Ray Cooney
Ray Cooney was elected president of The Graphic Printing Company in December 2023. He became publisher of The Commercial Review on July 1, 2020, while retaining the title of editor he has held since Dec. 1, 2014. He served managing editor from July 2013 through November 2014, assistant managing editor from November 2005 through July 2013 and sports editor from March 2001 through July 2013.
He earned the most awards of any journalist in Division III in the Hoosier State Press Association Better Newspaper Contest for four consecutive years from 2013 through 2016. His first-place honors this year were for in-depth feature, sports feature, general news photo and video.
In his career he has also won HSPA awards for sports commentary, editorial writing, use of graphics, community service, news writing under deadline pressure, sports action photo, sports feature photo, headline writing, editorial page, profile feature and multiple picture group. He had picked up nine Indiana Associated Press Media Editors awards earlier in the year, including first place for business writing, non-deadline sports story and headline writing.
Cooney was honored with the Indiana High School Athletic Association Distinguished Media Service Award in 2012, and also received the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Outstanding Baseball Media Award in 2009.
A native of Avon, Ohio, Cooney graduated from St. Edward High School (Lakewood, Ohio) in 1996 and Cleveland State University in 2000. He was the inaugural editor of The Cleveland Stater at CSU, and also worked for The Morning Journal (Lorain, Ohio) and The Chronicle-Telegram (Elyria, Ohio) before moving to Jay County.
Cooney lives in Portland with his dog, Scooter.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
District will continue free shredding days
A free shredding day will become part of the annual calendar.
FORT RECOVERY
Fort Recovery handles Blue Jays
FORT RECOVERY — Standing on the goal line, Caleb Martin took the snap and dropped back into his own end zone.
SPORTS
Winchester edges Patriots
The Patriots aren’t the defending champions. And they can’t claim to be sectional favorites.
NEWS
Military memories
For years the Indiana Military Vehicle Preservation Association held its annual show in Anderson. During the last decade its been in Crawfordsville.
SPORTS
Colts’ season won’t be easy
So much for being easy. That was the prediction made by many, and definitely by me, for the Indianapolis Colts this season.
NEWS
Enrollment counts
Enrollment numbers were close to projections, with Jay County’s number slightly lower than expected and South Adams’ slightly higher.
JAY COUNTY
Patriots roll to victory
Serving has been a strength for the Patriots all season. That, combined with Kylie Osborne’s resurgence, was far too much for Woodlan to handle.
SPORTS
Breaking: Jay improves to 11-1
Continued strong serving and a second-straight standout match from junior Kylie Osborne powered the Jay County High School volleyball team Thursday night as it walloped the visiting Woodlan Warriors 25-17, 25-13, 25-19.
SCHOOLS
SA board seeks input
BERNE — South Adams School Board is considering changes to its delay policy and calendar. But before making decisions, it wants to get more input.
NEWS
Breaking: SA considering 3-hour delay
BERNE — South Adams School Board will seek input from staff and parents before making recommendations on a couple of scheduling issues it discussed Tuesday.
SOUTH ADAMS
Breaking: SA rallies past Raiders
BERNE — The South Adams High School volleyball team rallied after dropping the first two games Tuesday to defeat the visiting Southern Wells Raiders.
RAYS OF INSIGHT
Jay Co. spikers are the real deal
I missed it. A week ago, I saw the Jay County High School volleyball team play for the first time this season.
NEWS
Ohio author to speak Tuesday
For years, Bob Ewing was not much more to Mike Lackey than a name in a box score.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
A Patriot comeback
FORT RECOVERY — Most of the Tribe squad went hustling beyond the service line to track down the ball and send it back across the net, only to have Lizzy Schoenlein drop in a short tip to end the point.
SPORTS
Breaking: Jay rallies past FR
FORT RECOVERY — The Jay County High School volleyball team rallied from a two-games-to-one deficit Tuesday to knock off the Fort Recovery Indians 25-15, 15-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-11.
SPORTS
NFL season is just around the corner
Two more days. That’s all that remains until it begins.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Pack loves helping deliver
As one regular heads out the door, the next approaches the counter.
