Stories from Saturday, August 13, 2011

With 371 children signed up so far, the Putnam County Public Library's Imagination Library project is up and running. Through the national program founded by Dolly Parton, children receive books addressed to them monthly in the mail. The program is open to children from birth to age five.

Several local families have welcomed new additions recently...

Reserve Champions of the Adult Open Class competition at the 2011 Putnam County Fair are (front, from left) Marianne Ash, Judith Cloe, Charlene Nichols, Ella Marie Torr and Aubrey Campbell; second row, Esther Buck, Sarah Whitlock, Betty Henson, Pat Slatton, Marsha Romalia, Dee Hudson and Terry Noble; third row, Kim Lawrenz, Jennifer Romalia, Rashell Harcourt, Amber Beams and Cathy Mullis. Other Reserve Champions not pictured are Theresa Gygi, Donna Harcourt, Sandy Rissler, Sue Holzer, Pam Richards, Pam Miller, Kristie Spear, Felicia Romalia and Beverly Spires.

It's one for the record books for DePauw University's Balloon Assisted Stratospheric Experiments (BASE) program. Saturday's record-setting flight, the 67th in the program's history, took place in Rantoul, Ill. A helium-filled balloon carried an assortment of radios and meteorological sensors into the stratosphere and climbed to a height of 125,200 feet before the balloon burst...

James Timothy Coy, 33, Greencastle: Theft, bond revocation, Aug. 11, 4:40 p.m. Lisa Lewis, 46, Evansville: Trafficking contraband with an inmate, conspiracy-trafficking, Aug. 11, noon. Robert John Robertson, 29, Bainbridge: Invasion of privacy, Aug. 11, 6:22 p.m...

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) will conduct four public informational meetings this coming week to help educate the public on the three Interstate 70 construction projects that will be restricting traffic from the Indiana/Illinois state line to Plainfield...

ROACHDALE -- The North Putnam School Corporation board met at the North Putnam High School auditorium Thursday night to discuss what was once a problem at the corporation -- the budget. In 2009, the corporation was operating $3 million in the red. By the fall of 2011, the corporation plans to pay off its debt and begin the process of creating funds and plans to save money for future expenses, preventing large debts from occurring in the future...

It was more like an average Friday night from a quarter century ago as Average House Band members Sandy Williams and Danny Martin played to the crowd at the Inn at DePauw Friday night. Along with bandmates Fred Badalli, Marty Baker, Mike Poor, Steve Michael, Bill Hamm and Rod Kersey, the group brought AHB will be back tonight. General admission tickets for $5 remain for tonight's second show of the Greencastle institution's annual reunion.

A Hoosier trade mission to the Far East next month could include two Greencastle officials. Indiana Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman, who will lead the state trade delegation, has invited Greencastle Mayor Sue Murray and Greencastle/Putnam County Development Center Director Bill Dory to tag along...