Stories from Wednesday, May 23, 2007

A $500,000 bond has been set in the case of former Putnam County Sheriff's Dept. employee accused of the theft of $45,000 in federal grant funds. George Alexander, 58, Greencastle, appeared in Putnam Superior Court Tuesday afternoon to face two D felony charges of theft in the alleged misappropriation of federal grant money awarded to the Putnam County Sheriff's Dept...

Staff reports BEDFORD -- Cloverdale High School junior Ashley Koosman was unable to advance to the state finals for the second consecutive year. On Tuesday, Koosman competed for Cloverdale in the Bedford-North Lawrence Girls' Track Regional, placing fifth overall in the high jump with a leap of 5-2...

Staff reports WEST LAFAYETTE -- On Tuesday, four Greencastle High School girls' track runners managed to advance to the Indiana High School Athletic Association State Finals after placing among the top three in their respective events at the West Lafayette Track Regional...

April 18, 1916-May 20, 2007 Pearl Mae White, 91, Greencastle, died Sunday. Born in Carroll County, Ky., she was the daughter of Calvin B. and Millie (Brooks) Paige. Survivors include son Steven L. White, Cloverdale; a granddaughter and three great-grandchildren...

June 20, 1949-May 21, 2007 Brenda Susan Stanley, 57, Cloverdale, died Monday at St. Vincent Hospital, Indianapolis. Born in Indianapolis, she was the daughter of Marlin L. and Betty (Boyd) Jones. A homemaker, she was a member of the V.F.W. No. 1550 Auxiliary, Jesse M. Lee Post, and the Ladies of the Moose Lodge No. 1592, Greencastle...

Notice Brent Nolan Ringer, 44, Aiken, S.C., formerly of Cloverdale, died Tuesday. Arrangements are pending at Bittles and Hurt Funeral Home.

July 29, 1934-May 21, 2007 Walter Allen Nelson, 72, Bainbridge, died Monday in Heartland of Prestwick. Born in Marshall, Ill., he was the son of Hobart and Louise (Walters) Nelson. A 1952 graduate of Marshall High School, he received an honorary degree in engineering from Purdue University for his work in hydraulic and pneumatic fields. ...

Aug. 17, 1983-May 20, 2007 William Alan "Willie" Bartley, 23, Greencastle, died Sunday as a result of a motorcycle accident. Born in Greencastle, he was the son of Tony Anthony "Pops" and Mary (Sage) Bartley. He attended Greencastle schools. He had worked at Richmond Guttering in Indianapolis for three years and previously worked at L&B Guttering in Clayton for two years...

In March, South Putnam Community School Corporation Supt. Bruce Bernhardt filed a waiver with the Indiana Dept. of Education hoping to eliminate one of the school days on the 2006-07 calendar. Severe weather conditions had put the county in a state of emergency for several days in late February. Bernhardt told the BannerGraphic at the time that the corporation missed one day the week before the February storm, which also forced four cancellations...

CLOVERDALE -- A handful of old town ordinances were on the minds of the five council members in Cloverdale Tuesday evening. The board met in special session to discuss updating the ordinances and voted 5-0 in favor of having town attorney Allan Yackey look into them. Yackey agreed to look into the matter, saying he would either redraft all three ordinances or combine them into one...

Local police have arrested an Indianapolis man who they believe is behind a recent string of post office thefts, including an incident that occurred in Greencastle last Friday. Gary VanDyke, 50, Indianapolis, was booked into the Putnam County Jail Tuesday afternoon on charges of vandalism and theft. Police believe he is responsible for breaking into postage vending machines in Greencastle, Plainfield and most recently in Brazil...

LIZTON -- Relief pitcher Oceaia Boetjer struck out seven of South Vermillion's nine batters but even that was not enough for the Eagles to overcome the Wildcats. The Eagles fell to South Vermillion 4-0 to end their season with a 14-7 mark. "We just couldn't get the offense going," South Putnam coach Evonne Canary. "We hit it right to them. We hit it hard and you can't ask for anything more than that. You can't win if you don't score."...