By Frank Phillips
Memo to self: Keep hammering away at basics in the newsroom.
Friday, March 9, 2007 9:26 AM CST
“Don't reporters and editors proofread their papers any more?”
The question came at the end of a talk I was asked to give at a Terre Haute Exchange Club meeting Tuesday.
My assigned topic was, “Challenges of being a small town newspaper editor.”
*
Bob Kulow, Brazil, had invited me to speak.
I told the group I was far from an expert on anything, but more like the definition of a spurt - a drip under pressure.
The pressure comes from deadlines and involves staff and community teamwork.
The man who asked the question is not a regular reader of The Brazil Times (I don't think.) During the discussion that followed, he was commenting on newspapers in general.
I agreed with him - too many errors of grammar and spelling do slip through. As an editor, I am responsible for that, but I'm not the only cause.
There is a difference between being responsible and causing a problem, as the latest government problem, the debacle at Walter Reed Army Hospital indicates. Heads rolled, but those people, alone, were not the cause of the problem, they were just responsible.
The questioner's point was again driven home Thursday as I helped judge another state's newspapers for the Hoosier State Press Association. That state's press association will judge Indiana newspapers, including entries from The Brazil Times later this year.
I saw articles with misspelled words, even missing words. Yes, you can catch those errors in this paper, too, unfortunately, but these were contest entries.
The reporters hoped to be recognized and receive awards for the articles they submitted.
The top five entries in the two categories I judged - spot news and best news reporting - were crafted with care, not just thrown together and then thrown at an editor so the reporter could get on to the next story or go home.
One losing entry read like a rather poorly written press release. Some entries had entire paragraphs that were not understandable.
During a break, I was told about a small town newspaper front page photo that was obviously taken during a meeting. A group of people were sitting around a table, talking. Not a good picture by any standard. But the photo stood out because in the background of the photo appeared to be a bandaged body laying in a coffin. And there was no explanation. The reporter had attended a meeting and he (or she) had taken a photo of the board, wrote about the meeting, and no one thought to ask about the body in the picture!
Frank Phillips is The Times editor. He also has a Web blog at
frankphillips.blogspot.com.
He can be reached at frankphi@hotmail.com.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Review - 'Damn Yankees' gives us heart
By FRANK PHILLIPS
frankphi@hotmail.com
Friday, March 9, 2007 9:27 AM CST
Young Joe Hardy is back in town. So are Lola, Mr. Applegate and the Washington Senators!
If that sounds like a big crowd, it is. “Damn Yankees” is a big production for our little theater on National Ave. There are 30 cast members, some in dual roles.
Community Theatre of Clay County Inc. presents “Damn Yankees” tonight and Saturday with dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the show beginning thereafter.
*
The cast did a marvelous job overcoming opening night jitters and there were no muffed lines or miscues from where we sat.
The show features wonderful 1950s music with lines like, “What Lola wants, Lola gets!”, “You've gotta have heart ...” and “Good-bye, old, girl; my old girl ...”
The plot revolves around a die-hard Washington Senators fan in the 1950s when Mickey Mantle & the New York Yankees absolutely dominated baseball. The show asks the question, “What would it take for the Yankees to lose the Pennant, just once?”
The answer is a visit from the devil of a flashy dresser, Mr. Applegate, who persuades Joe Boyd, an overweight, 50-ish, real estate salesman to sell his soul for a chance to lead the Senators to victory over the Yankees and the rest of the league.
Matt Tribble and Michelle McCrea are standouts as Joe and Meg Boyd. Squint and Tribble looks like a very young Tab Hunter.
T. J. Sneddon is delightful as the devilish Applegate; so is Julia Kapke as Lola.
The rest of the cast does a great job as well, including David Maurey, Micahlyn Allen, Carl McKinney, David Landes, Jim Garber, Bernie Jackson, Kevin McCrea, Jordan Allen, Mike Allen, Ashton Swearingen, Chris Swearingen, Bob Lambrecht, Harold Burton, Melody Lunsford, Carolyn Warner, Jo Ann Stearley, Rebecca Beyers, Bob Pell, Candace Johnson, Amy McCluskey, Mikki Mears, David Swearingen, Trey Reberger, Jase Glassburn, Caroline Disney and Katie Walsh.
The show comes on the heels of last month's “Jim Garber ... And Friends!”, an “informal evening musicale” put together by Garber.
Although this reporter was out of town and didn't get to attend, the Feb. 16-17 offering also featured a large ensemble including the Greengrass Strings, the Brazil Choral Society and the Wabash Silver Cornet Band.
Some of the memorable music included “O Susanna”, “Foggy Mountain Breakdown”, “Deep River”, “The Preacher ad the Bear”, “I'm My Own Grandpa”, “Puttin' On the Dog” and “Old Man River”.
