Stories from Friday, August 27, 2010

HORSESHOE BAY, Texas -- Dan Puckett, a local resident and his brother, Frank Puckett, a former resident of the area, have won an invitation to play in the 2010 ESPN Golf Challenge finals in Las Vegas. Dan is a resident of Cloverdale. He recently moved there after retiring from his position as principal of South Putnam Central Elementary School...

GREENCASTLE -- The Greencastle boys' tennis team defeated Rockville 4-1 Wednesday at home. The Tiger Cubs got wins in all three singles matches and in No. 2 doubles match. "We're very happy," GHS head coach Bart Spencer said. "We thought we'd made progress over the offseason. ...

The Greencastle boys' basketball team will host a 3-on-3 tournament Sept. 25. The cost of the tournament is $20 per player and each team must consist of three to five players. The cost is $15 for early signup. Check in is from 7-8 p.m. will games set to begin at 9 a.m...

MARSHALL -- The North Putnam volleyball team fell to Turkey Run Thursday in four games. The Cougars lost 25-14, 16-25, 25-18 and 27-25. "We played and looked good at times, other times we couldn't seem to pull it together and get the points that we needed," North Putnam head coach Jill Schreiber said. "Miscommunication errors as well as basic fundamental errors hurt us a lot tonight."...

CLOVERDALE -- The Cloverdale volleyball team earned its second win of the season by defeating West Vigo in four games Thursday. The Clovers won 26-24, 25-23, 22-25 and 25-23. "We had a big turnaround from Tuesday night's match, we looked like a different team tonight (Thursday)," CHS head coach Kathy Moore said. "The difference tonight was our hustle. We talked about huddling up to celebrate or support, just to get us moving and not standing like we did against Clay City...

GREENCASTLE -- The Greencastle girls' golf team defeated Cascade and Southmont Thursday. The Tiger Cubs won with a score of 189, with Cascade finishing second with 209 and Southmont third with 217. Katie Hedge earned medalist honors for Greencastle with a 42, followed closely by teammate Chelsea Samuels with a 43. Diane Wokoun also scored in the 40s, carding a 47 and Liz Johnson shot a 57. Kay Wood shot a 60 for GHS and McKenzie St. Marie shooting a 64...

GREENCASTLE -- A simple act of friendship has turned into a national honor for South Putnam senior Seth Arnold. Arnold has been named the top long snapper in the Midwest and the state and is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation. Arnold is a member of the National Honor Society and National Honor Roll and is currently a team captain for the Eagles. He earned his honor from The Ray Guy/ProKicker.com Kicking Academy, but it started with him helping out a friend...

GREENCASTLE -- A pretrial conference for a Van Bibber Lake woman accused of forging several narcotics prescriptions has been continued to Dec. 9. Cheryl A. Bargo, 48, of Van Bibber Lake was in Putnam County Circuit Court Thursday. She was arrested June 9, charged with three counts of Class C felony forgery and three counts of Class D felony obtaining a controlled substance by fraud...

GREENCASTLE -- A Spencer man who has been charged in connection with an alleged carjacking and has been in jail since Aug. 9 was in Putnam County Circuit Court Thursday to request a bond reduction. Brandon L. Elwood, 24, is charged with Class B felony carjacking, Class D felonies resisting law enforcement, battery by bodily waste, auto theft and theft, Class A misdemeanor operating a vehicle with at least .15 grams of alcohol in .210 liters of breath, Class B misdemeanor criminal mischief and Class C misdemeanor operating while intoxicated. ...

To the Editor: These days, most stories reported on tend to focus on the dark side of human kind. After hearing these countless tales of murder, animal and child abuse, crime, etc., I'm the first to admit that I've become very cynical about the nature of our society. My belief that there are truly good people out in the world was becoming bleak -- ironically until this past Friday the 13th...

On Thursday, I was out a little earlier than I'm accustomed, and something funny happened. It felt like fall. This caught me by surprise, considering that August started in early June this year. I just figured it was going to stay hot forever. Of course, I know it will get hot again, more than once, but this is the weather that always takes me back to high school football...

