The Herald Bulletin, Anderson, Indiana

More than three years after moving to Anderson I only recently discovered the beautiful trail system at Falls Park in Pendleton. I knew the park was there but was unaware of the extensive trail system connecting the baseball fields to the park and the north entrance. On Wednesday, while walking under one of the massive concrete railway bridges with my wife, we discovered a rather festive piece of graffity: an eight-foot jack-o-lantern. And while I don't support or condone vandalism, I have been moved by illegal street art and acknowledge it can have value.

A resident of the 1400 block of Fletcher Street said Anderson has eliminated street parking to accommodate large trucks making deliveries to Carpet One-Indiana Flooring. The resident said the city had to replace sidewalks in the area, thanks to the frequent truck traffic. Now those trucks have cost people living in nearby apartments the convenience of their parking spaces.

On Thursday, I received an anonymous letter in the mail. It was written in a slightly shaky cursive, unsigned and contained no return address information. I couldn't ever read the postmark. I have no idea what else to do with it, so I'll let the letter speak for itself. Here is the text, as far as I can make it out. I have corrected some spelling and added some punctuation, but I don't believe it alters the spirit of the letter. A few awkward, but important, passages have been untouched and are noted with [sic]. Here goes:

Matt Farmer performed a solo on Saturday during the Anderson Young Ballet Theatre (AYBT) fall gal. Farmer recently joined the dance faculty at Anderson University. In case you haven't heard, AU awarded its first minors in dance last May and will now offer dance majors. The program is the brain child of professor Doug King, who you may have seen perform with Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre in Indianapolis.

As happens from time to time, my adolescent curiosity in comic books gets the best of me. This time, that curiosity led me to Rembert Parker's Reader Copies on North Scatterfield. My passion for comics burned brieftly but, oh, it was bright, and has never faded completely. I figured the best way to find out what's happening in the industry would be a copy of Wizard magazine. Parker was happy to oblige and threw in a copy of Previews (the phonebook sized catalog distributors offer to retailers) AND Marvel previews.

Variety Global Business (VGB) Group, the China-based business with an interest in establishing a manufacturing and distribution center in Anderson, is headed to Washington, D.C. this week to solicit federal for the project. Pastor James Dixon, who has served as a community liaison for VGB, said company officials will spend Wednesday and Thursday in the capital, alongside economic development leaders from the city of Anderson.