Truly, our local theater troupe is one of Clay County's gems, attracting 14 visitors from Crawfordsville last night. Visitors from all over Indiana and elsewhere make it a practice to attend performances at the Lark Theatre, across from Riddell National Bank, on National Ave.
For tickets and more information about upcoming shows, call Barbara Randall, 448-8772.
frankphi@hotmail.com
Friday, March 9, 2007 9:27 AM CST
Young Joe Hardy is back in town. So are Lola, Mr. Applegate and the Washington Senators!
If that sounds like a big crowd, it is. “Damn Yankees” is a big production for our little theater on National Ave. There are 30 cast members, some in dual roles.
Community Theatre of Clay County Inc. presents “Damn Yankees” tonight and Saturday with dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the show beginning thereafter.
*
The cast did a marvelous job overcoming opening night jitters and there were no muffed lines or miscues from where we sat.
The show features wonderful 1950s music with lines like, “What Lola wants, Lola gets!”, “You've gotta have heart ...” and “Good-bye, old, girl; my old girl ...”
The plot revolves around a die-hard Washington Senators fan in the 1950s when Mickey Mantle & the New York Yankees absolutely dominated baseball. The show asks the question, “What would it take for the Yankees to lose the Pennant, just once?”
The answer is a visit from the devil of a flashy dresser, Mr. Applegate, who persuades Joe Boyd, an overweight, 50-ish, real estate salesman to sell his soul for a chance to lead the Senators to victory over the Yankees and the rest of the league.
Matt Tribble and Michelle McCrea are standouts as Joe and Meg Boyd. Squint and Tribble looks like a very young Tab Hunter.
T. J. Sneddon is delightful as the devilish Applegate; so is Julia Kapke as Lola.
The rest of the cast does a great job as well, including David Maurey, Micahlyn Allen, Carl McKinney, David Landes, Jim Garber, Bernie Jackson, Kevin McCrea, Jordan Allen, Mike Allen, Ashton Swearingen, Chris Swearingen, Bob Lambrecht, Harold Burton, Melody Lunsford, Carolyn Warner, Jo Ann Stearley, Rebecca Beyers, Bob Pell, Candace Johnson, Amy McCluskey, Mikki Mears, David Swearingen, Trey Reberger, Jase Glassburn, Caroline Disney and Katie Walsh.
The show comes on the heels of last month's “Jim Garber ... And Friends!”, an “informal evening musicale” put together by Garber.
Although this reporter was out of town and didn't get to attend, the Feb. 16-17 offering also featured a large ensemble including the Greengrass Strings, the Brazil Choral Society and the Wabash Silver Cornet Band.
Some of the memorable music included “O Susanna”, “Foggy Mountain Breakdown”, “Deep River”, “The Preacher ad the Bear”, “I'm My Own Grandpa”, “Puttin' On the Dog” and “Old Man River”.
Truly, our local theater troupe is one of Clay County's gems, attracting 14 visitors from Crawfordsville last night. Visitors from all over Indiana and elsewhere make it a practice to attend performances at the Lark Theatre, across from Riddell National Bank, on National Ave.
For tickets and more information about upcoming shows, call Barbara Randall, 448-8772.
Thomas law office has new owners
By FRANK PHILLIPS
frankphi@hotmail.com
Friday, March 9, 2007 9:27 AM CST
A downtown Brazil landmark will have new owners.
For years, John, Amos, David and Andy Thomas used the brick building at the corner of Franklin and National streets as their law offices. They were joined at one time by Ed Pease, who went on to become this district's congressman.
Now, Amos Thomas continues his law practice and is the 44th District State Representative, but John is retired and David and Andy work for the State of Indiana in Indianapolis.
*
So, the building has been for sale.
It has been sold.
Linda and Ron Harms, owners of Re/Max Homes and Land real estate agency have bought the building for the agency.
The Harms plan to relocate their business to the building at 33 W. National Ave. by April 1.
Meanwhile, the Thomas name will remain on the door: Amos has leased office space from the Harms.
A grand opening time will be announced at a later date.
frankphi@hotmail.com
Friday, March 9, 2007 9:27 AM CST
A downtown Brazil landmark will have new owners.
For years, John, Amos, David and Andy Thomas used the brick building at the corner of Franklin and National streets as their law offices. They were joined at one time by Ed Pease, who went on to become this district's congressman.
Now, Amos Thomas continues his law practice and is the 44th District State Representative, but John is retired and David and Andy work for the State of Indiana in Indianapolis.
*
So, the building has been for sale.
It has been sold.
Linda and Ron Harms, owners of Re/Max Homes and Land real estate agency have bought the building for the agency.
The Harms plan to relocate their business to the building at 33 W. National Ave. by April 1.
Meanwhile, the Thomas name will remain on the door: Amos has leased office space from the Harms.