Liz Bowman loves the Indiana State Fair. That's why she has gone more than 700 times. Every single day of the Fair for 62 years. She's not in the Guinness World Records book, but she's going to be in my book, "Indiana Curiosities," which I update every few years with the most unusual people I have met and places I have seen...

The fall offering of the Indiana Master Naturalist (IMN) program is approaching, and IMN encourages those with an interest in learning more about natural resources, environmental science and the natural resources of the Wabash Valley. The program is an eight-week training series that features modules covering natural resource education. ...

GREENCASTLE -- A 27-year-old Crawfordsville man received a 25-year sentence Thursday in Putnam County Circuit Court. Brandon S. Buttery, 27, was convicted of Class B felony dealing in methamphetamine, and also received a sentence enhancement for being a habitual offender...

The following were filed Aug. 19-25 in the Putnam County Courts:...

Vehicle was towed by Seniour's. Damage estimate $2,501-$5,000. James Jason Campbell, 31, Cloverdale: Operating while intoxicated, public intoxication, Aug. 24, 10:45 p.m. Marlin Lew Curran, 50, Ladoga: Contempt of court, Aug. 24, 2:23 p.m. Michael Lynn Jackson, 38, Cloverdale: Habitual traffic violator, probation violation, Aug. 24, 10 p.m...

Christopher M. McGuff, 18, of Greencastle, and formerly of Mooresville and West Lafayette passed away on Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010. Chris was born on Nov. 15, 1991 in Indianapolis to Jeffrey S. McGuff and Trecia J. Nunez McGuff. He was a 2010 graduate of North Putnam High School, where he was on the wrestling team, and loved wakeboarding. Chris was currently pursuing a military career...

Michael A. "Simpy" Simpson, 47, of Indianapolis passed away Sunday, Aug. 22, 2010 at Community South Hospital. He was born in Indianapolis on April 26, 1963, the son of Albert and Maureen A. (Mickle) Simpson. He graduated from South Putnam High School in 1981. He was a member of the South Putnam High School marching band. He was a salesman at Brickyard International and Truck Parts Specialist...

Gary Wayne Ring, 57, of Bainbridge, passed away on Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010. He was born on Aug. 23, 1953 in Vincennes to Harley Wayne Ring and Pauline "Sally" Smith Ring. Gary, a graduate of Vincennes University, was a sales manager for Bosch Security Systems. He was a member of Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church in Greencastle where he played on the softball team, and was a member of ASIS...

INDIANAPOLIS -- A Putnam County resident was recently promoted to serve as the Commander of the Indianapolis State Police Post. Indiana State Police Superintendent Dr. Paul Whitesell, Ph.D., recently announced the promotion of First Sergeant Patricia Warczynski to the rank of lieutenant to serve as commander...

DANVILLE -- PHI Air Medical, the helicopter provider at Hendricks Regional Health, recently announced an updated agreement with St. Vincent Health that creates a new critical care transport brand called St. Vincent StatFlight. The name, St. Vincent StatFlight, will apply to four air ambulances based in Anderson, North Vernon, West Lafayette and Danville...

GREENCASTLE -- A Van Bibber Lake man accused in the April shooting death of his neighbor was in Putnam County Circuit Court Thursday, where he withdrew a request he had made for a speedy trial. Judge Matthew Headley set a trial date of Dec. 8 for Matthew Buis, 40, who has been charged with Class A felony voluntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Clifford Hulse, 57...

GREENCASTLE -- The Ivy Tech Community College Greencastle Campus is nearing its "Changing Lives...Building Futures" capital campaign goal with hopes to reach its $1.9 million goal by the end of the year. Becky Miller, executive director of resource development, said the campaign is more than 80 percent complete and currently sits at $260,000 left to match. The goal is to have all capital raised by the end of this year...

GREENCASTLE -- A Cloverdale man was taken into custody and booked into the Putnam County Jail late Thursday after being charged through Putnam County Circuit Court with Class B felony sexual misconduct with a minor. David E. Nelson, 32, is accused of having sexual relations with a teenage girl on two occasions. An investigation into the alleged crime began in late July when representatives from the Putnam County Department of Child Services received a complaint about Nelson...