Stories from Saturday, February 20, 2010

ROACHDALE -- On any given night a bad quarter of basketball will spell demise for many high school teams. Friday night, a slow start in the first half spelled demise for the North Putnam Cougars. The Cougars fell to Covington 56-40. "Only scoring 12 points in the first half isn't going to win you too many games," said Nathan Martindale, North Putnam Boys Varsity Basketball coach. "We knew going into tonight's game that they were going to be tough."...

GREENCASTLE -- Foul trouble and difficulties rebounding were the name of the game for the South Putnam Eagles Friday. The Eagles were in foul trouble early and gave a bigger Owen Valley squad too many second chances in a game where they found themselves down double-digits in the first quarter. South Putnam lost to the Patriots 72-47, dropping to 3-15 on the season...

CLOVERDALE -- One good quarter will not win you a basketball game. Ask any coach, player or casual fan, and they'll tell you the same. The Cloverdale boys' basketball team gave this premise a serious test on Friday night, though. Trailing Rockville 47-29 going into the fourth quarter, the Clovers (10-9, 4-1 WCC) used hot shooting and strong defense to close to within three at 48-51 with 3:30 to go in the contest...

GREENCASTLE -- Senior night proved to be an exciting affair at McAnally Center Friday night as Greencastle was able to hold off a late Southmont rally en route to a 94-86 victory. The 94 points was the highest total of the season for the Tiger Cubs, while also scoring more points than their last two games combined...

Some Putnam County taxpayers will be receiving a courtesy delinquency notice from the treasurer's office. "It is just a reminder," said Putnam County Treasurer Sharon Owens. Owens also noted the letters should be clear it is not a bill. Residents with unpaid tax bills from November or before will be receiving a courtesy reminder...

GREENCASTLE -- DePauw University and local Putnam County high school students will host the free, interactive event "Home Sweet Home: An Exploration of the Facets of Homelessness." The evening's program is modeled after Oxfam's Hunger Banquet. Initially developed by Oxfam America, a non-profit organization that works to end global poverty, the focus of the program will shift to address specific issues of homelessness...

Mary Zelma Woodall, 74, Bainbridge, died Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010 at Hendricks Regional Health. She was born on May 13, 1935 at Somerset, Ky. to John W. and Eussie Mink Simpson. She was a former member of the Moose Lodge at Greencastle. She had worked at Mallory's in Greencastle; North Putnam High School as a custodian; as a Cook at Bainbridge Tap & Lounge; and also done house cleaning...

Do you know of a deserving family who needs a makeover to their home? The ABC television show Extreme Makeover Home Edition is looking for families in this area. The Banner Graphic received a phone call from the show earlier this week asking for help in getting out their request for deserving families...

Darrel Thomas will be the "relic" roasted this year at the Putnam County Museum's annual Roast A Relic event. Thomas, the current president of the Putnam County Council, was born in California and graduated from high school in Terre Haute. He is an Indiana University graduate, and the Purdue Extension Service hired him just after his college graduation...

Girl Scout cookies have arrived in Putnam County. On Monday, Girl Scouts Kaylea Torr, left, and Emily Scott help load boxes of the classic cookies. There were more than 25,000 boxes sold in pre-order sales, with 26 troops in Northern Putnam County selling cookies. ...

CRAWFORDSVILLE -- The Greencastle boys' swim team finished second at the Crawfordsville sectional, winning two events. The team of senior Luke Smith and juniors Jesse Elkins, Walter Chiarella and Jay Guffey won both the 200 freestyle relay (1:31.30) and 400 freestyle relay (3:23.36), edging Crawfordsville in each race...