Restored School Open House

Terri and Ken Brunner look at the various design elements in the renovated Lydia Middleton Elementary School building during an open house on Sunday, November 18. The Brunner's were standing on one of the more obvious new features — a glass block floor that transverses a second story hall way, just above the school cafeteria. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Shared Memories: June Lory talks with her son Dennis Lory about their history at Lydia Middleton Elementary School during the official dedication ceremony for the renovated school building on Sunday, November 18. June worked at the school in the late 60's and early 70's at the same time that Dennis was a student there. Dennis' grandparents also worked at the school. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Your Story Mark Eberts

Deputy based taxidermist Mark Eberts picks away the last remaining bits of flesh from the skull fragment and antlers of a deer while demonstrating the methods used for his craft at just Deer Taxidermy on Thursday, November 8. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

A glass eye seems to stare up at Mark Eberts as he demonstrates how to use clay to form an expression that will show through from under the cape of the deer once the mount is complete. When a deer head is brought in, Eberts measures it and then sends away for a form that matches the size of the animal. The form, clay and glass eyes help to imitate life in the finished mounts. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Mark Eberts demonstrates how he cuts away waste from the tanned cape of a deer that he is mounting at his Deputy based business. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Keeping It Running

Jeff Meece, Physical Plant Director of the Madison Correctional Facility, was recently named the 2007 IDOC Physical Plant Employee of the Year. Meece supervises four maintenance professionals. Each of those staff members is assigned a crew of offenders that work for them. The offenders learn job skills that can possibly be used once they are released. This year Meece has overseen the construction of a new bridge and walkway to the MCF visitor's entrance, the installation of stone pillars, road barriers and many projects to help continue the usefulness of the nearly 100-year-old buildings on the MCF campus. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Take It To The Grave

Karen Phillips stands among the stones in the Old Bethel Cemetery. Phillips, a genealogist, was fascinated and saddened by the cemetery when she first moved to a near by neighborhood due to the significant overgrowth of vegetation, and the poor condition of the grave markers — some of which were completely covered over. With the help of friends and a lot of work on her own, Phillips has cleared out the area and is in the process of researching the people buried there. Among the departed are veterans of the Revolutionary War through World War II. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Happy Holidays!

I made the banner on the top of SportsShooter.com on Christmas with a Your Story package on Santa!This isn’t on the same level as that first time seeing your work published. But, with the incredible pool of talent on that site, I was honored to have the spotlight for the day.

Crosswalk

A pedestrian walks across Main Street at West Street as lights reflect off the roads, still glistening from the day of rainfall on Monday. Though the precipitation is past, cool temperatures have settled in to the area, with forecasted highs not likely to exceed the mid-50's this week. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

We needed some art to fill a page and I knew I wanted this shot. So I stood at this corner waiting for about 45 minutes for some one to cross. We had bicyclists, families, teens and old men crossing every other walkway except the one that crosses in the frame. Finally this guy walk through and I went back to the office. Sometimes patience really pays off, but after I got back I realized that this fellow didn’t really add a lot to the photo. But, had I not waited, I would have had to wonder If I could have done better.

Little Red Riding Hood Principal

A group of Pope John Elementary School kindergartners react as they see Principal Sue Geyman making her way down a hallway dressed as Little Red Riding Hood on Thursday, November 15. Geyman's costume was a small part of the school's annual Book Week. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Pope John Elementary School Principal Sue Geyman hands out bread rolls to her students after reading "Making Heart Bread" on Thursday, November 15. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Your Story Joe Riggs

Michelle Barlow wears a face of amazement as mentalist and magician Joe Riggs uses her as an accomplice in a fork bending effect at the Broadway Hotel & Tavern on Thursday, November 1. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Joe Riggs shuffles cards during an effect at the Broadway Hotel & Tavern, where he performs on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

The son of a call-in psychic, Joe Riggs talks about what led to his career in mentalism and magic entertainment. Riggs captivates his audiences, usually, small circles of people at a time, with effects like fork bending and levitation of objects. In between performances, Riggs says he is constantly working on new effects. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Reflecting on the Season

Reflected in the storefront window, John Parker, of Madison rings the bell and stands by for collections at the Salvation Army kettle outside the Jefferson Street Dollar General on Monday, November 12. Captain Gary Gugala said the kettles were put out early this year because of a greater need as well as an effort to put people to work who have been finding it difficult to find employment. He thinks of the bell ringing as a stair step into the working world for some who have had hard times. Gugala said about eight of the bell ringers last year moved onto steady employment elsewhere after the Christmas season.
The kettle locations are Kroger, Big Lots, J.C. Penney, Peebles, Goodwill, Family Dollar, Walgreen's, Wal-Mart, the hilltop and downtown Madison Dollar General stores, Madison Coffee & Tea and the BP/McDonald's in Hanover. Gugala said the Jay C Food Store will have a kettle after Thanksgiving.
Donations to the kettles go toward food pantry supplies, disaster services, utility and rent assistance, transportation, Christmas toys and food baskets, and for hot meals throughout the year at the Salvation Army.
This year's goal for Jefferson County is $70,000. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Slide Show

Click here for a slide show we did for the funeral of the first soldier from Switzerland County to be killed in Iraq.

