Stories from Friday, February 19, 2010

INDIANAPOLIS -- Ryan Dungey, Josh Hill and Ryan Villopoto bring their tight battle for the Monster Energy AMA Supercross title to Lucas Oil Stadium Saturday. Dungey and Hill are tied for the lead with 123 points and Villopoto has 120 with six of 17 rounds completed. Villopoto, a 21-year-old Kawasaki factory rider from Poulsbo, Wash., has won two of the past three events, including last week's stop at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif...

CRAWFORDSVILLE -- Detrimental weather leading up to secitonal didn't do too much to deter the spirits and times of the three county swim teams at Thursday's Sectional Preliminaries at Crawfordsville High School. All three county coaches were excited and pleased with the performances turned in by their squads on a night where the Montgomery County schools were breaking school records and the field was deep. ...

CLOVERDALE -- The Clovers got off to a sluggish start and it didn't improve from there. Cloverdale struggled against Edgewood Thursday, posting a 52-35 loss and will look to end a two-game skid tonight against Rockville. The Clovers are known as a speedy, slashing guard drive squad, which usually earns them multiple trips to the free throw line. However, on Thursday Cloverdale continued to drive, but was unable to draw fouls, ending the evening with just two attempts...

Steve Tesmer, 45, of Greencastle passed away on Wednesday, Feb. 17, after a long battle with a heart illness. He was born in Greencastle on June 13, 1964 to Jerry and Marcia Tesmer. Steve graduated from Greencastle High School in 1982 and went on to Indiana University to graduate with a BS in psychology and criminology. He attended Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis and began his career in law as a deputy prosecutor. He attended Greencastle Christian Church...

GREENCASTLE -- Indie rock singer-songwriter Branch Gordon will bring his live set to the Swizzle Stick in Greencastle at 9 p.m. Saturday. The performance was originally slated for Jan. 7, but has been rescheduled for this weekend. Gordon, a performer local to Indianapolis, delivers a blues oriented performance (John Mayer, Eric Clapton), while using a combination of a looping pedal/synth workstation to create live, complex musical soundscapes, all infused with catchy melodies and memorable lyrics.. ...

GREENCASTLE -- Following a devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake Jan. 12 on the island nation of Haiti, members of Cornerstone Baptist Church have done all they can to help with relief efforts. A group of nine Cornerstone members made a mission trip to the island nation and barely missed the massive earthquake that rocked its capitol Port-au-Prince and effected a third of its entire population...

GREENCASTLE -- As general manager of the McDonald's restaurant in Greencastle, Bobby Hopper is dedicated to serving his customers and the community. That dedication was recognized in a big way recently when Hopper was awarded the McDonald's Corp.'s 2009 Outstanding Restaurant Manager Award...

GREENCASTLE -- A Thursday evening fire resulted in extensive loss for a local business owner. At 6:25 p.m., Greencastle Fire Department was dispatched to a fire at Mikey's Tobacco Shop, 5 Putnam Plaza. Greencastle Police were the first to arrive on the scene, finding the front windows black and water from sprinklers rushing under the locked front door.

ROACHDALE -- A packed house at Thursday's North Putnam School Board meeting was on hand to hear some troubling news for the school's workforce. Despite an overflow crowd that forced the North Putnam School Board to move its regular meeting from the boardroom to the North Putnam High School auditorium, no one in the audience asked to address the board at its Thursday night meeting...