SPORTS
Golfers fall to Devils
Their first action at Portland Golf Club didn’t go as well as the Patriots would have liked. They’re hoping two more rounds will have them ready to defend their home course when all of their new conference rivals come to town Sept. 6.
SPORTS
Football on the mind of readers
Football is here. Indiana high school football got underway Friday. College football, beginning with three games Thursday, and Ohio high school football join the party this week.
NEWS
District planning several events
Preparations are underway for Tox Away Day. And Jay County Solid Waste Management District is hoping to add a second clean-up event the following week.
NEWS
Monument stands in tribute
In the center of Monument Park, an obelisk rises toward the sky. Below its base lie the remains of about 1,200 soldiers.
RAYS OF INSIGHT
New season brings new opportunities
It’s time. Usually by late July each year I’m ready.
NEWS
Jay to try pilot
A program that would allow foreign students to take classes toward a dual diploma will get a test run.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Jay Schools on three-hour delay
Jay Schools are on a three-hour delay today.
NEWS
Boland says he’s the small-town candidate
Mike Boland sees himself as the candidate for small-town Indiana.
SCHOOLS
Tax draws help schools
FORT RECOVERY — The balance sheet turned out a bit better than expected.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
FR closed, SA two-hour delay
Fort Recovery Local Schools are closed today. South Adams Schools are on a two-hour delay today.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
West Jay wins
INDIANAPOLIS — Jaws dropped. Then came the screams. Coach Cheree McCallister’s hands covered her face.
SCHOOLS
Jay places third, EJMS fourth
INDIANAPOLIS — Jay County’s cheerleading squads have always held the same goal for the state fair competition: to walk off the mat knowing they have done their best.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Increased difficulty
The Jay County High School cheerleaders have been a mainstay at the Indiana State Fair.
SCHOOLS
Board reviews 2015 budget
BERNE — South Adams School Board took a first look at its 2015 budget during a work session Tuesday.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
New Energize leader visits JCDC
For the second time this year, the Jay County Development Corporation board met the new leader of Energize-ECI.
SPORTS
Injuries remind us to value today
Gruesome. That’s a word that never turns out well. It usually refers to knees twisting unnaturally, feet pointed in the wrong direction, bones jutting out visibly through the skin.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Breaking: Board to advertise
Jay School Board approved Monday to advertise its 2015 budget just over $37 million.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Breaking: Heath, Koesters win
Alexis Heath and Garrett Koesters walked away with top honors Sunday at the Fort Recovery Friends of the Arts community talent competition.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Breaking: Rockets ousted from WBC
The championship game of the World Baseball Congress Tournament is set for Sunday in Portland. But for the first time since 2009, the Rockets won’t be playing in it.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Breaking: Rockets fall in nine
The Portland Rockets slipped to 1-1 in World Baseball Congress Tournament play Saturday afternoon with a 3-2, nine-inning loss to the Fort Wayne Jackers.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Elements unveiled
Sophomore Emily Bruns performs Friday as the Fort Recovery High School marching band unveiled its show — The Disney Elements — as part of an ice cream social at Barrenbrugge Athletic Park. (The Commercial Review/Ray Cooney)
NEWS
Performance reflects country's colors
Kelly Smeltzer was inspired by the colors of America, just not the ones that might immediately jump to mind.
NEWS
Summer is spent on show
For most of his daughter Katy’s life and all of his son Tayler’s, Kelly Smeltzer has been a Jay County band leader.
SCHOOLS
Nearly complete
Renovations that have been in the construction phase for more than two years are in their final stages.
SPORTS
Kenney moving up the ranks
TUSCON, Ariz. — It didn’t take Casey Kenney long to make the move from opening his career as an unknown to becoming a main-event talent.
ENTERTAINMENT
Talent contest set for Sunday
Acts from all over the country have graced the Van Trees Park stage this year.
NEWS
District approved budget
Jay County Solid Waste Management District sailed through its budgeting process.
SPORTS
FR state finals run leads list
For the second straight year, a Tribe tournament run topped local sports news.
Top Stories
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