever. I’m just grateful I was one of them.

***”Check It Out”: go to the following link to view the story I wrote about the Mellencamp show: http://www.tribtown.com/articles/crump_9959___article.html/song_columbus.html
Enjoy!

Post from: Journalism Rookie

The first was learning about the melon crop, of which Jackson County is well-known. I headed out in the field at VanAntwerp’s on U.S. 31 with David Sturgill, and he showed me exactly how it’s all done. That’s really the only way you learn something–to see it for yourself.
He also provided some interesting, useful information about melons, like how you know when they are ready for pickin’ and when they are ripe.
Then I headed to Tiemeyer’s near Vallonia and got some more information and tips from Tim Tiemeyer.
I enjoyed finding out more about watermelons and canataloupes, and now I know why people love the Jackson County crop so much.

A few weeks later, I went on the annual Greater Seymour Chamber of Commerce Agribusiness Commitee’s Ag Tour. It’s something they’ve offered for more than 25 years, and it alternates between farms and industries, both of which are plentiful in Jackson County.
This year, it was farms, and we were taken on a tour of Myers Sod Farm and Schneider Nursery.

Operated by Adam Myers, Myers Sod Farm began five years ago with 12 acres, grew to 230 acres this year and 300 acres will be seeded this fall. Myers rents a portion of the acreage, but owns 70 acres southwest of Cortland.
Kentucky Bluegrass and Turf Type Tall Fescue are equally divided on his fields.
What’s interesting about his operation is he also grows tomatoes, soybeans and corn, which is all on rotation with sod. For example, where the sod is this year, tomatoes will be there next year, and the following year, there will be corn and soybeans.

His 12 acres were set while he was still a student at Purdue University and working for a farmer. That went so well that he kept doubling his acres, and a trend was quickly set, and before he knew it, he had 230 acres.
By taking classes in the ag engineering program at Purdue, he learned it just wasn’t for him. So he opened his own business, and since he had worked with landscapers, sod fit right in. By having sod near Seymour, it offers landscapers a savings because they don’t have to drive all the way to Indy or Louisville to get it.

Myers said 95 percent of the sod stays between Indy and Louisville, and it can be seen on several high school football and softball fields and the new 18-hole golf course at French Lick Casino & Resort. But with the fluctuating economy, Myers has received business outside the state, including a job in West Virginia his crew recently completed.

The second stop was at southern Indiana’s largest nursery, Schneider, located on U.S. 50 between Seymour and Brownstown. It’s acre upon acre (more than 500) of trees and shrubs. Plus, they have flowers and plants and all the gardening essentials.
George Schneider began the business in 1949, and it became incorporated in 1970. His children, Marge, Jeff and Grant, oversee the current operation.
George began the business as a truck farm, before he picked up on the growing industry of nurseries.
Once the “Inc.” was added to the name, Jeff and Grant saw the business benefiting more with wholesale. Since then, it’s become well-known across the Midwest for all types of trees and shrubs. The majority of the business is wholesale, but there is still about 25 percent of it as retail.

All of the orders are specially dug, Marge said. You can’t pick out the tree you want because of the way they have to balance the fields with the various types of trees. Plus, it all has to do with how the trees grow and mature.
When flooding hit in June, Schneider was affected. Floodwaters smothered trees north and south of the railroad tracks, and about 5,000 plants and trees were lost. But, things have already been replanted, and Grant said that’s just how business rolls on.

While the flooding the area received wasn’t the result of rain in the area (it was north of here), some rain could have helped the trees and plants recently (but not flooding like we received). The past two summers have been dry, prompting workers to water things more frequently.
The economy has also affected business at Schneider, but they have been able to take advantage of it. Grant said by thinking ahead and planting trees now, when the trees are mature and ready to go in six to eight years, they will most likely be in demand. Also, the cost of things are cheaper right now, so you might as well plant.
He also predicts the economy will be better by then.

