Ray Cooney

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.


SCHOOLS

Loy hired to sell properties

Jay School Corporation has a broker for the sale of three of its properties.

NEWS

Frontline worker

JCHS grad involved in CDC’s infection prevention project.

JAY COUNTY

Anything but typical

It’s going to be a different sort of state meet.

SPORTS

#4PEAT!

The Patriots walked onto the deck Saturday with “#4PEAT” written on the inside of their biceps.

HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES

Jay stays yellow

For the second straight week, the county’s risk is “moderate.”

RAYS OF INSIGHT

COVID caused return to reading

Reading is amazing.

HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES

Back to yellow

Jay continues to hover on the line between moderate and high risk of coronavirus spread.

BUSINESS

JCDC reviews details of job

Community development position to be posted next week.

HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES

Ring gets senior night win

Patriots’ lone senior is first in Jay’s only home meet.

BUSINESS

Jay’s rate is down to 3%

Unemployment is back to pre-pandemic levels.

HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES

Depot is done

Dunkirk holds open house to highlight completed upgrades to former Pennsylvania Railroad facility

LOCAL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

Jay is orange again

Red, orange, yellow. Orange, orange, yellow. And now orange again.

HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES

Seeking spirit

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has limited income for many. The Jay County High School band program is no different.

HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES

JCDC preps to advertise role of director

Jay County has been without a director of community development for more than two months. Jay County Development Corporation’s executive committee is getting ready to fill that vacancy.

LOCAL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

Back to yellow

Jay is the only county in Indiana not at red or orange.

SCHOOLS

School properties available

Board takes first steps on administrative offices, former Judge Haynes Elementary and wooded parcel in Portland. Jay School Corporation is looking to offload three properties.

NEWS

Second clinic

A second coronavirus vaccination clinic is set to open in Jay County next week.

HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES

Knapke trial is set for the fall

A new trial date has been set for one of the three women charged with the January 2020 murder of a Portland man.

NEWS

New trial dates slated

Most of the high-profile trials slated in Jay Circuit Court have been rescheduled.

LOCAL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

Orange again

Jay County is orange again. In Indiana State Department of Health’s update Wednesday, the county was rated “orange” (high risk of the spread of coronavirus) for the second consecutive week.

NEWS

First vaccines

Jay County Health Department administered 50 doses during opening day of clinic Tuesday.

NEWS

Clinics are set

Coronavirus vaccines will be available to some Jay County residents beginning Tuesday.

NEWS

County moves back to orange

We’re orange again. Indiana State Department of Health’s updated county metrics today moved Jay County back to “orange” (high risk for the spread of coronavirus).

HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES

Jay is orange again

We’re orange again.

NEWS

Vaccine coming

Health department expects to get doses this week; they will likely be targeted for first responders.

NEWS

Complimentary, and critical

There were a lot of compliments Monday for local efforts to improve school finances. The same could not be said for the state legislature.

HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES

Zone stifles Heritage

JCHS rolls out to 26-5 lead in ACAC victory.

FORT RECOVERY

A season gone

Loss of spring sports top story of 2020.

HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES

Top 10 stories of 2020

Pandemic dominated the year like no other story in recent memory.

NEWS

Jay shifts back to yellow

Other 91 counties remain red or orange.

NEWS

2020 - the year in photos

A year ago, we decided that in addition to our annual list of top 10 stories of the year we’d also put together a package featuring our top 10 photos.

NEWS

One year in

It’s been hectic. But progress is being made. That’s how Dunkirk Mayor Jack Robbins evaluates his first year in office.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Projects planned at IU Health Jay

Upgrades are coming to IU Health Jay. Remaining funds will likely be set aside for future health-related initiatives.

NEWS

75 and counting

Fishing Packing of Portland continues tradition in meat with third generation leading the way.

NEWS

Freeman retiring after nearly 4 decades

Ron Freeman held a degree in secondary education and had spent his short career working in college admissions and marketing.

NEWS

Jay County shifts to orange

Two days before Christmas, the “red” designation is gone.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Redkey tables animal control proposal

REDKEY — Town council will wait until after the new year to dive into a discussion about potential participation in a county-wide animal control project.

HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES

Going remote

Students were expecting to be away from school for a dozen days. Seventh through 12th graders will tack another week onto that number.

HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES

Virtual improvement

The verdict is in. The first extended virtual learning of 2020-21 proved to be an improvement over the experience from the close of the previous school year.

NEWS

Lilly surprise

“No way.” “No way.”

HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES

Ottawa acquired

A Portland-based convenience store and gas station chain has grown by more than 60 percent.

HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES

James retires

Redkey clerk-treasurer has stepped away after decade of service following appointment in 2010

NEWS

Jay County remains in the red

Positivity rate was fifth-highest in the state on Wednesday.

HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES

School returning to in-person

Jay County Junior-Senior High students will be back in their classrooms Monday.

NEWS

Going virtual

Junior-senior high closed through Dec. 4.

NEWS

Solar on the horizon?

Developers continue to show interest in Jay projects.

NEWS

A blessed bond

Shared experience forged friendship between Jay County High School student and his teacher.

HOMEPAGE ROTATING ARTICLES

Eley to fill Redkey vacancy

Dominic Martyne didn’t have to look far to find Redkey’s next clerk-treasurer.

SCHOOLS

Board approves weekly delay

Teachers and staff will get a couple of extra hours each week to help them deal with the expanded workload caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

NEWS

Jay Schools business manager died Monday

Jay School Corporation business manager Tarinna Morris died Monday evening at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie. She was 57.
PORTLAND WEATHER

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