Prayer case set for U.S. Supreme Court similar to Ind. House dispute

INDIANAPOLIS | Attorney General Greg Zoeller believes Indiana may play a key role in a national question of religion and government whose answer is certain to divide an already fractured country.

PHIL WIELAND: Our nation can't go far when rights come with a star

Somebody always wants to add asterisks to basic constitutional guarantees. I call it the Roger Maris Syndrome.

How Thomas Jefferson brought creme brulee to America

And we thought we owed Julia Child a word of thanks for bringing creme brulee and champagne to American palates.

ANDREA NEAL: A two-century tradition of negative attacks

Don’t blame Mitt Romney and Barack Obama for the ugly tone of the 2012 presidential race. Blame John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. They started it.

Thomas Jefferson Science Olympiad team preps for national competition

Thomas Jefferson Middle School students Abby Mitchell, left, and Timothy Henderson review their documentation Thursday as they test their trebuchet in preparation for the Science Olympiad National Tournament on May 19.

Thomas Jefferson Science Olympiad team preps for national competition

Isaiah Smith, and eighth-grader at Valparaiso's Thomas Jefferson Middle School, aligns along a tape rule his mousetrap-powered car Thursday as he tests and documents times and distances traveled by the vehicle in the school's gym. Smith and his teammates on the Science Olympiad team were pre…

Thomas Jefferson Science Olympiad team preps for national competition

Thomas Jefferson Middle School science teacher Rich Bender will make his 23rd consecutive trip with students to the Science Olympiad National Tournament on May 19. This year's competition will be in Orlando.

Thomas Jefferson Science Olympiad team preps for national competition

Ninth-graders Jacob Mills, left, and Ankur Dhoot work Thursday on their Rube Goldberg device for the Science Olympiad National Tournament on May 19. Thomas Jefferson Middle School has competed in the nationals 23 times since 1986.

Thomas Jefferson Science Olympiad team preps for national competition

Thomas Jefferson Middle School science teacher Rich Bender watches Thursday as student Isaiah Smith positions his mousetrap-powered car for a test in the school's gym. Smith is among the 16 students on the school's Science Olympiad team.

Valpo middle school students have some feudal fun

Nick Tonne, 11, a bishop in attire, watches the Jefferson Joust championship Thursday during Feudal Day in the auditorium at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. Students and teachers wore feudal attire for citizens of all stations in life, from the king and queen down to the serfs. The school ha…

Valpo middle school students have some feudal fun

With power from classmates, students use chairs on wheels as their steeds and foam "lances" to battle for the Jefferson Jousting championship. Also during Feudal Day, the students visited with a falconer and a re-enactor wearing authentic armor.

Valpo middle school students have some feudal fun

Pennants bearing family coats of arms hang from the ceiling Thursday in the sixth-grade hallway at Thomas Jefferson Middle School.

Valpo middle school students have some feudal fun

Sixth-grader Nicole Bednar celebrates her jousting victory after emerging as champion for the Joan of Arc homeroom Thursday at Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Valparaiso. The school's annual Feudal Day marked the end of a monthlong study of the Middle Ages. The jousting champion was determ…

Thomas Jefferson Middle School wins state Spell Bowl

WEST LAFAYETTE | Thomas Jefferson Middle School of Valparaiso won the state championship Saturday in the Indiana Academic Spell Bowl at Purdue University.

ANDREA NEAL: Presidential primaries weed out good presidential prospects

Bring back the smoke-filled rooms, please. Without the smoke. Thoughtful deliberation by political insiders intent on winning the general election would produce far better candidates for president than the mass-media vetting process we use now.

Budding scientists under microscope

GARY | Taking part in Science Olympiad events that test science skills is a blast for Josh Abatie, 15, of Valparaiso.

ANDREA NEAL: Constitution should be our guiding document

As a teacher of U.S. history, I'd like to see both of these Tea Party-inspired ideas become an automatic part of the lawmaking process. If only the U.S. Senate would join the House of Representatives in a bipartisan statement that, yes, the Constitution not only matters but is the lens throu…

Students abuzz during visit from honey queen

Indiana Honey Queen Kelsey Salmon explains the duties of each type of bee that is lives in a hive to a group of second-graders at Thomas Jefferson Elementary Friday afternoon.

Students abuzz during visit from honey queen

Indiana Honey Queen Kelsey Salmon goes and puts bee antennas on Thomas Jefferson Elementary second-grader Zach Hospekhein's head Friday afternoon at the Valparaiso school. Salmon was talking about honey bee's to the second-graders and how they provide pollention for many plants which, in tur…