Stories from Wednesday, May 4, 2011

The North Putnam baseball split with Cascade Monday night. The Cougars won game one 8-2 and lost the second contest 3-1. Tyler Watson tossed a complete game in game one, allowing two run, five hits and eight strikeouts. Coy Flynn was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a triple, while Blake Knowling was 2-for-4 with four RBIs and a triple. Beau Green, Morgan Hensley, Jake Haste and Michael Herrmann all had one hit each...

The Greencastle Middle School coed track teams split with North Clay Tuesday. The boys' won 56-53, while the girls fell 59-50. For the boys, Elijah Brattain won the 2,400-meter run in a time of 8:32 and the 400-meter dash in 59.3. Taylor Secrest won the 1,600-meter run in 5:12 and the 800-meter run in 2:23. Greencastle was also able to win the 1,600-meter relay in a time of 4:10.5...

The Greencastle Middle School coed track teams split with North Clay Tuesday. The boys' won 56-53, while the girls fell 59-50. For the boys, Elijah Brattain won the 2,400-meter run in a time of 8:32 and the 400-meter dash in 59.3. Taylor Secrest won the 1,600-meter run in 5:12 and the 800-meter run in 2:23. Greencastle was also able to win the 1,600-meter relay in a time of 4:10.5...

The Cougar Middle School coed track team fell once again with the meet being decided on the final relay. The Cougars fell to North Ridge 55.5-53.5, with South Putnam finishing third with a 49 and Eminence fourth with 38. Top performers for the Cougars were Tucker Lowe winning the 110-meter hurdles and Jenson Conlen winning the shot put. ...

CLOVERDALE -- It just doesn't look quite like golf season yet. Umbrellas were as common as putters amongst those playing at Clover Meadows Monday night, with a seemingly never-ending supply of rain and wind, along with frigid temperatures, again hampering golfers...

SPENCER -- Sunny skies and warm temperatures attracted runners and walkers from Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky to the YMCA/Friends of McCormick's Creek 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, April 30. The YMCA/Friends of McCormick's Creek 5K was a multi-generational family event with 118 participants crossing the finish line on Saturday, vying for the fastest times in their age divisions. Participants ranged in age from eight to 73 years old...

CRAWFORDSVILLE -- The Greencastle boys' golf team narrowly defeated Crawfordsville 160-164, with North Putnam placing third with 205. Luke Brotherton led the way with a 38, with Brad Haussin adding a 39 and Jim Wheeler a 40. Alec Davis shot a 43 and Raymond Stinson shot a 45 and Tyler Hopkins a 52...

The South Putnam boys' track team racked up nine wins en route to its win in a tri-meet Monday. The Eagles won with a total of 81.5, with Rockville finishing second with 49 and Lighthouse Christian third with 29.5. Freshman Tyler Nield won a hotly contested race in the 3,200-meter run. ...

South Putnam moved to 13-1 on the season after making quick work of visiting Clay City Tuesday evening. The Eagles won 8-0 on an efficient eight-hit outing and a one-two punch inside the circle. On a night that was a stark contrast to what spring sports fans have been accustom to, Tuesday saw sunlight gracing the diamond with a mild breeze that was a welcomed change...

The Russians have a proverb, "God hurries not, but misses not." In the case of Osama bin Laden, we may have been in a hurry, but still had to wait 10 long years since the day he crushed and incinerated thousands on our soil. It's hard to know what the condign punishment is for such a savage act of mass murder. ...

To the editor: Thanks to all the "good eggs" that helped make EggFest'2011 nighttime egg hunt for teens, an egg-ceptionally successful event. Months of planning by the "good egg" partners, Friends of the Park Association of Putnam County, the Greencastle Park and Recreation and VOICE-Indiana Youth Speaking out Against Teen Tobacco Use- was rewarded by watching nearly 400 teens attend the seventh annual event. ...

