Stories from Friday, December 21, 2007

Indiana State Police are continuing to piece together a timeline of events leading up the death of a Greencastle High School senior on Dec. 15. Dietrich Jackson, 17, was found dead in his grandmother's Greencastle home after attending a party the night before...

CANCUN, Mexico -- The 6th-ranked DePauw women's basketball team will play in a showdown of nationally-ranked programs this afternoon. The Lady Tigers take on the 7th-ranked Messiah College Falcons in the second day of the Triple Crown Sports Caribbean Hoops Showdown. While results were not available at press time for either teams' Thursday contests in day one of the tournament, each team went to Mexico with just one loss...

Hannah Spencer scored eight of Greencastle's first 11 points of the game and ended the night with a game-high 27 points as GHS defeated North Central 54-37 Thursday. "It was her best game. They had a hard time dealing with her. She started dishing the ball a little bit in the second half. She takes a beating every game. She's kind of like the energizer bunny -- she just keeps going. She brings a lot of energy to us," GHS head coach Glen Hile said following the game...

Putnam County Jail Six people were booked into the Putnam County Jail recently. City Police Officers from the Green-castle Police Department issued two recent citations...

Clara J. Smyser, 88, Cloverdale, died Thursday at Putnam County Hospital. Born in Indianapolis, she was the daughter of John and Ruth (Cook) Reckel. She had been a cook at Windy Hill Country Club and the Elks Club, and was owner of Smysers Seafood. He was a member of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church...

Alva "Al" L. Lawless, 75, Greencastle, died Wednesday morning at Putnam County Hospital. Born in Indianapolis, he was the son of Alva L. and Florence Jane (Doty) Lawless Sr. He married Carolyn Sue Price on Nov. 27, 1957, and she survives. He graduated from Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis in 1951 and attended Butler University...

Putnam County Hospital Board members quizzed the hospital's chief financial officer Wednesday about customer service when it comes time for patients to pay their bills. Hospital chief accountant Roger Boruff said the customer service for hospital bill payers "not an acceptable situation," but he and other administrators are working to improve the situation...

Putnam County Habitat for Humanity celebrated the largest land purchase in the organization's history Wednesday, after closing on an 11-acre plot of land just north of Greencastle. The land, previously owned by Southern States, is located at the end of Barnaby Mill Road and is large enough to build up to 18 habitat houses, said executive director Marj Weaver...

The former Roachdale Clerk-Treasurer accused of stealing $3,700 from town coffers pleaded not guilty to theft charges Thursday. Jennifer L. Crum, 32, Roachdale, turned herself in to the Putnam County Jail and was released after posting 10 percent of a $5,000 bail...