Stories from Saturday, February 19, 2011

CLINTON -- Indiana State Police detectives from the Putnamville Post have concluded a nearly two week investigation into allegations of theft by an employee of White Construction Company located in Clinton. The Criminal Investigation Division at the Putnamville Post was initially notified on Jan. 28 by management of White Construction Co. alleging theft by one of their employees...

From Banner Graphic staff reports Weekly grocery shopping may just seem like a routine that we all do. However, it is more than a routine when trying to eat healthy and stay on a budget. As the economic squeeze continues, many Americans remain concerned that the cost of a healthy diet is out of reach...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Rep. Jim Baird (R-Greencastle) has voted in favor of two pieces of legislation that would revitalize the economy and create jobs. Rep. Baird's most recent effort to battle his district's high unemployment was voting in support of House Bills 1007 and 1008, he said...

GREENCASTLE -- Art and music merge for "Percussion at Peeler," an annual event where contemporary musical performance and contemporary visual art come together to provide an enriched aesthetic experience in a nontraditional setting on the campus of DePauw University...

GREENCASTLE -- Almost Home restaurant in downtown Greencastle will host the Putnam County Community Foundation's Youth Philanthropy Night on March 3 from 5 to 9 p.m. Local students on the Youth Philanthropy Committee will be servers that evening, and all gratuities will benefit the local Youth Philanthropy Endowment...

The members of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church spent much of last Sunday cutting up and removing downed tree limbs in the Fillmore area. Nearly 30 people helped with the cause. Many pick-up truck and grain truck loads were removed. "We spent the day taking grain truck load after grain truck load of downed stuff out of Fillmore," Bethel Pastor Nathan Couch said. A local farmer is keeping the limbs on his property until it can be burned. "We had a ton of people from kids all the way up to older adults helping," Couch said. Above left, Ron Cash and Lydia Zeiner carry limbs out of a yard. At left, Wes Schurtter awaits more limbs to fill the back of a grain truck.

Air Force Master Sgt. Michele King has retired from the U.S. Air Force after 23 years of dedicated and faithful military service. Prior to retiring, King served as the superintendent of the 31st Contracting Squadron at Aviano Air Base, Italy. King was born and raised in Greencastle and enlisted in the Air Force in December 1987. She trained as a personnel specialist at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., and as a contract specialist at Lackland AFB, Texas...

The children of Myrtle Cundiff -- Joyce Wood, Phyllis Neumann, Lana Schimpf, Mary Beck, Alma Jeffs and Jim Cundiff -- invite family and friends to a Feb. 26 celebration to wish Myrtle a happy 90th birthday. The celebration will take place at the Greencastle Nazarene Church, 580 S. C.R. 100E, Greencastle, from 1 to 4 p.m...

GREENCASTLE---- From March 2-6, award-winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis will visit Greencastle and participate in concerts at DePauw, as well as get to know the area. Kernis won the 2002 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition and is one of the youngest composers to ever be awarded the Pulitzer Prize. ...

GREENCASTLE -- The Greencastle Youth Engagement Summit (YES) is a community development initiative that will focus on Greencastle's youth demographic--ages 16 to 21 -- and identify their needs as both consumers and citizens. Generously supported by a grant from the Indiana Leadership Association, Greencastle YES will also create an avenue for continued engagement in City government...

GREENCASTLE -- DePauw University will again be a host site for College Goal Sunday -- a day for college-bound students and their families to learn more about financial aid. At 2 p.m. on Sunday, at DePauw's Percy Lavon Julian Science and Mathematics Center (602 S. College Avenue), financial aid professionals will be available to answer questions about the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)...

GREENCASTLE -- A former teller for a local bank has pled guilty to felony theft. Sheila Shoemaker, 39, is accused of embezzling more than $87,000 from First Financial Bank in Greencastle, where she was the head teller. Six counts of Class D felony theft were filed against Shoemaker on Oct. ...

GREENCASTLE -- A Fillmore man was charged Friday with two count of Class A felony child molestation. Brian J. Beaty, 47, was booked the Putnam County Jail just after 2 a.m. He is being held without bond. Beaty was arrested by detectives from the Putnamville Post of the Indiana State Police...

TRAFALGAR -- Two young women from Putnam County are currently serving as state officers FFA officers. Megan Klotz is the state FFA secretary, while Janna Oxford is the state FFA treasurer. They were elected in June 2010, and will serve through this coming June's State FFA Convention...

SPENCER -- The South Putnam Eagles traveled to Spencer Friday night to face the Owen Valley Patriots, trying to steal a win and spoil the Patriots' senior night. The Patriots started out strong going on a 7-0 run to open the game, while the Eagles were looked sluggish...

ROCKVILLE -- Cloverdale's boys' basketball team had a tough night against a young but solid Rockville squad Friday night. Through twelve minutes of play, the Clovers were neck and neck with the hosts, but a late first half surge from the Rox sent Cloverdale into halftime reeling en route to a 61-43 loss...

NEW MARKET -- Nick Hutcheson is known for high-volume scoring and rebounding ability, but it was his alert defense that saved Greencastle's 61-60 victory over Southmont on the Mounties' court Friday. Southmont had all the momentum when it in-bounded the basketball with 8.4 seconds remaining...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Conseco Fieldhouse. It's the biggest stage when it comes to IHSAA wrestlers and for Cloverdale senior Donnie Helterbrand, it was his moment to shine. Helterbrand advanced to the second day of competition with a deceivingly dominant first round win...

CRAWFORDSVILLE -- Putnam County schools took five of the top seven spots at the Crawfordsville Swimming and Diving sectional Saturday, and seven county athletes advanced in state competition. Greencastle finished a close second to sectional champion Southmont with 250 points. South Putnam was sixth with 102, with North Putnam in seventh with 88...

Cloverdale senior Donnie Helterbrand placed seventh at the IHSAA state wrestling tournament Saturday. Helterbrand earned his seventh place finish after pinning Pioneer's Owen Dorris in the final wrestling match of his high school career. The complete story of Helterbrand's second day at state will be in the Tuesday edition of the Banner Graphic...