Dead man still walking

Got a call from a reader today -- upset that a comment under a story about a body found claimed he was the dead man. Well, the man's family and friends saw that and were upset. The post was flagged by a fellow commenter and removed in a timely manner --- as was the dope who put up the post. The supposed dead man was more gracious than many people would be, and we appreciate that. But it underscores the responsibility we give readers of the web site with the comments function. Play by the pool rules. If you don't, we'll throw you out.

Debate tickets are available

The Bulletin is hosting one of the debates in the Second Congressional District. It takes place Oct. 15 at Plainfield High. The debate is a joint effort between the Bulletin, the Northeastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce and Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce. All have tickets available – and they’re free.

The Bulletin hosted a series of debates for municipal offices last year, and this is the logical next step. We think the debates last year gave residents a chance to hear firsthand what candidates had to say, and helped them form their opinions at the voting booth. It should be the same this year.

Pick up tickets at The Bulletin’s main office at 66 Franklin St. or at the Danielson office at 113 School St. Chamber members can call for tickets: Northeastern chamber at 774-8001; Norwich area chamber at 887-1647. Limit 4 tickets per person.

Sometimes, no chatting allowed

The Bulletin’s return to story comments on online versions of stories has been going pretty well. Folks are, for the most part, informative, polite and respectful. But there are times when their buttons get pushed and they go out of bounds – quickly.

That happened last week with the breaking news of the toddler who was shot to death with his father’s gun. Obviously, this is a tragedy and there may be criminal charges pending. The initial story had several comments expressing sorrow for the family, but there were more than a few berating the parents because of the allegedly available gun. So we made the decision that little good could be had from having barbs hurled about this incident, and stopped the comments function.

It was a difficult decision to make. The family is obviously going through much now. While stopping the comments halted folks being able to express their sympathy, it also shut off the writers – and there were more than a few – who simply wanted to pile on to the family’s misery. There didn’t seem to be a compelling reason to allow this, so the comments on this story, for now, are idle.

Take me to the fair

The Brooklyn Fair is one of the biggest events in Eastern Connecticut, and we have been all over it. Besides our previews, we are covering the fair every day and will have photo galleries throughout the weekend. We also are working on getting results from all of the contests and competitions to run our Web site. Check NorwichBulletin.com soon to see your victory.

Fantasy football season is here

The Bulletin debuts a new product Wednesday and it's geared toward NFL fans overall and fantasy fans in particular. This week, Pro Football Weekly's 16-page fantasy preview section will be in your Wednesday Bulletin. It’s got player rankings by position and a list of the top players overall so you can keep up with your draft (Tony Romo is No. 22 overall; I think he should be higher).

In two weeks, we'll start a weekly section with features and information and statistics for every NFL game that week, and also have a weekly page geared toward fantasy football players.

My fantasy football league draft is this Sunday. It's a league I've been in for more than 20 years, and our team has even won a title or two. Frankly, we're overdue. I'll be using the NFL Weekly section to help with our draft. Hopefully, you'll use it with yours as well.

Finally, if you're interested in playing in the Pro Football Weekly's online league, go to their Web site (www.profootballweekly.com) and sign up. You can play against everybody, or create your own smaller leagues.

Good luck this season. Remember your top pick should be a running back, but your season is going to be made if you can find one sleeper in picks 5-8.

Young bloggers are here

Last week, Bulletin President and Publisher Ellen Lind and I spoke to the Plainfield Rotary Club at the Riverview Restaurant. It was an intimate setting, with good company. And it was good to be able to talk to more residents about their paper and want they want and need from it.

One of the highlights of the evening was listening to the club salute two recent Plainfield High grads – Allison Hoffman and Meagan Marriott, both of whom will spend the next year overseas. Meagan is already in Switzerland, while Allison soon heads for Belgium. One of the Rotarians asked if we could update readers every few months with a story about the overseas adventures. I asked the girls if they would do it themselves through blogs.

Both agreed. Allison’s blog is now on our web site, and Meagan’s blog soon will be. It’s part of The Bulletin’s initiative to make your paper a partnership with the communities it serves.

If you have news tips, an idea for a feature or a blog you think might be of interest to our readers, let me know. Make a comment on this blog, or send me an e-mail direct at jkonrad@norwichbulletin.com

Fall in gas prices not news?

I received this comment from an anonymous poster on another blog entry, and thought it merited a look:

“You've been running a series of stories over the past week or show, chronicling incremental gas price decreases over the past month.

“In today's most recent story, it's stated that gas has dropped 20 cents in the past three weeks. So that's a $4 savings for someone buying 20 gallons of gas. Hardly measurable, and not news.

“It again begs the question: How can someone who knows nothing about journalism and the news business run a newspaper?”

Well, $4 isn't “hardly measurable,” especially for residents in Eastern Connecticut trying to make every dollar count. That's an extra gallon of gas. And we did a thorough job of covering the rapid rise in gas prices. It's only fair we also cover the rapid decrease — whether it stops now, or is the start of another trend. We think that's news to local residents.