Columns

FRANK SANDAGE, Guest Columnist

My new book “Civil War Soldiers of Perry County” will be released to the public July 4.

The book has the names, addresses, ranks, times of service and many other details not published before in the county. Our recent Memorial Day services honored 136 men who died in the service between 1900 and 2010. My book will give the names of 900 men and 183 who perished in the struggle to save the Union and to free slaves.

It is my pleasure to present a few facts about our American Civil War.

By BILL STANCZYKIEWICZ, Guest Columnist

Indiana’s rising high-school graduation rate, which increased from 76 percent in 2006 to 85 percent in 2010, is tempered by the fact that some students are not making the grade.

Two communities with the best improvement are Richmond and Mishawaka. In both school districts, the high-school graduation rate increased from 52 percent to 78 percent during that five-year period.

By VINCE LUECKE, Editor

When does five seconds seem like an eternity? When you have a police officer pulling the trigger on a stun gun fired into your back.

Such was the experience Sunday morning as I joined other reserve police officers and jailers in becoming certified in electronic control devices, better known as Tasers.

By VINCE LUECKE, Editor

I’m no green thumb but two years of hard work paid off handsomely this month with three peony blossoms. That may not sound like much, but it’s a success considering the plant’s sorry state when we first met.

The peony plant came with the house in New Boston. I first noticed it the next spring when I was mowing. Only a few sprigs of green poked out of the grass overlooking the highway. A fan of peonies, I worked hard that spring and summer to bring the plant back to life.