Stories from Monday, December 1, 2008

Greencastle resident Debby Pierce always wanted to own her own shop and now she has done just that. Pierce opened Crafters 2 Gifts Nov. 18 in the log cabin where Hoffman's Gifts once stood. After working at Tractor Supply (TSC) for over 20 years, Pierce retired last year. She had been creating craft items for years, even building an addition to her garage to hold her crafts...

Think achy joints are the main reason we slow down, as we get older. New research says to blame the brain, too. Neurologist Dr. George Bartzokis from the University of California, Los Angeles has gathered data that shows in middle age; even healthy people begin to lose some of their range of motion...

William W. "Bill" Wallace, 71, of Reelsville passed away Friday, Nov. 28, 2008. Born Jan. 31, 1937 in Knightsville, he was the son of Ben and Nettie Haltom Wallace. He married Barbara Williams on June 16, 1956 and she survives. Mr. Wallace was a farmer, a custodian for South Putnam School Corporation and a clay worker for American Vitrified. He attended the McKinley Hill Church of Christ...

Ruby B. Stringer, 93, of Greencastle passed away Friday, Nov. 28 at Putnam County Hospital. Born May 25, 1915 in Putnamville, she was the daughter of Roscoe T. and Myrtle Hill Moore. She attended Putnamville School until her senior year when she graduated from Greencastle High School class of 1933. She married Eugene Stringer on June 10, 1935 and he preceded her in death June 24, 1986...

Allen Williams is a familiar face around Putnam County. He owns his own insurance agency where he sells State Farm Insurance and he is an author and illustrator of children's books. He has published two books already and has a new book with two stories inside ready to roll off the presses...

Imagine this: More than five tiny needles pricking the skin inside the bottom lip, while injecting small amounts of ink, forming the words "kiss me." "Any part of the body can be tattooed," said Chris Jordan, artist and owner of Magic Skin Tattoo. Matt Findlay of Greencastle went to Jordan's shop Saturday for his ninth tattoo -- an eagle tearing through the skin on the calf of his right leg...

The food pantry at New Providence Baptist Church normally serves a "solid 90 to 100 families each week," says Jim Rempe, who started the pantry 20 years ago. On Nov. 25, it helped 137 families, or 456 people, have a decent Thanksgiving holiday. "That was a record for us in one day," said Rempe...

Roachdale Elementary School kids got a nice surprise Wednesday afternoon with an ice cream party and visit from the "Kids Night Out" Knight. The school donated the most coats of any of the county schools for the Coats for Kids campaign. "Even without knowing there was a contest, you still brought in the most coats from any other school," Principal Helen Blubaum proudly told students...

The South Putnam eighth grade boys' basketball squads droped their contests with Tri-West this past Monday. The A-team lost 34-17, while the B-team fell 51-28. Nick Scott led the Eagles with five points, followed by Sage Dinkel with three and Marcus Skinner, Brandon Smith, Trent Workman and Ryan Chestnut all adding two points each. Tommy Tincher added a point for South Putnam...

CLAYTON -- The Cloverdale wrestling team got a big performance from Eldin Hesselgrave and went 2-3 at the Cascade Invitational Saturday. Hesselgrave went 5-0 on the day and anchored the Clovers in their two wins against Monrovia and Attica. In the Monrovia win, Hesselgrave (103), Shawn Shipp (112), Donnie Helterbrand (130), Jeff Couse (135), Michael Gramer (145) and Kody Kohler (152) picked up wins for CHS. ...

By MOLLY MCLAUGHLIN For the Banner Graphic MONTEZUMA -- There always seems to be a loss during the season that stings. For the Clovers, that sting just might their three-point loss to Riverton Parke Saturday 63-60. The first quarter, Cloverdale came out strong and took a commanding lead over Riverton Parke thanks in large part to Brandon Moon's fast breakaways and teamwork. ...

By TIM TUTTLE For the Banner Graphic ELLETTSVILLE -- South Putnam was crushed by an avalanche of turnovers Saturday in a 70-36 loss to Edgewood in a nonconference boys basketball game on the Mustangs' court. The Eagles (0-2) were stripped off the dribble, had passes intercepted or thrown out of bounds or committed violations 31 times. Edgewood (1-0) converted many of them into lay-ups or uncontested shots...

Bolstered by career-high point totals from juniors David Gray (pictured left) and Tom Callen, DePauw wrapped up its fifth straight Mike Rokicki Community Versus Cancer Challenge title with a 73-64 win over Ohio Northern. The Tigers improved to 2-2 with the win, while the Polar Bears suffered their first loss and are 3-1...