Stories from Saturday, April 25, 2009

The Greencastle High School baseball team won Friday, defeating Tri-West 14-4 in five innings. Tanner Battin went the distance for the Tiger Cubs, allowing four runs on five hits and fanned four Bruins. Trey Ford led the offense, with a double and a three-run home run. He had four RBIs total for the night...

The Greencastle Middle School softball team has begun its season and currently holds a record of 1-1. On April 15, the Tiger Cubs fell to Southmont in 4-3. Alex Basile pitched six innings with seven strikeouts and two walks. Basile also went 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI...

The South Putnam boys golf team finished second in a three-way match against Plainfield and Danville. The Quakers were first with a 161, South Putnam was second with 192 and the Warriors were third with a 200. Dylan Gilbert led the Eagles with a 43, while Alex Eickhoff followed with a 46. Damon Robinson carded a 48, with Mike Nichols and Alex Kelly adding a pair of 55s...

With the middle school bowling league's season creeping to a close, the action before sectional is getting hot and heavy. In boys' action, Austin Alspaugh rolled a two-game series of 322, making it the third time he has led the competition in Middle School bowling at Alex Alleys...

LIZTON -- The Greencastle junior varsity baseball team combined for 18 hits and defeated Tri-West 13-3 Friday night at Lizton. Hunter Mitchell started on the mound and earned the victory for GHS. Mitchell was relieved by Dylan Linton in the fourth and Nathaniel Velasquez finished the night going the final two innings. ...

On Monday, the North Putnam High School baseball team will host South Putnam 4:30 p.m. The two teams will be doing more than just playing each other for bragging rights or conference standings. They will be battling to defeat cancer. North Putnam's Coach Norm Fish has teamed up with the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association in its "Baseball Strikes Out Kancer" campaign in an effort to raise awareness and money for the fight against cancer...

The South Putnam baseball team utilized a monster fifth inning to come away with an 11-point win over Danville 13-2 Friday. The Eagles found themselves down early, but tied the game at 2-all in the bottom of the second. South Putnam had an opportunity to take the lead in the bottom of the third inning, but left three runners stranded...

ROACHDALE -- With Taylor Judy fanning batters left and right from the circle and her teammates getting timely hits, North Putnam cruised to a 4-2 win over Crawfordsville. Judy struck out 11 Athenians, while allowing only three hits and one earned run in Friday's game...

A Greencastle man has been sentenced in Putnam County Circuit Court to 63 years for child molesting. Terrell Britton, 53, was convicted of two counts of Class A felony child molesting and one count of Class D felony dissemination of matter harmful to a minor. He received 30-year sentences with 25 years executed and five years suspended on both Class A felonies and three years with credit for 317 days already served on the Class D felony...

John L. Davis, 75, Cloverdale, died Thursday, April 23, 2009 in Indianapolis. He was born in Muncie on Dec. 17, 1933 to the late John W. and Orpha P. Newman Davis. Mr. Davis was retired from the United States Air Force (OSI District 13) as a master sergeant and later was employed as a mechanic...

Betty J. Minnick, 84, of Bainbridge, died on Thursday, April 23, 2009. She was born on Aug. 3, 1924 in Indianapolis to Donald and Carrie Obenchain Brann. Mrs. Minnick was a graduate of Bainbridge High School, class of 1942. She was a life-long member of Bainbridge United Methodist Church, having served as an organist for more than 40 years, and was in charge of the Alter flowers...

WAVELAND -- Lawrence Ray McGaughey, 88, Greencastle and formerly of Russellville, died Thursday, April 23, 2009 at Asbury Towers. He was born Oct. 26, 1920 in Russellville to Ray and Nettie Christy McGaughey. Mr. McGaughey was a farmer and was owner/operator McGaughey Electric. He was married to Betty Marlan on March 15, 1963 in Greencastle...

Basil Delbert McFarland, 74, of Greencastle, died on Friday, April 24, 2009. He was born on Sept. 23, 1934 in Fillmore to Lynn and Goldie Pickett McFarland. He graduated from Bainbridge High School in 1952. Mr. McFarland served his country in the U.S. Army. He retired from IBM in 1987 and was a long time farmer...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Last Thursday, a panel of Democrats and Republicans appeared closer to agreeing on legislation to improve the nearly nonexistent regulations on large-scale dog breeders in the state. House Bill 1468 (being called the Puppy Mill Bill) strengthens the state's animal-cruelty statute and gives authorities the ability to shut down abusive puppy mills...

Today, more than half a million Hoosiers are without the peace of mind of health insurance. They are unprotected against the risk of a big medical bill. "And that is not right," states Governor Mitch Daniels in a message on health insurance coverage...

Hendricks Power Cooperative is using spare change from energy bills to help the local community. They recently donated $1,500 to the Friends of the Park to complete the final phase of the shelter rebuild in Robe-Ann Park. Their gift will enable FOP to pay for the installation of electricity in the shelter that was recently rebuilt by Area 30 building trade students...

Seventy-nine-year-old Florence Ward has lived in her house on Beveridge Street in Greencastle since the last day of 1976. Her husband Charles died of lung cancer 10 years ago, and Ward herself was diagnosed with breast cancer last July. She had a double mastectomy and underwent a full course of chemotherapy. She has had a hard time bouncing back from the chemotherapy...

A Stilesville man died as the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head Friday night after a seven-and-a-half hour standoff with police. Dennis Dean, 46, barricaded himself and his estranged wife in a camper near the intersection of S.R. 40 and C.R. 725W just after 3 p.m., Putnam County Sheriff Steve Fenwick said...