Columns

ERIC HARRIS, Film Review

"The Fighter” has all the elements of a boxing drama that might lead people to worry about it being a clichéd, dull retread of every boxing movie from yesteryear, but the film dashes aside the notion that a boxing drama must be 100 percent drama and ends up being a surprisingly light, effective film featuring an amazing performance from Christian Bale.

By JIM ADKINS, Guest Columnist

World War I began in August of 1914. Tragically, by December, thousands of young men had died and the war was at a stalemate. Trench warfare had begun and countless German and British boys were cold, scared and homesick. The Christmas season only made matters worse as the soldiers reflected on past holiday seasons spent in warm homes amidst loved ones.

For many, it seemed that things couldn’t get much worse.

By VINCE LUECKE, Editor

As of Friday morning, I had an old shoe ready for St. Nicholas’ visit Sunday night. With any luck, I will have found a few pieces of chocolate inside the shoe the next morning.

Will I really get excited when I walk onto my porch Monday? Not really, but it’s worth keeping an old tradition and a reminder that some customs, no matter how far removed, are worthwhile.

The November election saw 18 school referenda in Indiana. Six passed; 12 were defeated. Why were there so many referenda? And what explains the results?
We have two kinds of school referenda in Indiana. Voters must approve property taxes for most big construction projects. This requirement came from the 2008 tax reform, and since that November there have been 32 school capital projects referenda. Eleven have passed. That's 34 percent. Two out of five passed on Nov. 2, a slightly higher 40 percent.