Hello there. I am going to get straight to the point, because, frankly, I have a broken wrist and typing hurts like you cannot imagine.

The Gazette exists for several reasons. Beyond the fact that Editor Alan Hague pours every moment of his spare time into bringing Village citizens special-area coverage, we exist because we love what we do. We love Broad Ripple and we care about our writers that contribute every other week without being offered a single penny.

That said, the Gazette is nobody's personal agenda. While we support our writers, we may not always agree with their ideas. That is what a column is - a springboard for getting their personal ideas out to the community in a publication full of other ideas for readers to view and, if they wish, support. Your choice. We always have space for letters to the editor (see below).

As for our news coverage, I am doing my best to bring fair and unbiased coverage of area meetings, events, politics, future development and businesses. Sadly, I don't hear, see, or know about everything going on in the area. I welcome your input on stories that I write or should write.

However, I must say that I will not allow myself to be swayed to support one area group, entity or project over another on purpose. I do my best to use the four years of news-judgment knowledge that was pounded into my skull in journalism school, and, that said, if you don't like something you see in the Gazette, drop me an email (Ashley@BroadRippleGazette.com) and I will do my best to explain to you why I feel something has received coverage in the Gazette while another thing may have not.

This is a locally-owned paper that depends on reader support and advertising. I hope that we can continue to bring fair news coverage and interesting columns to village readers and, further more, expand our coverage and features.

If you see me, you can talk to me personally. I am not hard to spot - the short dark-haired girl with the huge bandage on her right wrist.

  -AP