Stories from Monday, November 17, 2008

NASHVILLE -- The Greencastle girls' basketball team opened its season in impressive fashion by defeating Brown County 58-35 on the road Saturday. Becky Grivas was a big contributor for the Tiger Cubs ,recording a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Also scoring 14 was Mallory Miller, with Chelsea Samuels adding nine of her own...

CRAWFORDSVILLE -- Can you hear it? The Monon Bell still rings in Greencastle. The 300-pound relic that is the most prized possession at Wabash College and DePauw University made the 30-mile trip to Crawfordsville on Saturday, but it returned with the team after DePauw's 36-14 win in the 115th Monon Bell Classic...

Steve and Jenny Butts arrived in Greencastle in October 1989. It snowed six inches in Putnam County that day. Butts took the early snow as a sign he and his wife made the right choice in bringing their wrecker service to Greencastle residents. "Back then, there were maybe 50 wreckers all over the county," Butts told the Banner Graphic. "We started a rotation between all of us and that really helped. Before it was kind of harem, scarem. With the rotation everybody got a turn."...

A steady stream of discouraging economic news is creating fear of the dreaded "R" word. Economists at Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley say the U.S. is heading for its first full recession in 16 years. A recent CNN poll found that 57 percent of the public believes the U.S. is in a recession already...

A national campaign to raise awareness about Medicare's federal prescription drug coverage has been launched by "Medicare Today." This program is designed to provide greater access to prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries, and its upcoming annual open enrollment period for seniors. The campaign will also release the results of a new survey of American seniors...

Cancer will -- no doubt -- touch every American's life. It is the second most common cause of death in the United States, exceeded only by heart disease. This year the American Cancer Society predicts 565,650 Americans will die of cancer, more than 1,500 people a day...

The home and Ashley and Nate O'Hair is one of six that will be featured in Delta Theta Tau's 26th annual Holiday Home Tour, slated for 1 to 5 p.m. Nov. 23. The O'Hairs' home, located at 321 N. Arlington St., Greencastle, features rooms dedicated to sports (specifically the Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Cubs and Purdue Boilermakers), Walt Disney Characters and Boyd's Bears. ...

Comcast employees Eric Fettig, left, and Steve Mosier decorate a tree in downtown Greencastle Sunday afternoon. Main Street Greencastle volunteers helped string lights in trees all around the Courthouse Square.

The Putnam County Commissioners approved the purchase of four new vehicles for the sheriff's department at their meeting Monday night. The department will purchase three new Crown Victorias at $35,000 each and a Ford F250 pick-up truck, priced at $42,000. The vehicles will be paid for out of the sheriff's department asset forfeiture fund...

A Greencastle man was sentenced to a year in jail Monday for stealing liquor from Wal-Mart. James R. Cole, 20, was sentenced in Putnam County Circuit Court on a felony theft charge. Cole was apprehended on Sept. 19 at the Greencastle Wal-Mart, where he had been detained by the staff for "attempting to steal alcohol," court records said. ...

Parents of children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders can feel very alone. But the fact is attention deficit and hyperactivity -- or a combination of the two -- affect about 3 to 5 percent of the world's population. Tonight, Mental Health America of Putnam County will present "Families Living With ADHD" as part of its education series. ...

A Russellville man accused of pulling a knife on a woman and threatening to kill her will be sentenced Dec. 18. Michael L. Smith, 30, is charged with two counts of Class C felony intimidation and one count of Class D felony domestic violence. If convicted on all counts, he could be sentenced to up to 19 years in prison...

Fillmore Elementary School's Second Grade teacher Kathy Deaton has a lot on her plate. Not only does she teach second grade at Fillmore but she is also in charge of the High Ability program planning for the school corporation. "In July 2007 the state mandated that all corporations must address high ability programming for grades Kindergarten through twelfth," explained Deaton to the board during their regularly scheduled meeting Monday evening...

The Rockies Express Pipeline (REX) project currently under construction in north Putnam County is not only bringing with it jobs and revenue, on Monday, it also gave some local high schoolers an up-close look at jobs they would normally only see through text books or videos...

Larry W. King Sr., 71, of Brazil died Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008 at St. Vincent Clay Hospital. Mr. King was born March 2, 1937 in Kingsport, Tenn. to Earl M. and Cornie Combs King Martin. On Dec. 31, 1957 he was married to Geneva Samples King in Tennessee...

George "Les" Whitaker, 67, of Indianapolis passed away Monday, Nov. 17, 2008 at his residence. Born Feb. 12, 1941 in Indianapolis, he was the son of George F. and Eusie Mae (Mink) Whitaker. Mr. Whitaker had been a mechanic with the U.S. Post Office in Indianapolis for 35 years, retiring in 1999. He was a member of the Eagles Lodge, Plainfield and the Moose Lodge #1592, Greencastle...