Stories from Friday, May 6, 2011

BY TERESA LUBBERS Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education In the midst of limited resources and competing priorities, Indiana lawmakers passed a state budget this year that promotes college completion while helping more Hoosiers afford the growing cost of higher education...

Sunday may officially be Mother's Day on the nearest Hallmark card or calendar, but really every single day is Mother's Day, isn't it? All day. Every day. For your entire life. Realistically no other person could possibly have the influence on your life that your mother has had and will continue to have. I mean, aside from the obvious physical involvement, mothers affect nearly everything we do or say. At least that's my experience...

For the first 20 years of my life, I always heard, "I'll always remember where I was when (fill in the blank)." For my parents' generation, it was Kennedy's assassination. For their parents, it was Pearl Harbor. On September 11, 2001, I got my answer as to what my generation's version of that would be...

A special Greencastle Veterans Memorial Highway Arbor Day celebration is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday. The program will honor the many sacrifices by the veterans who have served and continue to serve our nation, as well as recognizing the City of Greencastle's 12th year of being named a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation...

Putnam County Hospital recently purchased ConMed Linvatec high definition 1080p video technology for all endoscopic procedures. This high definition technology truly defines all anatomy structures and significantly improves patient results and outcomes with the increased ability to view the internal parts of the human body...

Putnam County Hospital welcomes Dr. John Savage as its new hospitalist, who started work on May 2. A hospitalist is a physician who is responsible for the medical care of acutely ill hospitalized patients. The physician focuses on patient care, education, research and leadership related to healthcare...

The DePauw University Band will present its "Student Conductors Concert" at 7:30 p.m. today in Kresge Auditorium of the Center for Performing Arts. Six DPU School of Music students will guest conduct the ensemble in eight works for symphonic band. DePauw music majors Katherine Blakey, Ariel Detwiler, Renee Dworak, Bradley King, Andrew Muth and Orlando Ramirez were selected by audition for this opportunity to conduct the University Band...

The Putnam County Museum will open its newest exhibit, "Remember the Past, See the Future," at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 11. The exhibit will feature the renderings from the Greencastle Stellar Communities Grant alongside historic photographs of the square and other spaces associated with the grant inclusion...

The Cloverdale boys' golf team edged Sullivan to win a four-way meet with the Golden Arrows, Owen Valley and White River Valley Thursday. CHS scored 164 to Sullivan's 169 to capture the match. Medalist Chris Arnold led the Clovers with a 36, followed closely by Gary Williams with a 38. Sam Jordan scored 42, with Aaron Whitlock carding a 48, Zach Hall a 50 and Mike Matthews a 56...

CLOVERDALE -- An impressive outing by pitcher Paige Guttierez was rewarded by a three-run sixth inning, propelling the home Clovers over the Wolverines from White River Valley on Thursday night. The first three batters from either side were retired by each pitcher before a second inning single run for each side. ...

The South Putnam softball team moved to 15-1 on the season after defeating West Vigo 10-0 in five innings. Emily Dabkowski was 2-for-3 with a triple and five RBIs and a run scored, while Brenly Bratcher was 1-for-1 with two RBIs. Megan Barnes was 2-for-2 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored, with Janet Crafton going 1-for-1 with two runs scored. Nikki York was 1-or-1 with an RBI and a run scored...

GREENCASTLE -- DePauw University will play host to the 2011 West Central Indiana Youth Team Tennis beginning June 20 and ending July 28. Matches will take place on Mondays and Thursdays. The registration for the program ends Friday. To register, visit www.midwestteamtennis.com...

CLAYTON -- The Greencastle boys' golf team continued its successful season after defeating Cascade and Monrovia Thursday at Deer Creek Golf Course. Brad Haussin led the Tiger Cubs with a low-round of 37, with Jim Wheeler adding a 38. Raymond Stinson shot a 40 and Luke Brotherton carded a 42. Alec Davis shot a 43 for GHS, with Tyler Hopkins adding a 47...

CLOVERDALE -- The Cloverdale baseball team improved passed the .500 mark after Thursday night's convincing win. The Clovers defeated White River Valley 14-4 thanks to solid pitching from Jordan Brinkman (3-2) and opportune hitting and defense from the Clovers...

The big bats came out for Greencastle early Thursday and continued to rain down booming shots on the Owen Valley Patriots en route to a 9-0 victory. "Our bats have been hit and miss all year," GHS head coach Troy Remsburg said. "Yesterday we got shutout one game and then the next game turned around and 10-runned a team. ...

Returning to the scene of the crime one too many times finally caught up with a pair of Indianapolis men this week. The two 39-year-olds have been implicated in a string of chainsaw thefts targeting Stihl power equipment dealers in central Indiana over the past three years. Among the incidents were three break-ins and burglaries at Humphreys' Outdoor Power in Greencastle...

Venita Scott, 81, Mitchell, passed away Thursday, May 5, 2011 at Indiana University Bloomington Born June 20, 1929 in Malvern, Ark., she was the daughter of George and Irene (Bailey) Lawrence. She married James C. Scott Jr. Oct. 4, 1947 and he preceded her in death May 20, 2010...

RUSSELLVILLE -- A 68-year-old Putnam County man was arrested at noon Thursday on charges of child molestation. Detectives from the Criminal Investigation Division at the Putnamville Post served a Putnam County arrest warrant on Fred Leroy Legrand for two counts of child molestation, a Class C felony...