A grand opening time will be announced at a later date.
77-year-old man and his dog rescued after they broke through ice near Seelyville
By FRANK PHILLIPS
frankphi@hotmail.com
Friday, March 9, 2007 9:27 AM CST
A rural Terre Haute man fell through the ice on a pond and nearly drowned Thursday, reported Indiana Conservation Officer Max Winchell.
Around 8:30 p.m., Mrs. William Trinler, 9230 E. Petiford Ave., Terre Haute (near Seelyville), called Indiana State Police to report her husband, William, age 77, had fallen through the ice on a pond near their residence. William had walked on the pond to rescue the family dog, Mrs. Trinler said.
“Charlie”, a two and a half year old Keeshond, had walked out near the middle of the half acre pond and broken through the ice. Mr. Trinler had held onto the edge of an aluminum boat, that he kept on the pond, and attempted to walk out to the dog when he fell through the rotten ice, the press release stated.
When Vigo County Sheriff's Deputy Jim Palmer arrived, he saw that that Mr. Trinler was in the water, about 45 feet from shore, still holding onto the board.
Deputy Palmer walked out on the ice and got to the boat when he also broke through the ice. He managed to get into the boat and get Mr. Trinler into the boat as well.
William told Deputy Palmer that he could not hold on to the boat any longer and that he thought he was going to die. He had been in the icy water an estimated 30 to 45 minutes.
Charlie, the Keeshond, was still in the water, holding his head above the water with his chin on the edge of the ice when William was rescued.
Indiana State Police Officer Chris Wright and Indiana Conservation Officer Max Winchell wearing scuba dry suits, broke ice about 80 feet from shore and rescued the dog.
Charlie was taken to a veterinarian and treated for hypothermia.
frankphi@hotmail.com
Friday, March 9, 2007 9:27 AM CST
A rural Terre Haute man fell through the ice on a pond and nearly drowned Thursday, reported Indiana Conservation Officer Max Winchell.
Around 8:30 p.m., Mrs. William Trinler, 9230 E. Petiford Ave., Terre Haute (near Seelyville), called Indiana State Police to report her husband, William, age 77, had fallen through the ice on a pond near their residence. William had walked on the pond to rescue the family dog, Mrs. Trinler said.
“Charlie”, a two and a half year old Keeshond, had walked out near the middle of the half acre pond and broken through the ice. Mr. Trinler had held onto the edge of an aluminum boat, that he kept on the pond, and attempted to walk out to the dog when he fell through the rotten ice, the press release stated.
When Vigo County Sheriff's Deputy Jim Palmer arrived, he saw that that Mr. Trinler was in the water, about 45 feet from shore, still holding onto the board.
Deputy Palmer walked out on the ice and got to the boat when he also broke through the ice. He managed to get into the boat and get Mr. Trinler into the boat as well.
William told Deputy Palmer that he could not hold on to the boat any longer and that he thought he was going to die. He had been in the icy water an estimated 30 to 45 minutes.
Charlie, the Keeshond, was still in the water, holding his head above the water with his chin on the edge of the ice when William was rescued.
Indiana State Police Officer Chris Wright and Indiana Conservation Officer Max Winchell wearing scuba dry suits, broke ice about 80 feet from shore and rescued the dog.
Charlie was taken to a veterinarian and treated for hypothermia.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Tomy's Thomas train sets well worth the price
"Poppaw, do you have a train?"
Our 3-year-old grandson lives for trains. He knew we had to throw away our old battery powered Christmas tree train after the plastic parts began to harden with age and break.
Linda and I had decided we would have to get a new train set before the grandchildren came to visit again.
I wanted an electric train. My old American Flyer is still in pretty good shape, considering its age. But the power pack no longer powers it and prices for AC power packs are rather steep.
I thought about getting a Lionel, but this poppaw would rather spend his "free" time reading or at the computer than playing with trains.
I also looked at the big "G" scale trains, and actaully found a set (aka a circle of track, engine and a car or two) for $300 at the toy train show in Indianapolis.
"I thought you would get it," my better half said.
But this poppaw tends to be rather cheap (except when it comes to family)and although Logan was with me, neither one of us got too excited about the big train.
But we both loved "Thomas". He loves the Thomas stories and I love him, so we spent most of the time watching a Lionel Thomas set chug around a miniature mountain and Logan spent some time playing with a battery-powered Thomas set in an area set up for such a purpose.
So, our selection came down to either the Fisher Price remote-controlled battery powered set or the Thomas battery powered set (no remote control) made by Tomy.
We found the Thomas set heavily discounted at Toys 'R' Us last week.
I had my doubts about the quality, but was pleasantly surprised.
This is not your old American Flyer! One of the first memories I have of my American Flyer from 1956 was poking one of the metal train tracks into my finger. It hurt and I bled.
