Stories from Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Putnam County Jail Two people were booked into the Putnam?County Jail recently. Sheriff's Department Two accidents were turned in at the Putnam County Jail recently. Damage to the guardrail was estimated between $750 - $1,000. Damage was estimated between $1,000 - $2,500...

Mark Gene Stroud, 44, of Coatesville died Saturday. Mr. Stroud was born in Greencastle on Dec. 28, 1963. He was a 1982 graduate of Cascade High School. He worked for 26 years as a licensed journeyman pipe fitter and welder for Union 440. Surviving are his parents, Larry and Janet Stroud of Stilesville; a sister, Cherie Johnson of Stilesville; a companion and her daughter, Tracie and Paige Clemons; a grandmother, Audrey Scotten of Clayton; four nephews and two nieces...

Richard "Dick" Leon Gorham, 73, of Bemidji, Minn., died Monday, June 9, 2008 at his home in Bemidji. Funeral services will be 1 p.m., Saturday, June 14, 2008 at the Cease Family Funeral Home in Bemidji with Rev. David Lang officiating. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, June 13, 2008 at the Cease Family Funeral Home in Bemidji and one hour prior to the service at the funeral home...

For Wal-Mart Distribution Truck Safety Program Instructors Allen Buchanan, Scott Stierwalt, Gerry Hays and J.R. Mark keeping kids safe is the most important thing they can teach. The men are part of a team who spend much of the early summer giving driving safety instructions to driver education students. Monday they were at Greencastle High School (GHS) with their big rigs showing kids how to drive safely around semi trucks...

Senior citizens in the Bainbridge area need to beware of the latest phone scam. A few residents have called the Bainbridge Police Department to report someone saying they had won a large sum of money had contacted them. All the person had to do was to send money to cover taxes and they would be awarded...

Greencastle residents feeling the pinch from rising gasoline prices are starting to consider more economical methods of transportation. But we're not talking about bicycles here. City council members learned Tuesday night that some residents have actually contacted city hall to ask about driving golf carts in and around town...

The 15 agencies supported by the United Way of Putnam County are all feeling the sting of smaller allocations this year -- but new executive director David English has high hopes that things will improve over the next year. Every agency the United Way supports took a hit this year. In fact, some will receive no funding at all. Funding for most of the agencies was cut by at least 50 percent...

CLOVERDALE -- The Cloverdale Community School Board shocked observers in the meeting and around the community Monday night, when it voted 5-2 against renewing Bruce Cook's contract as varsity girls' basketball coach. The news came as a surprise to Cook, as he was coaching his team in a summer league game at Cascade while the meeting took place. He found out through a phone call on the way back from the game...

To the Editor: On behalf of Child Adult Resource Services and Putnam County Head Start, I would like to thank the following people for donations of both time and finances during this past school year: Dr. John Hennette, Suzanne Hall of Putnam County Public Library, Putnam County Homemakers, Greencastle Street Department, DePauw University, Gobin United Methodist Church, Hobson Farms, McDonald's, Operation Life, Greencastle Fire Department, WREB, Indiana State Department of Health, Johnson Nichols Health Clinic, Nancy Mendenhall and students from Area 30, Wal-Mart, Kroger, Greencastle Moose, Indiana State Police, Terre Haute Children's Museum. ...

To the Editor: My name is Mary Douglas and I am a member of the Indiana Foster Care and Adoption Association (IFCAA) Board of Directors. I serve as an officer of the Board, as Treasurer and I am also responsible for building the IFCAA scholarship fund...

To the Editor: What happened to the American dream? The confidence level of the American people in the president and the Congress is at an all time low. If the judiciary were so rated, it would surely be at a similar low as, unopposed by impeachment, many of them continue to make law from the bench in accordance with their private prejudices...

To the Editor: Now that the dust from the recent primary election has settled, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for covering my campaign for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Although I ultimately did not prevail, it was nonetheless a privilege for Laura and I to travel this great state, hear from hard-working Hoosiers and make new friends in every community...