Swastikas in Our Town

It was my day off, but I went anyway. The vandalism at Sunset Hills Cemetery in Edwardsville, Ill. – Our Town – made national news from CNN to CBS. Someone painted swastikas on more than 200 graves, plus a few houses and cars. I had been called for the assignment but got the text too late; they sent the on-duty reporter instead. But I went, because I needed to see it for myself.

(Yes, it’s been pointed out that he got the swastikas backwards, so he may have unknowingly painted an Indian or Buddhist blessing of good luck on all those graves.)

A suspect is in custody, and I may end up writing about it, so I will reserve further statements until later. You can see it for yourself in these images, taken the morning they were discovered, as family members rushed to see if their families’ graves had been desecrated.

 

March-April link roundup

It’s been a busy couple of months, with some neat changes pending I can’t talk about yet, and my appearances at Midsouthcon, the SPJ Region 7 Conference, and a couple of fun photo shoots I’m looking forward to sharing with you.

I particularly enjoyed my jaunt to Ames, Iowa, with side trips to the original Field of Dreams and the world’s largest (concrete) garden gnome. Of course, the highlight of the trip was the opportunity to talk ethics with some terrific journalism students, and I am very grateful to SPJ Regional Director Kari Williams for allowing me to speak.

Photos are in the processing queue, and I hope to have a new batch up on the photo site in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, enjoy some of these articles and a handful of blog reviews!

News/Features

Hospice patient had one wish, and a Fairmount horse made it come true.

Police investigate Wanda Cemetery for allegedly double-selling plots

Two dead, more than 50 hospitalized due to contaminated cannabis

Police believe they have solved the mystery behind local woman’s 2010 disappearance – murder.

Major Case Squad disbands without filing charges in murder of track star

 

Blogs

CultureGeek: Linkspam Hears the Verdict

CultureGeek: Linkspam defies Hollywood physics!

CultureGeek: Barnes and Noble’s ‘Red Wedding’