Online readers touched by tragedy in 2014

Friday, January 2, 2015
Photos from the top stories of 2014 included the arrest of former Putnam County Sheriff's Deputy T.J. Smith (top), the untimely passing of Greencastle teenager Riley Sutherland (top, left), the death of Greencastle native Mary Whitaker (above, right) and a Fillmore car fire.

The unexpected loss of a rural Greencastle teenager and the subsequent outpouring of grief and support garnered more than 20,000 pageviews in 2014, making it the most read story of the year at bannergraphic.com.

The story "Teen dies in tractor accident," dated June 23, detailed the unexpected loss of 17-year-old Riley Sutherlin, who was set to complete his ninth year of 4-H and begin his senior year at Greencastle High School later in 2014.

Sutherlin was operating a backhoe on the family farm in southeastern Greencastle Township when it overturned as he attempted to drive over the edge of a pile of dirt. The teen was thrown from the implement and later pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

The story was viewed 21,765 times on bannergraphic.com.

In a related story a month later, the sale of one of Sutherlin's hogs from the swine project completed by his siblings brought about $20,000 to Riley Sutherlin Fund, an endowment established to put money back in the community in Riley's name. The subsequent story brought another 4,313 readers to the Banner Graphic website.

A number of other scandals and tragedies marked the most-read stories of the year.

The March 10 story "Deputy, city councilman Smith arrested by FBI on four charges" was our second most read, attracting 18,403 pageviews following the arrest of T.J. Smith. The deputy and city councilman was charged with four felonies for police brutality.

He was later found guilty in federal court of two of the charges and given a 14-month prison sentence.

A related story also brought in much attention, with the April 15 story "Andrew Fenwick indicted on federal charges" as our sixth most read story of 2014 with 14,124 pageviews.

The former reserve deputy was charged with perjury for lying to a grand jury regarding the Smith incidents. Fenwick later agreed to a guilty plea on lesser charges of acting as an accessory after the fact. The agreement still needs to be accepted by a federal judge.

The third most read story of 2014, "Crash victim identified in early morning fatal accident," detailed the accident that killed 23-year-old Robert Beasley of Roachdale. The fatal accident and fire occurred when Beasley's vehicle somehow ended up overturned and in flames on the railroad track between Old Right-of-Way Road and County Road 425 East near Fillmore.

The story garnered 15,851 pageviews.

Tragedy from another part of the country touched Putnam County in the fourth most read story, as "Mary Whitaker, 61, shot to death in New York incident" was viewed 15,001 times.

The story described how Whitaker, a 1971 of Greencastle High School, was killed as two men tried to rob her Chautauqua County, N.Y., home on Aug. 20.

The fifth most read story with 14,934 views, "One man dies in New Year's Day crash," concerned the death of 25-year-old Jacob Daugherty in a one-vehicle accident on U.S. 36 in eastern Putnam County.

Other widely read stories of 2014 included:

7. Pickers have eyes on Putnam County area for July visit (June 22): 12,853 views.

8. Bainbridge man faces attempted murder charge following standoff (June 18): 12,791 views.

9. Former Greencastle man accused of murdering brother (May 6): 9,754 views.

10. Greencastle man charged with five felonies in rape attempt (May 27): 8,883 views.

11. Filmmakers expect to shine a light on Putnam County (June 14): 7,470 views.

12. Hollandsburg mastermind Roger Drollinger dies in prison (Jan. 29): 7,185 views.

13. Lifespring Church destroyed by fire (Jan. 24): 7,031 views.

14. Roachdale man, 33, accused of nearly $90,000 welfare fraud (Feb. 18): 6,854 views.

15. Prosecutors allege pattern of 'egregious' behavior in Smith case (March 11): 6,416 views.

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