Some notes from around and about the Mirror newsroom to help keep you abreast of what we're doing and what we're trying to do:
We've had a couple of letters lately and a few phone messages expressing concern over our handling of news involving murder suspect Nicholas Horner.
Since the unconscionable act on April 6 that took the lives of Hollidaysburg Area High School student Scott Garlick, 19, and Raymond E. Williams of Eldorado, it's come out that Horner had been treated for a post traumatic stress disorder allegedly stemming from serving several tours in Iraq.
The reporting of this, apparently, is being confused with us attempting to justify Horner's behavior at the 58th Street Subway restaurant.
Nothing can be further from the truth.
We're simply providing information as it's coming out, including that Horner was "confused" and had a box of .22-caliber shells when he was arrested Feb. 7 by Cresson Township police for driving under the influence in Lilly.
We do try to take sensitivity into consideration because we know there will be numerous stories between now and Horner's trial, some more newsworthy than others, and we determine placement accordingly.
We sympathize with the families of the two victims, not only for their loss but also for having to be subjected to ongoing information relevant to the case as it unfolds.
A plug for Subway
At the risk of this coming off as a commercial, and yet speaking confidently that this sentiment would be agreed upon even by competitors, it's nice to see that the 58th Street Subway, where the above shooting took place, has reopened.
There were rumors it might not.
I do not know the owner and can only imagine how the ordeal affected the employees. Here's hoping the community fully resumes its support.
Aging with grace
You may have noticed a couple of Monday Spotlights lately featured local people who are 100 or older.
One was last week's subject, Earl Hammond of Bellmeade Manor, who just turned 100. The other was 105-year-old Martha Ferguson, the oldest member of the local African-American community.
It got me a little curious about the story we did two years ago when Life reporter Jennifer Babulsky sought to find the area's oldest person.
Of course, it was unscientific because nursing homes typically don't volunteer such information and some area residents over 100 may not have known our mission.
Anyway, the oldest person we found was Kathryn Dixon, 105, of Philipsburg.
A check with family members confirmed she is still with us - at 107, "still feeding herself and still very alert," daughter Charlotte Disshon said.
Amazing.
Fuzzy pictures
We've had a couple of obituaries lately in which the pictures were a little fuzzy.
When they come in like that, there's not much we can do to make them better. At the same time, we don't want to reject them because they're important to the obituary.
Families may want to keep in mind that photos can be cropped and don't need to be of just the obituary subject.
Tim-ber
OK, so we had a headline last month that could land on us Jay Leno.
"Fallen tree leaves 490 without power."
The dateline?
Fallentimber.
Happy Mother's Day
To my mother, wife and all the other special moms in my life and your life.
Mirror Managing Editor Neil Rudel can be reached at 946-7527 or nrudel@altoonamirror.com.
