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Crime, emergencies rule list of 2016 most viewed
A fall facelift for the online edition of the Banner Graphic made reading Putnam County news more user-friendly in 2016 for both desktop and mobile devices.
However, what did not change were the interests and concerns of area residents who saw a slew of medical emergencies, collisions, arrests and various other urgent situations come across their screens throughout the past year.
With a total of 6,376,198 page views in 2016, www.bannergraphic.com online page view compared to 7,139,960 in 2015.
But with a reconstruction of the website taking place on Sept. 7, 2016, numbers running from that date through Dec. 31 of each year saw only a slight decrease of 0.3 percent when compared, putting the total percentage in decreased traffic to more-accurate approximation of 1 percent overall.
And at 17,421 average daily visits, the Banner Graphic has again become the leading news source for Greencastle and its surrounding communities.
Monday, May 9 proved to be the most heavily-trafficked day of the year with 9,799 page views, followed by Saturday, Dec. 17 (7,139) and Thursday, Feb. 18 (6,905).
• The top story of the year, “Driver uninjured in Water Works Hill semi crash,” came on Saturday, Dec. 17 when a semi trailer slid off the road at the base of Water Works Hill during inclement weather, breaking through the guardrail with the cab hanging from the trailer over the edge just north of Big Walnut Creek.
The 2014 Freightliner closed U.S. 231 for several hours until road workers could remove the badly-mangled vehicle.
The driver, Randy Taulman, 61, of Goodland, walked away from the accident without injury. The story was viewed 14,136 times in less than a two-week period on bannergraphic.com.
• Viewed 12,193 times was the second-most visited story, “Body of Robert Sims recovered,” which came on Sept. 22 after the kayaker went missing during a Sept. 17 trip with a friend on Big Walnut Creek.
The body of Sims, 27, was recovered the following Thursday within a quarter-mile of where his kayak capsized in the extreme northeastern corner of Greencastle Township, west of County Road 275 East and upstream of the abandoned Pinhook Bridge.
“My deputies and I (had) been out every day in order to give his family a bit of peace of mind,” County Coroner David Brown said at the time.
• The Sunday, May 8 story “Man left at PCH with gunshot wound dies” was the third most-read story of 2016, garnering 10,737 views.
Mario L. Edwards Sr., 33, of Columbus, Ohio, was fatally wounded by at least two gunshots to the torso following an argument as he and his companions — Markus S. Yeanay, 18, Columbus, Ohio, and Stefon R. Woods, 21, also of Columbus — rode in a van along westbound I-70 near Cloverdale.
Following the argument and shooting, Edwards was haphazardly dropped off in front of the Putnam County Hospital (PCH) where he was treated. He died soon thereafter at PCH.
Both Yeanay and Woods were arrested early the following Monday on Greencastle’s east side after their rental van was stopped by Putnam County Sheriff’s Deputy Jacob Harrington and Capt. Charles Inman of the Greencastle Police Department.
• A related story with the headline “Two Ohio men arrested after bizarre fatal shooting along I-70” was published Wednesday, May 11, bringing in the fifth most page views at 9,253.
• “OL Ambulance, sheriff’s department SUV involved in south side crash” takes fourth place on the list of 2016 most viewed, receiving a total of 9,577 page views between Nov. 25 and Dec. 31.
Two local emergency vehicles were involved in a crash at one of Greencastle’s busiest intersections in the morning hours of Friday, Nov. 25 when an Operation Life ambulance, driven by Savannah Fox, T-boned a Putnam County Sheriff’s Department SUV, driven by Deputy David Scott Ducker, at the intersection of Bloomington Street (U.S. 231) and Veterans Memorial Highway.
Though both drivers were subsequently transported to PCH, neither suffered major injuries.
Both vehicles were heavily damaged and towed from the intersection which was reopened after the removal of fluids and debris.
• An 18-year-old Poland woman was killed on Monday, Dec. 5 after losing control of her vehicle on County Road 900 South and colliding with a tree. The story quickly became the sixth most-viewed story of 2016.
Putnam County Sheriff Scott Stockton told the Banner Graphic that Darlene Whitaker was about 3/4 of a mile east of U.S. 231, headed toward Greencastle at “a very high rate of speed” when her car crossed into the oncoming lane for an unknown reason.