Progress of Power

Iron worker Ricky Harlow ties together a grid of rebar for the form of a wall for a large in ground sump area near the stack that is being built at the IKEC Clifty Creek power plant on Tuesday, November 21. The project is currently running on time and on budget according to Assistant Plant Manager Clifford Carnes (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

(©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Mom’s Playgroup (with page proof)

Jennifer Chancellor, left, plays with her 8-month-old son Edwin, Amanda Chandler pours a cup of juice and Gregory Rugado — son of Pam Rugado — plays in the bubbles from a bubble machine during the community play groups weekly meeting on Thursday, October 4. Chancellor, Chandler and Rugado say they enjoy the play group because it gives the kids a chance to interact, and also allows the mom's to have normal conversations with one another. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Two-year-old Nolan Rugado, from left, and Aidan Chandler, 4, reacts as Nolan's brother Gregory, 3, jumps up onto a ramp at the Madison Skate Park on Thursday, October 4. The Rugado brothers started hanging out together when the children's mothers began attending the weekly community playgroup each Thursday in Madison. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Kim Sills, left, and Pam Rugado share a laugh while discussing pregnancy experiences at the community playgroup on Thursday, October 4. Sills is expecting her first child and is going to the playgroup to form a bond with the group of other mothers that regularly attend. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

From now on, I’ll include a page from The Madison Courier if I lay it out (usually this will be a Your Story or Spotlight page. Both of these section fronts have an ad strip at the bottom. That is why a blank space is there. Similar to my need for photo critiques, design critiques would be helpful as well. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Symmetry in Features

James Kendall walks along the Madison Riverfront as fog moves through the area on Monday, October 29. Kendall said he has been walking most mornings for the last year and a half for his health — except when it gets too cold. "If there's snow I won't be out here," Kendall said.
The dip in overnight temperatures that left frost on plants and car windshields throughout the Courierarea on Monday morning will be supplanted with milder conditions through the rest of the week. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Blacktop Football

Robby Craig, 15, from far right, runs past Cody Peters, 14, Jarred Daniels, 14, and Greg Larkins, 10, as he returns a ball kicked by Zach Larkins, 13, (not pictured) during a game of football on the blacktop court next to the old Eggleston Elementary School building on Tuesday, October 30. The mild temperatures that the children enjoyed Tuesday were expected to continue throughout the rest of the week. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

October Portraits

Some months seem to have more of these than others. I was really happy with some and felt I was just going through the motions with a few others. There’s always next month.

As a child traveling with her father on the carnival circuit, Barbara Sigmon found she had a natural talent for selling corn dogs to the midway goers. Now, with a regular and less nomadic life, Sigmon can still recall those days when she cooks up a batch of the batter dipped hot dogs on a stick. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Lisa Cheatham, who is in remission for cancer, holds a photo of her daughter, Jenny Neff, of Fishers, who has just finished chemotherapy in her own cancer battle. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

John and Carolyn Glauber, owners of Glauber's Shoes & Athletic Sports, pose for a portrait holding a photo of John's great-great- grandfather Jno Glauber, who opened the store in 1863. John and Carolyn Glauber are closing the business to spend more time with their family and to tend to their farm. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Vera Brittingham has limited vision due to macular degeneration and uses a special magnification machine with a camera and monitor to read, do puzzles and write checks. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Republican Candidate for Mayor Al Huntington (left) vs. Democratic Candidate for Mayor Tim Armstrong (Armstrong won) (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

When Mom's Music pulled out of Madison, Steve Pullias decided that he didn't want the many students there to loose their place for instruction. Soon after the store closed, Pullias opened the Madison Music Center in the same location. While the store does sell a small selection of instruments, the main focus of the business is music instruction at this time. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Frank Mingione stands next to his top sportsman category drag racer in his driveway on Wednesday, October 31. Mingione wants it to be clear that there is a real difference between drag racing and unregulated street racing. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

Unposed shots that are still portrait-ish:

Lynn Maricle practices at the organ on the balcony of the Christ Episcopal church sanctuary on Wednesday, October 3. Maricle will perform in "Lynn & Friends an Evening of Music" on Thursday, October 11 at 7:30 p.m. The concert will be a mix of Religious and Classical music with a sprinkling of pop. A love offering will be accepted at the concert to go to the church budget. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)

David Bottomley, technology education teacher at Southwestern High School, talks about the new iMac computers that his department has received. SWHS has made several technological advances for this school year. (©Ken Ritchie/The Madison Courier)