That’s the tricky thing about business. It all revolves around the economy, and the rule of supply and demand plays an important role. Those are just some of the things you learn by taking tours of places like this and learning something that you didn’t know before.
It truly makes you have a better understanding and appreciation of what someone else does on a daily basis.
I say that as I sit in my cubicle in an air-conditioned building. But one good thing about this job is it’s not always about sitting inside doing my work. It’s also about getting out there and reporting on things, learning new things and meeting new people.
Maybe it’s time for those of us who sit and work in an office all day to get out there and see what it’s like in the day in the life of someone who works all times of the year, battling all sorts of weather. You may not actually be doing the work, but just gaining some understanding of what someone else does just may change your view.
It sure made changed my perspective.

Post from: Journalism Rookie

And in just a few months, it will no longer be there. But I guess one good thing about it, before they tear it down to make more area for parking and access to the brand new Lucas Oil Stadium, is that they are giving people a chance to have a “piece of the Dome,” inside and out. If you want a piece of the field turf, you can get it. If you want a piece of the teflon-coated fiberglass inflatable roof, you can get it. It comes with a price, but to those die-hard fans out there, it’s something they’ll cherish.

My brother and I were among the 60,000+ fans who filled Lucas Oil Stadium, the new home of the Colts, on Sunday for the first NFL game in the venue. Yeah, it was pre-season, but it was still exciting to see this magnificent new piece of the downtown skyline.
The Dome always had a unique look, and it sure was a good place to see a football game. You could enjoy it no matter what the weather outside was like. It was so loud in there, with all the fans backing their home team. The atmosphere was just incomparable.

Walking around the outside of Lucas Oil Stadium, all I wanted to do was look up and see this huge brick building, with who knows how many windows, and I was just blown away. It’s much taller than the Dome, and it almost even looks like you could fit the Dome inside this new place.
Once we got to go inside, about two hours before the game, my jaw dropped again. I think my brother’s did, too. You walk in and you are practically right in the stadium. With the Dome, you could walk all around the inside of it, and you really couldn’t see the field. With Lucas Oil, the first thing you see is this huge field just feet away.

All in the lobby area, there are various vehicles and things with Lucas Oil insignias. If you turn back and look above the main entrance doors, there are pictures of Coach Tony Dungy, Peyton Manning and other Colts players, with the words “Lucas Oil Stadium” and a phrase about champions. Over to the left of the main entrance, there is a two-story Colts Pro Shop, filled with all the Colts merchandise you need. Venturing up to the second level to check things out, it was amazing to get a little higher view of everything. It was also neat looking down at the people coming into the stadium. It was like a sea of blue and white. People really get into the Colts, believe me. We didn’t walk through all of the stadium, but it was just Colts stuff everywhere.

But the most impressive is the field and the core of the stadium. And when Colts President Jim Irsay pushed the lever to slowly open the retractable roof, that was one of the neatest features of the new place. Then, people looked back and the windows above the top section of seating opened up, providing a view of the skyline of Indianapolis. I read where it’s the largest movable glass wall system in the world. How cool…

There are also huge screens in each corner showing highlights of the game and other things. The seats are a little roomier, and it seems a lot brighter, too.
One thing we noticed is that it didn’t seem as loud as it usually does. That’s probably because it was a pre-season game and many of the big players didn’t play that much, especially after the first quarter or two. Plus, the Buffalo Bills were pretty much running the game. During the first half, they had possession about twice as long as the Colts. The Bills ended up winning, too, so that put a little damper on the game.

But, still, it was a great day for my brother and me, and I’m sure many other Colts fans were just as excited to see the new stadium, especially with this being the first game in the new stadium. Everyone who entered the stadium that day received a certificate of attendance. It also marks the 25th year the Colts franchise has been in Indianapolis (it was in Baltimore before that).
So it was a day to celebrate for all the work put into the new stadium (it took nearly three years and more than 1,000 workers per day to get it done), and it was a day for all the Colts fans to get a look inside the new home stadium. I think Indianapolis, and the whole state for that matter, should be proud to have two of the finest sports arenas in the nation: Lucas Oil Stadium and Conseco Fieldhouse, home of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers.

