Stories from Friday, February 4, 2011

To the Editor: I have never been more proud of our city employees than I am today. The challenges that the storms this week have brought have been plentiful and burdensome. To a person their greatest concern has been how they can help to be sure that people in our community are safe; whether that's working extended shifts, taking on new responsibilities at the EOC (Putnam County Emergency Operations Center) or helping other departments...

I would certainly never claim to understand everything about either gender. However, I've been married for nearly 10 years, and in that time I've come to understand some basic truths about the differences between men and women. These differences are never quite so magnified as they are on Valentine's Day -- and I'm going to try to give advice to guys here...

Homeowners who purchased high-efficiency appliances or made energy-efficient home improvements to their homes in 2010 may qualify for federal tax credits, and they should consider the steps needed to apply as they prepare their annual tax returns by April 18...

Helen Jean Wise, 76, Cloverdale, went peacefully to live with our Lord and Savior on Feb. 1, 2011. She was born on Feb. 10, 1934 in Terre Haute and was the daughter of the late John F. and Helen E. (Quist) Whalen. She was a member of the Mount Hebron Christian Church. She was a 1952 graduate of Gerstmeyer High School, Terre Haute and was an accountant throughout her career, retiring in 1996...

Anna D. Blair, 85, Coatesville, passed away on Feb. 1, 2011 at Manor Care Prestwick, Avon. She was born on Dec. 21, 1925 in Putnam County and was the daughter of the late Raymond and Martha (McGuire) Daniels. She was married to Donald Russell Blair on June 30, 1946 and he preceded her in death on Jan. 26, 2007...

As Putnam County slowly recovers from the recent ice storms, some citizens are still without power. Denise Thede lives in Madison Township. She said her power initially went out on Monday night. After having power on and off for a bit, by Tuesday evening her power was out until at least the middle of Thursday...

GREENCASTLE -- The ice storm may be over, but the fight against the ice itself remains. Local power, transportation and emergency crews have been fighting the effects of the storm since Monday night, and some of the work will continue into the weekend...

A cancer diagnosis is frightening on several levels. When Joan Patterson, 72, of Greencastle, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma -- a cancer of plasma cells in which collections of abnormal cells accumulate in the bones, causing bone lesions in the bone marrow and interfere with production of normal blood cells -- a number of things went through her mind...

ELLETSVILLE -- In seventh grade basketball action, the visiting Greencastle Tiger Cubs traveled to Edgewood for a pair of contests. In the first game, the B-team pulled out a thrilling one-point victory, 24-23. The hometown Mustangs built a lead throughout the first half of the game, going into the locker room with a 15-10 advantage...

GREENCASTLE -- Winter weather has pushed back the start of the varsity girls swimming sectional prelims until tomorrow night. The Prelims with begin at 5:30 p.m. at Crawfordsville High School. The finals will run as scheduled on Saturday, with diving beginning at 9 a.m. and swim finals to begin at 1 p.m...

A private family service for Harold D. "Bud" Surber will be held at the Forest Hill Cemetery on Saturday. A spring memorial service is also being planned by the family.

GREENCASTLE -- Even with continued progress of clearing county roads of ice, the county will remain under a level 2 travel advisory through the weekend. County emergency management director Kim Hyten said the calcium county highway crews have been applying to county roads is working, particularly with Friday's bright sun. As the calcium works, though, the roads become even more treacherous...

Joseph M. Joyce, 80, of Roachdale died at Hendricks Regional Health Hospital on Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011 at 4:47 p.m. He was born on Dec. 9, 1930 at Cleveland, Ohio. He served in the U.S. Marines during the Korean War and received a Purple Heart and letter of commendation for bravery. ...

Mrs. Frances Mae Scobee, 89 of Greencastle passed away Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011 at Hickory Creek at Sunset Healthcare. Born Aug. 12, 1921 in Greencastle, she was the daughter of Frank DeVaney and Vertie (Cox) Nelson. She was a graduate of Greencastle High School's class of 1940...

By CAINE GARDNER Film Critic I'm going give you a two-for-one deal. It's not often you have Mickey Mouse and Nicholas Cage tackling the same material, but that's what one gets with Disney's recent release of "Fantasia" and a modern day retelling of the story in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice."...

By CAINE GARDNER Film Critic Imagine waking to find you're buried in a primitive coffin with only a lighter and a cell phone at your disposal. That's the reality facing Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds), a U.S. contracted truck driver in Iraq, and his time is running out...

"People Problems," the new record from indie rockers Oh No Oh My seems cheerful and dreamy enough at first. Multi-instrumentalists Greg Barkley, Joel Calvin, Daniel Hoxmeier and Tim Regan do an amazing job on the new album, released Jan. 18 on Koenig Records, of mixing their instruments and vocals with a beautiful string section to create a beautifullly catchy -- occassionally dreamy -- indie pop record...