I’ve figured out over the years that I’m a bit of a scatter-brained individual. It’s the territory that typically comes with someone who tries to have a creative mind.

It was no different these past few weeks when I was trying to write this column, wrote it and deleted it three different times. All of which had different subject matters.

So instead I’ll just write all of my thoughts in one hodge-podge of a scatter-brained column. Enjoy.

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First off with some exciting news. I’m an uncle!

Congratulations to my brother Aaron, and his wife Holly, on welcoming their first child Millie to the world.

As of this writing, I have not had the chance to meet her yet, but I am excited to do so. I’ve never been particularly good with children, partially due to my natural social awkwardness, but I hope I can be the ‘cool uncle’ for her as she grows up.

With my cousin Brandon now having two kids of his own, and my other cousin Matt recently getting married, it sounds like the Newton-Deraney family is gearing up for the next generation. That makes me happy.

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The May 20-24 week was… a doozy to say the least.

Between the long election day, early deadlines, graduation, and an interview with a U.S. Senator (more on that in a bit). I’m exhausted.

On election day, I couldn’t help but notice that I really didn’t have any personal attachment to 95 percent of the results that I was reporting on. That, in essence, is a good thing considering I should and will remain unbiased for our coverage.

However, there is one item that was on the ballot here in Newton County that I had a vested interest in, and that was the ESPLOST.

I am very pleased to see the ESPLOST pass here in Newton County, despite not being a Newton County resident at all.

There are three main reasons why I’m happy to see it pass.

No. 1, it provided teachers with the best chance for success within the classroom. We always want to talk about more pay for teachers, but then we don’t want to actually support them in the classroom with the resources they need. Make that make sense.

No. 2, it’s a good plan that has been developed by superintendent Dr. Duke Bradley III and company. It’s a well thought out plan with care to what both teachers and students need for optimal success.

Which leads me to my third point – student success. 

One of the things I always asked when I was in high school was, ‘How can these ESPLOST projects help me?’ I won’t spell out the specifics of the ESPLOST plan, but there are countless ways that the projects proposed in ESPLOST VI for Newton County will directly make a positive impact on student success.

The No. 1 complaint I saw on social media was that this would be a ‘new’ tax. It’s not a new tax, just a continuation of what has already happened in this county since 2000.

I would also rather pay $0.01 out of my daily lunch bill to help fund the success of students and teachers than have to pay even higher property taxes than what we already have. Because let’s face it folks, the government is gonna get their money no matter what. I’d rather at least some of it go back into the school system.

For those reasons, I am a supporter of ESPLOST VI in Newton County and will likely always be a supporter of ESPLOST’s no matter where I go.

***

On May 24, I got to interview U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock. 

For starters, if you would’ve told me this time last year I’d be interviewing a senator, I would’ve thought you were crazy.

Nonetheless, it was a good conversation, and I encourage you all to read the full interview.

As far as my personal observation of Warnock, he was very kind and personable. I, for one, am appreciative he took the time out of his day to come speak with a local media outlet and share his plans for the future.

That to me is a big deal, regardless of whether I agree or disagree with his opinions.

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Speaking of whether I agree or disagree with his opinions, former President Donald Trump has been convicted of falsifying business records, going 34-for-34 on guilty convictions.

No matter if you love him, no matter if you hate him, it marks the first time a U.S. President has ever been convicted of a crime, nevertheless a felony.

It’s a significant point in U.S. history, and we’ll find out if he sees jail time on July 11 at his sentencing. I personally don’t see him going to jail, but it’s not a 0 percent chance either. Regardless, it's a very interesting time we live in.

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Lastly, I’d like to give a shoutout to Marco Bartkowiak. 

Readers of The Covington News may have seen his byline pop up recently in both the news and sports pages, as he is one of several interns we have working here this summer.

Marco has done a fantastic job so far and he’s only going to get better.

It also makes me optimistic that more people around Marco and I’s age will take on some interest in news reporting. I look at other outlets and newspapers to study up on reporters from time-to-time, and I find that I’m typically much younger than most of them.

Does that mean that news reporters are dying as we know it? Is the interest in news reporting for people my age also dying as we know it? 

I hope not, but people like Marco give me hope that it’s not. 

I believe journalism is a craft that has no expiration date and that is for the betterment of society.