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.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Designer job
LeeAnn Miller's dream job didn’t exist in Jay County. So, she created it for herself.
BUSINESS
Riding high
It’s been seven years since soybean prices have hit the numbers that have come in this week. For corn, it’s been eight years.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
$$ for sewer project OK’d
A chunk of funding has been committed for a proposed downtown flood mitigation project.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Project to start June 1
A tentative timeline is in place for the first phase of the Portland Municipal Airport runway extension project.
NEWS
Jay County stays blue, positivity increases
Jay County is blue again. It’s positivity rate nearly pushed it to yellow.
NEWS
City to apply for an OCRA grant
The City of Portland will seek a state grant for its proposed downtown flooding mitigation project.
NEWS
Walt Rodgers dies at age 100
Walt Rodgers, farmer, veteran, one-time deputy sheriff, two-term Jay County Commissioner and longtime community leader, died Friday at Miller’s Merry Manor in Dunkirk. He was 100.
NEWS
JCDC backs quarry expansion
A proposal to land allowing for the expansion of the local stone quarry has the support of Jay County Development Corporation.
NEWS
Cases are up, but Jay remains at blue
The county’s rating stayed the same, but its numbers were up.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Request pulled
Portland City Council won’t be deciding on US Aggregates’ rezoning request, at least not for now.
SCHOOLS
Prom is on
Buy the dresses and rent the tuxedos. Make the appointments to get your hair done. Get ready to dance.
NEWS
Young trial moved to July
The trial for a Portland woman who faces charges related to her son’s death has been moved.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
JCDC may weigh in on quarry
A local economic development organization will be taking its own look at the proposed rezoning of land for stone quarry expansion.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Brigade to buy school office
Brigade Electronics is poised to have a new U.S. headquarters.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Jones murder trial moved
A Redkey man’s murder trial has been rescheduled.
BUSINESS
Beers are on tap
It took longer than they’d hoped, but the beers are now flying in the building alongside the long-abandoned Penn Central Railroad tracks in Portland.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
ACLU files lawsuit against Prescott
A Portland resident is suing State Rep. J.D. Prescott over access to his Facebook page.
NEWS
Unfavorable vote
The local stone quarry’s rezoning request now moves to Portland City Council. It does so with an unfavorable recommendation from the city’s plan commission.
NEWS
Bridge work starts Monday
Traffic patterns through Portland will be different beginning next week.
NEWS
City is out of running to buy building
Jay School Board is expected to make a decision Monday on the sale of its administration building.
NEWS
Jay County is rated yellow again
After five weeks in the blue, Jay County is yellow for the second week in a row.
NEWS
Getting Current
After nearly 20 years of stability, the last few have been full of change for the Jay School Corporation business office.
OPINION
Feeling the heat has no substitute
There's no better way to learn about a profession than to actually do it.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Cajun on wheels
Six months ago, René and Rena LeBlanc were weighing moves to Illinois and Florida. Now they’re bringing Cajun cuisine to northeast Indiana.
NEWS
No local restrictions planned
Most state restrictions related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will be lifted April 6, but local government units are still allowed to implement their own rules. Local officials currently have no plans to institute such restrictions.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Plan proposed
Portland is considering a new idea for mitigating downtown flooding.
NEWS
County shifts back to yellow
After five straight weeks at “blue,” Jay County ticked back up a notch in the state’s coronavirus metrics.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Opening up
Beginning next week, coronavirus vaccinations will be available to all Hoosiers 16 and older. Less than a week later, state COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Federal funding could cover project
The first phase of the Portland airport runway extension will be constructed at no cost to the city. Now the hope is that the second phase will be fully federally funded as well.
LOCAL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
Jay is rated ‘blue’ again
The positivity rate went down while overall cases went up. Still, the county was in the blue again.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
More funding may come
The first phase of the Portland airport runway extension will be constructed at no cost to the city. Now the hope is that the second phase will be fully federally funded as well.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Board seeks final building offers
Jay School Board had a busy evening Monday as it approved the sale of one parcel, held off on selling another, hired a new business manager, heard an update about food service and listened to comments and information about a proposed business expansion.
NEWS
Council to get building appraisal
Portland Police Department would like to make a new home in the current Jay School Corporation central office building. Whether or not that is a possibility will come down to appraisals.
NEWS
Murder trial to start Monday
The first of five murder trials scheduled for this year in Jay County will begin next week.
POLICE/COURTS
Boyd trial is moved to October
The trial of a Portland man charged with murder has been moved again.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Work underway
Jay County’s hospital is in the midst of a year-long makeover. Work is already underway at IU Health Jay on projects that were announced in December and will continue throughout 2021.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Variance OK'd
A pond expansion will provide the dirt for a runway extension.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Quarry pitch faces opposition
US Aggregates continued to make its case for expanding its operation to the north.
SPORTS
Kenney comes up short
LAS VEGAS — Casey Kenney went punch-for-punch against one of the greatest competitors in this history of his division. He just didn’t do quite enough to get the win.
HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES
Blasdel re-elected GOP chair
Local Republicans kept their leader in place.
SPORTS
Kenney to meet former champ
Casey Kenney wants to stand atop the bantamweight division. He sees no better way than to go through someone who has been there before.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Police proposal
Portland officers make pitch for a new facility citing various shortcomings of current space
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September 17, 2024 7:36 a.m.