Stories from Thursday, December 14, 2006

Going to school can get students at Greencastle High School out of taking their final exams. In an effort to increase student attendance, Greencastle High School officials have worked out a plan to reward students who have two or fewer absences in a class period. Those students can choose to opt-out of the semester exam for that class...

Will Putnam County residents see a white Christmas this year? No one knows for sure, but if you rely on past history, it appears we are due for one. According to National Weather Service records, last year there was nary a snow flake to be found with a high temperature on Christmas Day of 41 degrees...

The Greencastle National Guard Armory will remain open despite news this week that others in the state are closing, an official said Wednesday. Deedra Thombleson, public information officer for the Guard's Joint Forces Headquarters, told the BannerGraphic that she has not received any information to suggest that the Greencastle post is being considered for closing...

March 16, 1955-Dec. 13, 2006 Robert M. Means, 51, Roachdale, died Wednesday at Putnam County Hospital. He was the son of Clarence and Eva Lee Means. A 1974 graduate of North Putnam High School, he was a tool and die maker by trade, working as a press operator at Rexnord, Indian-apolis, and formerly worked at Oxford Automotive in Greencastle for 27 years. He worked on the Safety Patrol at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for 26 years...

Dec. 14, 1907-Dec. 13, 2006 Burdiene Modlin, 98, Roachdale, died Wednesday at the Waters, Greencastle. Born in Montgomery County, she was the daughter of Walter Lee and Pearl (Prather) Riggle. A 1925 graduate of Roachdale High School, she married Audrey Modlin at Lebanon on July 6, 1934. He preceded her in death on Aug. 31, 1987...

Katie Welch of Roachdale recently competed in the NFL's Punt, Pass, and Kick competition. With wins at the local qualifier at Wabash College in Crawfordsville and the sectional round at the Colts Union Federal practice facility, she qualified for the finals at the RCA Dome on Nov. 26th, during the Colts' game against Philadelphia...

The DePauw University men's basketball team is on a roll. The Tigers are 6-1 and ranked 24th in the D3hoops.com Top 25 rankings heading into Sunday's home contest against the Illinois Institute of Technology. DPU is coming off its most dominating victory of the season, a 68-50 win over Maryville on the road Friday...

DePauw will attempt to improve to 7-1 on the season with a win against the Wittenberg Tigers this Saturday at 6 p.m. The sixth-ranked DePauw Tigers will travel to Springfield, Ohio in an attempt to hand the reigning North Coast Athletic Conference champions their fourth loss of the season...

A trio of former Putnam County high school swimmers and divers have been making a splash at the collegiate level this season. Diver Nick Whitaker, a North Putnam graduate, has been having a big year at Ball State. In the Cardinals' most recent meet, the 2006 House of Champions in Indianapolis, Whitaker emerged with a second-place finish in the men's one-meter drive with a score of 248.05...