The Tomy product is made for the 21st century!
The plastic train snaps together, held in place with triangular tabs.
All the track is reversible so you don't have to hunt for the right or left curve or even turnout (what we used to call swtiches).
The printing on the various industries and railroad stations is perfect. The plastic is colorful. There are even battery powered buses that run on gray roads that intersect the track at railroad stations.
One word of caution: Thomas and Percy have to be expertly squeezed and pulled apart to load and change the battery. I broke Percy and we never did get the battery out of Thomas.
But James has a coal tender and the load of coal easily tips out to get at his battery. I recommend you look for engines with a coal tender!
The industries and railroad station are animated, just like the Lionel trains.
There is a gate that swings open for the train to pass and against the roadway at the same time. Cars are stopped at the railroad crossing until you push the green button that allows them to go.
There is an ore crane that will stop the train and pretend to load it before letting the train go. There is another device that loads little plastic balls onto a special car. On the next trip around the track, the car tips and dumps the balls into the loading apparatus.
What about battery life? I made sure we had plenty of batteries in the house, but after a weekend of play, none of the batteries had to be replaced! That was a space age miracle in my book!
Tomy is a British company and Thomas is a British creation, so it is only fitting that Tomy should capitalize on Thomas's popularity in this country.
But I would hope that the company will bring out a line of American train equipment that runs on the same track and roadway.
No, the Tomy product won't be taken seriously by model train fans.
But this grandpa and grandma sure had fun playing on the floor with their grandkids. (By the way, we also bought a castle and assorted toys for Cailin, our granddaughter, to play with. Both kids spent part of the time with the trains and part of the time with the castle.)
The Tomy toy train products are excellent values.
Our 3-year-old grandson lives for trains. He knew we had to throw away our old battery powered Christmas tree train after the plastic parts began to harden with age and break.
Linda and I had decided we would have to get a new train set before the grandchildren came to visit again.
I wanted an electric train. My old American Flyer is still in pretty good shape, considering its age. But the power pack no longer powers it and prices for AC power packs are rather steep.
I thought about getting a Lionel, but this poppaw would rather spend his "free" time reading or at the computer than playing with trains.
I also looked at the big "G" scale trains, and actaully found a set (aka a circle of track, engine and a car or two) for $300 at the toy train show in Indianapolis.
"I thought you would get it," my better half said.
But this poppaw tends to be rather cheap (except when it comes to family)and although Logan was with me, neither one of us got too excited about the big train.
But we both loved "Thomas". He loves the Thomas stories and I love him, so we spent most of the time watching a Lionel Thomas set chug around a miniature mountain and Logan spent some time playing with a battery-powered Thomas set in an area set up for such a purpose.
So, our selection came down to either the Fisher Price remote-controlled battery powered set or the Thomas battery powered set (no remote control) made by Tomy.
We found the Thomas set heavily discounted at Toys 'R' Us last week.
I had my doubts about the quality, but was pleasantly surprised.
This is not your old American Flyer! One of the first memories I have of my American Flyer from 1956 was poking one of the metal train tracks into my finger. It hurt and I bled.
The Tomy product is made for the 21st century!
The plastic train snaps together, held in place with triangular tabs.
All the track is reversible so you don't have to hunt for the right or left curve or even turnout (what we used to call swtiches).
The printing on the various industries and railroad stations is perfect. The plastic is colorful. There are even battery powered buses that run on gray roads that intersect the track at railroad stations.
One word of caution: Thomas and Percy have to be expertly squeezed and pulled apart to load and change the battery. I broke Percy and we never did get the battery out of Thomas.
But James has a coal tender and the load of coal easily tips out to get at his battery. I recommend you look for engines with a coal tender!
The industries and railroad station are animated, just like the Lionel trains.
There is a gate that swings open for the train to pass and against the roadway at the same time. Cars are stopped at the railroad crossing until you push the green button that allows them to go.
There is an ore crane that will stop the train and pretend to load it before letting the train go. There is another device that loads little plastic balls onto a special car. On the next trip around the track, the car tips and dumps the balls into the loading apparatus.
What about battery life? I made sure we had plenty of batteries in the house, but after a weekend of play, none of the batteries had to be replaced! That was a space age miracle in my book!
Tomy is a British company and Thomas is a British creation, so it is only fitting that Tomy should capitalize on Thomas's popularity in this country.
But I would hope that the company will bring out a line of American train equipment that runs on the same track and roadway.
No, the Tomy product won't be taken seriously by model train fans.
But this grandpa and grandma sure had fun playing on the floor with their grandkids. (By the way, we also bought a castle and assorted toys for Cailin, our granddaughter, to play with. Both kids spent part of the time with the trains and part of the time with the castle.)
The Tomy toy train products are excellent values.
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