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Top local stories vary from tragedy to downtown disgust
It’s that time of year to roll out the list of the top local stories over the past 12 months.
Only in this case, we are not determining importance by assigning numerical values to what we have written. You, dear readers, have already done that for us.
Through our website -- bannergraphic.com -- we are able to recover statistics as to what our subscribers are reading. Tracking the top stories of the year is something we routinely do annually.
So where do you click when you visit? If you’re like most of our readers from Fillmore and Cloverdale, Bainbridge and Russellville, Roachdale and Reelsville, and Heritage Lake and Greencastle, you tend to gravitate toward crime and punishment stories. Thefts and accidents seem to intrigue more than politics and education.
And that is essentially true again as we look back at 2022. Five of the top 20 stories for the year involved fatal or serious motor vehicle accidents. Oddly, only two involved court proceedings, i.e., molesting and arson cases.
Only one political story was among the top 20 -- coverage of the 2022 primary election -- which makes sense given that the Republican primary essentially decided the general election.
Only one sports story made the cut, while not a single education story earned a spot on the list unless you want to count two DePauw University-related stories on the razing of O’Hair House and use of a DPU scene for a fictional Indiana college on a cable TV show.
Here are the top 20 stories of 2022, according to statistics from our website:
1. Park Board proceeding toward normal pool season (4/5/22), 8,591 views. After canceling the 2021 pool season, the 2022 season went off as scheduled with pool-goers enjoying the renovations and the water slide additions at the City Pool.
2. One dead in rollover incident Thursday (9/29/22), 7,232 views. A one-vehicle accident on West Walnut Street Road near the turnoff for County Road 200 West took the life of driver Debbie Hurley, 52, Greencastle, who was westbound when her Infiniti QX56 left the roadway for an unknown reason.
3. Walmart suing fire departments who battled Plainfield blaze, including GFD (9/22/22), 7,122 views. In a Banner Graphic scoop, it was reported that more than 30 fire departments -- including the Greencastle Fire Department -- who battled the Walmart Fulfillment Center blaze earlier this year received notice they are being sued by the commercial giant. City officials received word from Lewis Wagner Attorneys, Indianapolis, of a notice of tort claim -- the precursor to a lawsuit -- for property loss and damages relative to the March 16 fire.
4. Monday traffic stop ends in driver taking own life (8/30/22), 6,338 views. Greencastle Police officers investigating an alleged domestic dispute initiated a traffic stop on the south side of Putnam County Courthouse Square. The driver was the party involved in the dispute. Officers ordered the man from his vehicle, but he did not comply. Instead, officers heard a pop from the vehicle consistent with a gunshot.
5. Two dead in head-on collision (5/26/22), 6,310 views. The accident occurred on U.S. 231 near Fincastle as a northbound Hyundai Sonata, driven by Heather Kendall, 38, Greencastle, lost control around a sharp curve and struck a southbound Infiniti QX60 SUV, driven by Nancy Leonard, 58, Crawfordsville. Leonard was accompanied by Deborah Allen, 58, also of Crawfordsville. Kendall was declared dead at the scene, while Allen succumbed to her injuries at an Indianapolis hospital.
6. Motorcycle passenger killed in crash (10/17/22), 5,853 views. A Michigan woman, Michelle Kruithof, 58, was killed in a collision involving a motorcycle and a car on U.S. 231 South just north of the intersection with U.S. 40.
7. Hendricks County pursuit ends with ‘serious crash’ in Putnam County (7/2/22), 4,928 views. What started as a pursuit out of Hendricks County ended in a crash in eastern Putnam County. Westbound U.S. 40 was closed in the Mount Meridian area following what law enforcement agencies called a “serious crash” at County Road 510 East.
8. 2022 Putnam County Primary Election Results (5/3/22), 4,762 views. In the highlighted contest, Jerrod Baugh won the Republican sheriff’s race with 2.063 votes, outdistancing Dwight Simmons (1,540) and Steve Hibler (887).
9. Woman dies in ATV accident (3/21/22), 4,758 views. Ashley Berry, 39, Russellville, suffered fatal injuries when she fell from a moving Polaris Ranger ATV driven by her husband, Jordan Berry, 32, on County Road 850 West in Clinton Township.
10. Local Habitat for Humanity celebrates completion of build (6/2/22), 4,585 views. Chase Hubbard, Olivia Hoagland and their two children were the partner family for a new Habitat home built on Albin Pond Road.
11. Three Cloverdale teens injured, one critically, in Plainfield-area crash (3/27/22), 4,349 views. Plainfield Police identified Sydney Willis of Cloverdale as the crash victim who was taken to Eskenazi Hospital in critical condition and later died as a result of the accident at State Road 267 and the eastbound Interstate 70 off-ramp.
12. Fillmore clerk-treasurer charged with sexual misconduct (10/27/22), 4,290 views. Bill Miles was charged with multiple counts of sexual misconduct with a minor in incidents which occurred locally and out-of-state.
13. Greencastle football head coach Mike Meyer placed on indefinite leave (9/22/22), 3,781 views. Meyer was placed on leave from coaching football and Matt Helmer assumed the interim tag as GHS football coach. Meyer ultimately resigned in November.
14. Downtown disarray disgusts Councilman Dave Murray (5/16/22), 3,636 views. Sharing a pair of photographs with fellow city councilmen, Murray said he was embarrassed when he spotted “dog poop” on the sidewalk in front of Scoops Ice Cream on Indiana Street and was further disgusted by nearby trash cans overflowing with refuse.
15. Greencastle man charged with arson (4/18/22), 3,486 views. Levi R. Abney, 28, was booked in the Putnam County Jail, charged with two counts of Level 4 felony arson as a result of the Jan. 26 fire that endangered multiple tenants of a West Side duplex.
16. End appears near for historic O’Hair House (7/4/22), 3,451 views. Walls of the DePauw-owned O’Hair House came tumbling down late on the morning of July 6. By 12:40 p.m., crews had totally razed the 1895 brick home at 209 E. Seminary St.
17. Rock through window causes afternoon Courthouse scare (4/14/22), 3,403 views. A man was detained following an initial report of shots fired at the Putnam County Courthouse. Investigators ultimately determined a rock thrown through a window of the Auditor’s Office was the source of the issue. Police did not identify the subject as the incident was treated as a mental health issue.
18. Police investigate two deaths in South Jackson Street home (9/9/22), 3,297 views. City Police found two deceased individuals in the home. Police said there was no concern for public safety following the incident.
19. Two airlifted in crash near Morton (10/19/22), 3,183 views. Two persons from Lanesville were badly injured and transported by air ambulance following a two-vehicle collision on U.S. 36, about two miles east of the Putnam-Parke county line.
20. DePauw stands in for fake Indiana college in ‘Billions’ TV episode (2/28/22), 3,175 views. Appearing on the Showtime drama as the physical embodiment of the fictional college “Indiana A&M,” a long static shot focused on Holton Memorial Quad and its stately Roy O. West Library, Asbury and Harrison hall components. DePauw sources had no idea on how the photo of Holton Quad ended up on “Billions.” In all likelihood the producers found the photo on some website and thought it looked generically like an Indiana college scene. “We do have a beautiful campus,” a DePauw official told the Banner Graphic.