I’m sure when the season opens Sept. 7 against Chicago, Colts fans will kick it in gear and be loud and proud as the team looks toward Super Bowl XLIII…and hopefully being champions of Super Bowl XLIII.
I bet some people are even looking forward to the Super Bowl in 2012. That’s when the Colts host the biggest game of the year.
Who knows, they just may be there.

Post from: Journalism Rookie

But I did, ever since season 5. It was the season after Carrie Underwood had taken the title, and a guy from work had gotten me interested in it. He had bought Underwood’s single and he said he listened to it over and over.
So what did I do? I downloaded the song and I kind of got hooked, too.
So I thought I would check out “Idol” the next season. Now, I’m glad I did.

It runs from January to May, and it begins with many weeks of auditions and they are first narrowed down to the top 24. That number is gradually cut in half. When the top 12 are named, then it’s all business. That’s when there are themes every week, and some celebrity mentors are thrown in along the way. This past season, the contestants got to perform the songs of the mentors, so that was something new.

Once the winner has been named in May, the top 10 have a little time before starting up a tour in late summer. I have been fortunate the past three years that the tour has stopped locally, the first two years at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky., and this year at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.
After several months, when the winner has been announced and it’s no longer on TV, it gets close to the tour and you get excited once again to see the people that sort of became familiar to you as you watched them, week after week, get closer to being the next American Idol.

If you are into “Idol” at all, you need to see the tour. The past couple years, I’ve gone with my mom. She’s the only one in the house that’s into “Idol.” (I got her into it, too.) But I’m glad she is; otherwise, I’d be going by myself. But this year, along with my mom, a couple people from work, January Wetzel and Pat Bott, went along, as well as Pat’s husband, Tom.
We packed into my mom’s Ford Escape and headed down I-64 on the hour and a half trip. January was so excited to see David Cook, this year’s “Idol.” And Pat and Tom seemed to favor David Archuleta, this year’s runner-up. I think my mom’s favorite was David Cook, too. For me, it was really, really hard to pick my favorite. Of course, I liked the Davids as well. But there was hardly anyone in the top 10 that didn’t deserve to be there. But, OK, if I have to pick, for the guys my favorite was David Cook and for the girls it would be Carly Smithson. They can both carry their voices really well and I could see both of them having a hit record. But that’s just me…everyone has their favorite “Idol.”

The show was remarkable, no surprise to me. It was the past few years, too. What was a little different this year was they came out, one at a time, from the number 10 finalist to the winner, Cook, and they each sang three songs. I think Cook and maybe even Archuleta may have sung a couple extra songs. Also added in the show were songs done together, like in groups of five or six, and then they did the final number at the end, all together, which was Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music.”
That was kind of what I thought after that final number…don’t stop the music! I would have loved to have seen more, maybe more group numbers, but that was OK. What I had seen to that point was outstanding.
After nearly three hours, it was time to go back home. I know January was sort of disappointed, because I’m sure she wanted to scream a little more, trying to get David Cook to come over and talk to her. But he did come over close to us, and so did several others. We were four rows from the side of the stage, and some of the Idols would come over and sing and greet fans. I figured January would lose it when David Cook came over…I think she almost did!
But that added to the fun of the show. We were so close to the stage, and to me, it’s not worth going to a show if you aren’t close. And we were close.

So if you really like music, and you haven’t gotten into “Idol” in the past, I would suggest that you do. It’s almost like you get to know these people as they work their way through the “Idol” process. It’s neat to see how they change, not only with their style and look but also their voice and how they carry themselves onstage. It’s amazing how a person is sort of “transformed,” but not so much that they change in personality. It’s also like you know their personality as they go throughout the show.
Another thing that has always amazed me is how well these 10 people seem to get along. From what I can tell, they seem to have so much fun together and it shows onstage. I’m not even around them and I can see that they enjoy time with each other. But I guess by that point, they are pretty used to being around each other. They spend all that time on the show together and then in the summer they go on tour and do a show nearly every night.

