Stories from Monday, December 28, 2009

This time of year is not only the holiday season; it is also full swing into scholarship season. Many 4-H and other scholarships are nearing deadlines or will have due dates during the late winter/early spring time. There are two very important features to being successful at receiving scholarships. ...

GREENCASTLE -- Retired, a college student or unemployed and looking for work? The United States Census is currently hiring census takers or enumerators to ensure cities, towns and counties in southern Indiana are accurately represented. A census taker's primary responsibility is to collect census information from residents who have not returned the 2010 census form...

GREENCASTLE -- A Greencastle man sentenced in April to a six-year Indiana Department of Correction sentence has been approved for release into the DOC's Community Transition Program. Michael Smoot, 45, was convicted of Class C felony possession of cocaine on April 2. He has been serving his sentence at the Putnamville Correctional Facility...

GREENCASTLE -- The city of Greencastle has architecture that reflects over 150 years of lifestyle and American Midwestern designs, including log cabins and ornate homes. An area of the city called the Eastern Enlargement District provides a vast panorama of many of these styles. This district, along with two other areas of the city, also contains interesting and historical structures, which the Heritage Preservation Society is hoping to have declared as National Register Historic Districts...

It was a beautiful day to sit and watch the snow fall on Sunday, but not so much fun to have your car slipping and sliding through it. A number of slideoffs and accidents were reported around Putnam County and the state, as the continuing snowfall made travel treacherous in certain spots. Putnam County was one of 27 counties around the state under a winter weather advisory until 1 a.m. today.

Jeffery Dallas "J.D." Miller, 21, of Reelsville died Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009. Born Feb. 17, 1988 in Greencastle, he was the son of Jeffery L. Miller and Jean A. Mace Miller. He was a 2006 graduate of Greencastle High School and received his bachelors degree in education from Indiana State University...

GREENCASTLE -- Last month, twin sisters Tiffany and Tiana Rempe were featured in the women's magazine Marie Claire. As a health and fitness publication, the magazine asked the pair what they do to keep themselves in shape. Softball was their answer, but not as a way to look good in their tank tops, as the magazine states. While the girls have played softball since they were eight years old, it is more of a hobby than an exercise routine...

This is part seven of a 10-part series on Jared's favorite albums of each year of the decade. The series will conclude with his top 10 albums of 2009, which will be published in the Dec. 31 edition of the Banner Graphic. When I picked up my copy of the Decemberists' The Crane Wife in late 2006, I really didn't know what I was getting. I'd read an article or two on them and I understand that their look and sound was supposed to be reminiscent of the 1800s...