COLUMN: Thanks, readers!

To the readers of The Owen News, thank you for welcoming me with open arms.

Before beginning my 10-week internship, I had no idea the hours I’d spend in the courthouse for commissioners and county council meetings (and for a couple weeks, a murder trial). I didn’t know how thankful I’d be that the parking meters on the square don’t work, the way the county takes a pause for fair week or how good a latte from Main Street Coffee is.

I got to learn about the things important to you, the things that make you happy, the things you wish were different. I learned so much from writing and reporting on this county.

Whether I was venturing out to Cataract Schoolhouse or trying to understand the jail project, the people of Owen County made my internship an experience I won’t forget. I learned how much you care about each other, and how much everyone is somehow connected.

I learned how Gosport came together when an EF-3 tornado hit, and how the county is working to make a difference by working to adopt a Mobile Integrated Health program.

Some of my favorite memories were sharpening my photography skills while taking pictures of the animal shows at the Owen County Fair and helping package the newspaper on Friday mornings every few weeks.

Even though it was 9 a.m. and I had to wake up early to get to Spencer from Bloomington, I enjoyed looking at the finished product, putting the address labels on and seeing how many people support this local news organization.

Thank you to everyone who let me badger them for an interview, helped me learn how things work, and answered my follow up questions. Thank you to courthouse security, who let me in even though I set off the metal detector every time.

I am glad that I got the chance to write for an organization so connected with the people it works to inform and deliver the truth to. As I begin my senior year at Indiana University and work as an editor for the Indiana Daily Student, the things I learned at The Owen News will stay close by.

Thank you for trusting me with your stories this summer, Owen County.