PCSD Lt. Donnie Pettit, who investigated the accident, said it was unclear exactly what caused the accident aside from speed. There were no marks on the road indicating a loss of control.
Whitaker had been a student at Cloverdale High School.
• The story “Six charged in Cloverdale bust,” published on Thursday Feb. 25, saw 8,579 total page views, making it the seventh most-viewed story of 2016.
After a two-month drug investigation by the Cloverdale Police Department and the Indiana State Police, six individuals were variously charged by the Putnam County Prosecutor’s Office in connection with dealing in methamphetamine and prescription drugs.
Alice Payne (51, Cloverdale), Clarence Gilmore (28, Cloverdale), Alan Manning (30, Spencer), Courtney Michalik (24, Cloverdale), Andrea Tillberry (23, Cloverdale) and Wesley Garrison (33, Cloverdale) were all arrested and taken into custody following the investigation. Apartment lessee Tim Amburn, 48, Cloverdale, was charged with maintaining a common nuisance but was not arrested.
• April 18 had residents from around the area concerned for John English, of English’s Buffalo Farm, when he suffered multiple injuries after his ATV collided with a vehicle on U.S. 231 about eight miles north of Greencastle.
Rachel Jern, 47, Terre Haute, could not stop in time to avoid colliding with English; he and his two granddaughters suffered head injuries. John was airlifted to Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. The elder granddaughter was taken via ambulance to Riley Hospital in Indianapolis while the younger was airlifted to Riley Hospital as well.
Jern suffered a laceration to her arm and bruising to her chest but declined medical treatment or transportation. Traffic in both directions was completely stalled for several miles during the accident.
Their story, headlined “ATV collides with car on U.S. 231 in Monroe Township,” attracted 7,607 page views to make it number eight on the list of 2016 most viewed.
• Another Feb. 25 story, this one titled “Cloverdale man charged with four felony counts of child molesting,” saw 7,419 page views as the ninth most-viewed article of 2016.
Daniel Stevens, 70, Cloverdale, was arrested on Wednesday, Feb. 24 for sexual violations related to a young girl known to the family. He was charged with Level 1 felony child molesting, among other felony charges.
An investigation by the Putnam County Department of Child Services began on Jan. 14 after being notified of the alleged sexual improprieties. According to court documents, the child had notified her school counselor of the incidents, saying it had happened “more than 10 times.”
• Rounding off the top 10 most-viewed stories of 2016 was an article titled “Suspects facing five counts each in pizza dough theft,” bringing in 6,825 views between Jan. 6 and Dec. 31.
The story, which began “No matter how you slice it,” involved two individuals who reportedly confessed to the Jan. 1 burglary of the Cloverdale-based restaurant Pizza, Spuds and Sticks, which saw an estimated $1,200 recovered by authorities.
Derrick Michael Thompson, 24, and James Lambert Williams, 20, were arrested and charged with five criminal counts each with punishment that could total as much as 15 years in jail.
Thompson, who worked at the restaurant, became the prime suspect when Manager Leah Moy noted that he had left the pizzeria earlier in the day but returned shortly before closing under the guise of having forgotten something.
Moy and authorities observed that the back window in the kitchen had been pushed in but was not broken as it had been unlocked and was simply lifted off its track.
A pair of shoe prints, found outside the kitchen window of the pizza parlor, aided the ensuing investigation and apprehension of the suspects, who are both under no-contact orders to keep off the premises of Pizza, Spuds and Sticks.
Other widely-read stories of 2016 included:
11. Highway accident sends three to Hendricks, four to Putnam County hospitals (April 15): 6,366 views.
12. KFC drive-through (Oct. 23): 5,908 views.
13. One airlifted following shooting in western Putnam County (Feb. 18): 5,679 views.
14. Firefighter’s last call (July 31): 5,291 views.
15. Ashley Square Cinema under new management (Jan. 8): 5,181 views.
16. Former teacher Kim Fidler announces campaign for state representative (Jan. 14): 5,153 views.
17. Putnamville illness identified as influenza, MRSA (Jan. 26): 4,876 views.
18. Two suspects in custody for Cloverdale Liquors robbery (Dec. 29): 4,876 views.
19. Roachdale man critically injured in house fire (July 15): 4,710 views.
20. Suspect flees police at courthouse, gets only across the street (Oct. 14): 4,627 views.