My wife's cell phone keeps calling me. She's not calling me--just the phone. We are fairly certain we did not pay for this feature, but my bill is complicated, so it's hard to tell. Here's how it works. Or doesn't work. I'm at home minding my own business when suddenly I hear the William Tell Overture. ...

Just in case you missed it, Monday's Banner Graphic front page was as unusual as it was historic. The sanctity of our all-local front page was broken for one of the few times in the past 30-plus years when we carried the breaking news of the demise of Osama bin Laden on Page 1...

County Jail Kim Maurice Fisher, 54, Indianapolis: Possession of marijuana, operating while intoxicated, April 30, 6:30 p.m. Tammy Young Mitchener, 35, Coatesville: Fraud, theft, probation violation, April 29, 6:20 p.m. Robert John Robertson, 29, Bainbridge: Battery, criminal mischief, May 1, 5:33 p.m...

Seniors at Area 30 have been working on mock interviews recently as the end portion of a career unit that all students at the learning center go through. Janet Branneman is one of the organizers for the interviews. She said the goal is to have people who work in a business relevant to the student perform the interview...

A DePauw senior has turned her experience of a semester studying environmental policy into a documentary she will be screening later this week. Sheah Hilton of Plainfield is one of eight students involved in the DePauw Environmental Policy Project this semester. The group spends the semester at the statehouse researching and testifying on environmental legislation...

The City of Greencastle has been recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree City USA community for its commitment to urban forestry. Greencastle has now earned the national recognition for 12 years. Greencastle also received a Tree City USA Growth Award for demonstrating progress in its community forestry program. The Growth Award honors environmental improvement and higher levels of tree care in Tree City USA communities...

In an effort to encourage residential customers to upgrade their natural gas appliances to even greater efficiency, Vectren has modified its natural gas appliance rebate program, known as Conservation Connection. The new rebate structure features a tiered system for residential natural gas storage water heaters based on the level of efficiency and the initial cost to the consumer; as the efficiency rate increases, so does the rebate amount...

PUTNAMVILLE -- Escalating gasoline costs have been affecting everything from soup to nuts to the price of tea from China. And Monday afternoon they even helped take a big bite out of the Antique Auto Tour that came through Putnam County in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the construction of U.S. 40, the National Road...

Putnam County Sheriff's Deputy Danny Wallace directs traffic during a Wednesday morning power outage at the intersection of Indiana and Washington streets. Downtown Greencastle was without power beginning shortly before 9 a.m. Duke Energy took approximately one hour to fix the problem, which area manager Steve Bahr described as an equipment failure cause by several switches failing.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Bring home the adventure and share Star Wars with your whole family -- when STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA comes to Blu-ray Disc from Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment! To be released beginning on September 12 internationally and on September 16 in North America, the nine-disc collection brings the wonder of the entire Saga direct to your living room, where you can revisit all of your favorite Star Wars moments -- in gorgeous high definition and with pristine, 6.1 DTS Surround Sound. ...

Freada McMahel, 80, Bainbridge, passed away Saturday, April 30, 2011 at Plainfield Health Care and Rehabilitation Center. Born May 30, 1930 in Greencastle, she was the daughter of the late Albert and Flossie (Keck) McMahel. Survivors include her sons and daughters-in-law, David and Kelly Sears of Avon, Lance and Teresa Sears of Brazil and Dan and Paula Sears of Cypress, Texas; sisters and brother-in-law Lucille and John Gelsosomo of Flossmoor, Ill., and Doris Wright of Indianapolis; six grandchildren, Hollie Sears-Mendenhall, Ashley Sears-Flanagan, Dustin Sears, John Sears, Samantha Sears and Tabitha Havlin; and two great-grandchildren, Ethan and Jacob Mendenhall.. ...

Howard "Dick" Van Hook, 73, Russellville died Wednesday, May 3, 2011 at Putnam County Hospital in Greencastle. He was born to Howard W. and Francis Branson VanHook April 7, 1938 at Mecca. He married Shirley Biggs on Dec. 5, 1953 at Rockville and she survives...