Stories from Thursday, October 19, 2006

Della J. Spiker, 58, Greencastle, died Tuesday at Hendricks Regional Health, Danville. Born in McCreary, Ky., she was the daughter of Robert E. and Nellie (Wilson) Troxell. She was a member of First Baptist Church in Greencastle. She married Joe Jimmy Spiker on Oct. 10, 1968. He died May 15, 1991...

Take one witch who is hosting a bash and one cat who is too contrary to help. Mix it together and out comes Lynne Berry's "The Curious Demise of a Contrary Cat." Berry did not consider becoming a children's author until later on in her life. She told the BannerGraphic Tuesday that she had a collegiate background in science, with a doctorate in cell biology...

The North Putnam School Board heard about what is right with North Putnam Middle School during its meeting Tuesday night. Middle School Principal Mike Wilcox informed the board that the school was thrilled to have the board present there. The middle school has had a great fall so far. Its cross-country team has experienced the best season in five years, seventh-grade football is co-conference and county champions and the seventh- grade volleyball team is participating in the county tournament...

By ADAM COATES Staff Writer An estimated 450,000 school buses transport more than 24 million children to and from school in the United States every day, according to statistics from the national School Bus Information Council. Despite efforts to keep the routes safe, accidents happen from time to time, as was the case this week when a man from Laporte, Ind. died after the sport-utility vehicle he was driving collided head-on with a school bus in northern Arizona...