Stories from Sunday, June 14, 2015

Lester E. Skinner, 68, of Greencastle, passed away on Friday, June 12, 2015 surrounded by his family. He was born on Feb. 9, 1947 in Peoria, Ill. to Cassel T. Skinner and Fayma Black Skinner. Lester was a graduate of Fillmore High School and retired from the Putnam County Highway Department, where he was a truck driver and heavy equipment operator...

Indianapolis Symphony Associate Concertmaster Philip Palermo makes his Greencastle Summer Music Festival debut this week in "The More the Merrier," a free Wednesday 7:30 p.m. concert in Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church celebrating the joys of classical chamber music...

The third ParkFest show of the summer will feature Bridge 19 and War Radio beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. As always, the free show, presented by the Greencastle Civic League, will take place in the Bob Flanigan Bandshell at Robe-Ann Park. Food vendor this week will be Anthony's Pizza...

Local children are invited to "Rev Up Your Imagination" for the Friends of the Putnam County Public Library's third annual Touch-a-Truck event. Touch-a-Truck will take place on Saturday, June 20 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Greencastle High School lower parking lot...

By Carey Fox For the Banner Graphic PUTNAMVILLE -- Three drivers made their first trips to victory lane this season at Lincoln Park Speedway. Brent Beauchamp has had success at LPS in the past and cruised to a win over Josh Hodges and hard charging Chad Boesfplug, who started back in 11th in the A-main...

The free Dine with a Doc program Monday, June 22 will feature Dr. Kumar Guarav of the Kidney and Hypertension Center of the Wabash Valley. Senior Education Ministries has scheduled a Dine with a Doc for the fourth Monday of every month from 10 a.m. to noon at the Putnam County Hospital, 1542 Bloomington St., Greencastle...

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) will be hosting a training session at Robe-Ann Park Wednesday evening. Captain Russ Evans said several volunteers will be at the park between 6 and 8 p.m. for search and rescue training. A mock command center will be set up for the training...

The Greencastle American Legion Post 58 and Fraternal Order of Eagles 4388 are sponsoring the "ABATE of Indiana Children's Motorcycle Adventure" in conjunction with the third annual Touch-a-Truck event scheduled for Saturday, June 20 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Greencastle High School parking lot...

Childhood obesity rates continue to climb and Indiana is the 22nd most obese state with a 31.5 perent obesity rate for children. The Purdue Extension Offices of Clay, Monroe, Owen and Putnam counties are providing a one-day training of I am Moving, I am Learning at no cost to childcare providers in centers, homes, ministries and anyone who is interested in attending. The event will take place June 30 at the Clay County YMCA from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m...

Do you have a son/daughter, niece/nephew or grandchild who loves to help you garden? If so, consider entering them in the Lil' Sprouts Program at the Putnam County Fair. Local youth ages four through second grade are eligible to exhibit vegetables and flowers at the Putnam County Fair. They can choose to exhibit in the vegetable (cucumber, tomato, zucchini) class and/or cut flower (marigold, sunflower, zinnia) class...

Putnam County has a new tool that can enable everyone in our community to live well. It is a workshop called "Getting Ahead in a Just Getting By World" and it is transforming lives. Six individuals graduated from the fourth workshop to be offered in the local community on June 3. They had a desire to stop "getting by" and to start "getting ahead," spending many hours investigating where they are in their lives and where they want to be...

To the Editor: Too few people know about a great not-for-profit group in Putnam County -- the Friends of the Library. Their mission is to promote literacy, the love of reading and the freedom to read. They support the public library with fundraising, educational programs and volunteer service. They are one of multiple such organizations throughout the United States, all working with their local library staff and patrons to achieve the best service and facilities possible...

With the filing deadline for candidates in Putnam County's five towns just two weeks away, most spots on the ballot remain unfilled. Independent candidates for town council and clerk treasurer positions have until noon on Tuesday, June 30 to file their paperwork with the Putnam County Voter Registration Office...

The third ParkFest show of the summer will feature Bridge 19 and War Radio beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. As always, the free show, presented by the Greencastle Civic League, will take place in the Bob Flanigan Bandshell at Robe-Ann Park. Food vendor this week will be Anthony's Pizza...

With dye from the color run still lingering in the air, the 134 participants in the second annual C.A.R.R. 5K Run take off Saturday from the starting line at Deer Meadow School in Greencastle. Led by Makenzie Carr (center with red dye in hair), sister of the late Keith Carr, whom the run memorializes, leads the pack out with eventual winner Samuel Rice (No. 115) of Cincinnati on the outside. (Banner Graphic/ERIC BERNSEE)...

Having lost the Indiana governorship to Mike Pence in 2012 in the closest race in more than 50 years, Democrat John Gregg is determined to put up an even better fight in 2016. Waging an almost whimsical campaign that sometimes featured his mustache more than his message in 2012, Gregg nonetheless went from supposed cannon fodder for the Republican favorite to making it a race in which only 81,664 votes statewide separated the two men...