Let me tell you from experience, it’s a great show and I highly recommend it. Take my word for it. And I bet if you asked my mom, January, Pat and Tom what they thought about the show, they would say the same thing. But you might want to give January a couple days…she may still be a little hoarse from all the screaming.

Post from: Journalism Rookie

My first day at the fair for Tribune reporter January Wetzel and me was Monday. She covered the spelling bee and the poultry show, while I headed over to the bubble gum blowing contest. Once I got my camera to cooperate with me, I was able to pay more attention what I needed to do to get the perfect shot and get some comments from participants. This was an interesting contest because it was for adults and kids. I honestly thought the adults enjoyed it more than the kids did. I guess it’s the kid in all of us.
One lady I talked to, Rhonda Fountain of Norman, even said it was a “family dynasty.” That ended up being the focus of my story, because I talked to three families who all participated in the contest. Who knew bubble gum could bring families together?

Skipping over to Wednesday, January covered the Schneck Medical Center food show, took pictures at the pedal tractor pull and covered the 4-H Sheep Show. It was Kiddies’ Day Wednesday, so that was my focus. I did the same thing last year, so I knew what to expect. First, I took the video camera around and talked to some people, many of them being parents and their children. Then I took another jaunt around and got pictures. It was a busy day for kids at the fair from noon to 5 p.m. They could ride unlimited for a cheap price, so it was a bargain for many.

Then on Friday, we decided to focus on some of the buildings at the fairgrounds. Those are just as popular as the midway rides or the livestock barns. January did a story about the FFA Building, Farm Bureau Building, 4-H Building, Family Arts Building and Horticulture Building. My focus was the Antique Building. There, I talked to Roger Stuckwisch of Brownstown who had his handmade wooden tractors on display, and Leonard Schroer of Dudleytown who had his miniature buildings on display.
I also talked to a few people looking around at the pictures on the wall, featuring the 12 townships of Jackson County. I remember seeing all of the history in the building last year, and it was equally impressive this year. It makes you realize how important and special it is to preserve history and share it with others.

Finally, to wrap up the week, I covered the 4-H Livestock Auction. To be honest, I had no idea how I was going to write about an auction. So I looked back at January’s story from last year, and then decided how the auction worked and that a story was very possible.
The auction, which lasted about three hours, was lengthy, but it was sort of interesting seeing how it worked. 4-H’ers brought in their livestock, including swine, Boer goats, lambs and dairy beef and beef cattle, one at a time and bidding kicked off immediately. The kids could only enter one animal in the auction and they got all of the proceeds. There were just more than 190 entries this year and it brought in about $148,000. I was able to talk to a few of the 4-H’ers after they had shown their animal, asking them what they planned on doing with the money and what they thought the benefits of the auction were.
Also, I talked to a couple of the bidders from the day. There were a good variety of bidders, and what’s good about this auction. Many times, 4-H’ers save the money for school or college expenses or they save it for the next year’s project, either buying another animal or using it toward a 4-H project.

One thing from the auction that impressed me was some of the kids decided to give a portion of their earnings to the Amanda Stahl Memorial Scholarship Fund. Stahl, 16, was killed Wednesday (July 23) in a car accident in Seymour. She had just been crowned 4-H Royalty on Tuesday.
Tribune reporter Jill Treadway was able to talk to some of Stahl’s friends and people related to 4-H after the tragedy, and from reading that story, it sounds like Amanda was a special person and she had a lot going for her in the future.

Even though Jackson County 4-H lost a fellow member and friend, it was impressive to me to see the kids in the auction be so selfless by giving to the fund. It sort of shed light on the heart of the Jackson County Fair. Maybe that’s why it’s so popular and it’s been around for so long.

Post from: Journalism Rookie