Rumor mill

For small-time journalism, finding good, reliable source for stories can sometimes be a bit tricky. There’s always a chance that the yokel spewing vitriol at the Town Board meeting just forgot to take his or her meds that evening and is amid the throws of serious bout of psychosis. This is why it’s always good idea to have an elected official chime in and give some credence to whatever the public might be espousing.

But when a reporter’s two sources happen to be under the legal age to buy cigarettes and the third is from off-comments posted on myspace.com, there isn’t much sense in writing a full-blown story. That is unless you happen to be writing for The Saratogian.

Straight from the locker-side gossip to your front doorstep Friday was an article about a rumor circulating through Saratoga Springs High School that students are barred from wearing Carhartt jackets. What’s more phenomenal than the fact that this article made it to print is that students actually want to wear these over-sized heavy-duty jackets, which are most commonly associated with NASCAR-watching, Bud-swilling rednecks.

Still, there’s the head-scratching truth that the genius editors over on Lake Avenue decided to print what amounts to rumor generated through a popular Web page service and perpetuated by post-pubescent teenagers spreading gossip like they’re sometimes prone to do.

Principal Frank Crowley insists there’s not factuality to the Carhartt ban, which is a bit unfortunate, as these jackets are not exactly making a positive fashion statement for the district. Fashion sense aside, though, it’s remarkable the Saratogian eds feel it’s reasonable to print the testaments of two young girls, who claim their friends –mind you not themselves –got detention for wearing the jackets also worn by a gang of teenage thugs calling themselves “The Carhartts.”

Right. Moving onto the next topic fit for print, who's been banging the prom queen and what’s really in the cafeteria’s hamburgers.