Stories from Friday, December 3, 2010

The youth basketball league will be having sign ups on Dec. 11 for kindergarten through sixth grade for boys and girls at the middle school. The fee is $40 per player. Each child is encouraged to bring gym shoes, shorts and a basketball for evaluations. Sign up times will be:...

GREENCASTLE -- In just the second meet of the year for both squads, Greencastle's boys' swim team notched a victory over county rival South Putnam 115-67 on Thursday night. The hosts took first place in 10 of the evening's 12 events. Walter Chiarella claimed first in the 200 and 500 free races, along with being a member of the 200 and 400 free relay winning teams...

ROACHDALE -- North Putnam's girls ran into one of Indiana's best basketball players Thursday in Beth Mahurin, who dominated with 22 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocked shots to lead Rockville to a 63-27 victory in a non-conference game on the Cougars' court...

CLOVERDALE -- Thursday proved to be a rough night for the Cloverdale wrestling squad. Throughout the evening the Clovers found themselves in control of matches, only to watch them slip away before ultimately falling to the Patriots 46-26. Head coach Steve Livingston said the issues Cloverdale had to deal with Thursday mainly revolved around tiny mistakes and inexperience on the mat...

To the Editor: This is one of those times when my need to express gratitude is so over-powering that it seems the only words available are "Thank you!" The North Putnam (NP) Football Cougars have taken great pride in setting a record 14-game winning season. This mark of excellence was capped by our appearance in Lucas Oil Stadium competing for the 2A Indiana State Title...

GREENCASTLE -- The Greencastle Parks and Recreation Department will present a fun-filled weekend of holiday activities with "Light the Park" at Robe-Ann Park from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The event is a fundraiser to literally light the park for the holiday season. Donations received will offset the cost of the lights on display at Robe-Ann Park during December...

GREENCASTLE -- The 19th annual Cookie Sale at Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church is set for 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Customers will don plastic gloves and make their own selections from dozens of trays of delicious and colorful homemade cookies. They can choose the kind, number and size of the cookies to put in a decorated tin. Decorated tins of three sizes will be available for sale: a small tin for $4, a medium tin for $7 and a large tin for $10...

GREENCASTLE -- Kick off the holiday season with the time-honored community tradition, the Greencastle Civic League's 27th annual "Lights of Love" ceremony. The festive program will be hosted by Mayor Sue Murray at 6 p.m. Dec. 7 at Greencastle City Hall...

Putnam County Jail Peter John Benedict IV, 38, Clinton: Theft, probation violation, Nov. 30, 8:32 p.m. Eric Lee Billings, 25, Greencastle: Probation violation, Nov. 30, 11:05 a.m. April Garrard, 46, Crawfordsville: Probation violation, Nov. 30, 1:50 p.m...

Russell H. Pruitt, 78, Danville, passed away Wednesday Dec. 1, 2010. He was born April 14, 1932 in Vernon, Ky., the son of Bedford and Martha Abney Pruitt. Mr. Pruitt was a truck driver for Roadway Express for many years. He served his country in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and received two Purple Hearts and a Korean War Service Medal with a Bronze Star...

FILLMORE -- In the coming months, the Fillmore Town Council plans to rework the town's nuisance ordinance. Town attorney Mary Russell recommended the move at Thursday's meeting after a nuisance complaint went to court earlier in the day. The town has fielded a number of complaints against a motocross track north of Hendricks St. Neighbors said the noise and dust generated by the track on George Terry's land was affecting their quality of life...

GREENCASTLE -- The Humane Society of Putnam County may still be closed, but if the society's bid for a $250,000 grant is successful, they will be able to reopen and afford many well-needed improvements. "The economy has affected Putnam County, and the animals suffer," said Humane Society board president Lynn Bohmer...

GREENCASTLE -- Three Putnam County Sheriff's Department deputies were honored by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Thursday for their record of drug arrests along Interstate 70. Dennis A. Wichern, DEA assistant special agent in charge from the Indianapolis office, praised Interstate Criminal Enforcement officers Ben Pyatt, Craig Sibbitt and Dwight Simmons for their stellar record along I-70...

Community Christmas Choir Director Jamie France directs the choir in preparation for this weekend's concerts at the Russellville Community Center. The concerts are set for tonight and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Each performance will last for one hour.

Due to predicted inclement weather, Saturday's Christmas parade in Cloverdale has been canceled.