Stories from Saturday, August 18, 2012

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Cody Beck of Bainbridge was chosen the 2012 first place National Junior Merit Scholar by the Hereford Youth Foundation of America. The award was presented July 7, during the 13th annual VitaFerm Junior National Hereford Expo (JNHE) in Grand Island, Neb...

The trust commemorating one of Speedway's founding police commissioners has announced the award of its current year education/community service grants. This year the foundation made awards to a total of four recipients, including one from Putnam County...

Courtney Trent and Charles Tincher would like to announce their engagement and upcoming marriage. Charles is the son of Clifford Tincher Jr. and Grace Tincher of Greencastle. Courtney is the daughter of Allen Trent and Larry and Lori Ford of Greencastle. They will wed Saturday, April 20, 2013.

Bainbridge Christian Church is establishing a pair of Bible Bowl teams for elementary students and teens. The Beginner Bible Bowl team is open to students in grades three through five, while the Teen Bible Bowl team is open to middle and high schoolers...

Volunteers from Duke Energy provided "sweat equity" and a volunteer grant to help Ross and Cherri Cauldwell, the founders of Little Oaks Ranch in Bainbridge, to build a horse shelter. Little Oaks Ranch is a ministry that uses horses to work with at-risk youth to learn life lessons and equestrian skills. The children gain a true sense of worth, empathy and confidence through their interaction with the horses. The Ranch operates on volunteers and donations, as fees are never charged for the support they provide to their "ranchers." Learn more about Little Oaks Ranch at littleoaksranch.org. Duke Energy encourages employees to support qualifying organizations during their annual Global Service Event. The project was led by Gary Helton. His team of ambitious volunteers are (from left) Brian Lundy, Ed Hamilton, Gary Helton, Steve Bringle, Mariah Lundy, Heidi Irving, Amanda Brinker, April Williams, (back) Mark Irving, Gary Hutcheson, Rick Deer and Ross Cauldwell. Cherri Cauldwell and Ellen Helton also supported the team with lunch, beverages and photos.

First Baptist Church has had a busy summer as Pastor Randy McNeely led two teams on Mission Trips. One trip was to Bacone College in Muskogee, Okla., where they spent a week working on a dormitory. The second trip was to The Bible University of Latin America in Costa Rica, where they spent several days pouring concrete for driveways. Mission Trips are an ongoing outreach for First Baptist Church.

QUINCY -- The Retreat Campus in Quincy invites you to immerse yourself in the healing grace of God's great love by learning how to forgive yourself for everything. The Forgive Yourself Completely healing workshop with Louise Dunn is set for 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8 in The Retreat Campus conference room...

CLOVERDALE -- The Cloverdale volleyball team came away with a thrilling victory over Cascade in five sets 14-25, 25-17, 27-25, 22-25 and 15-13 Thursday. "I am really proud of these girls tonight," head coach Kathy Moore said. "They really showed their character. They played well together and never quit."...

The thunderstorm that swept through Putnam County Thursday afternoon and evening may not have produced enough rainfall to save many crops but it did push August past its precipitation average. Greencastle received 1.2 inches of rain Thursday, according to Diana Foust, who logs daily rainfall totals locally...

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) -- Mason Gillis drove in two runs with a check-swing double in a four-run fifth for New Castle, to break open a pitcher's duel in a 4-0 victory over Gresham, Ore., on Friday night in the Little League World Series. Cory Murphy started the scoring spree with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice and scored on two wild pitches. Gillis followed four batters later with the half-hearted swing that turned into a hit down the right-field line...

PUTNAMVILLE -- From today through Monday, Sept. 3, Indiana State Police troopers from the Putnamville District will join more than 250 other Indiana law enforcement agencies across the Hoosier state in the "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" crackdown on impaired and dangerous drivers...

CLOVERDALE -- Cloverdale's football opener against Brown County might have started slowly, but it certainly ended with a bang. Tied at 6-all at halftime, Brown County scored 14 points in the third quarter en route to an extremely hard fought 22-14 win over the Clovers...

South Putnam began its defense of its 2011 sectional title with a season opener against Owen Valley Friday. If the game's outcome is any indication, the Eagles' opponents have been put on notice. The Eagles rolled, or more accurately, ran their way to a 33-7 win over Owen Valley. Sophomore Lucas Lorian provided a major punch for the South Putnam offense, carrying the ball 23 times for 179 yards and four scores...

Several people have been booked into the Putnam County Jail recently. At 7 p.m. Donald Eugene Majors, 58, homeless, was charged with probation violation. His car left the road, made impact with the north side of County Road 700 South, overturned and came to rest upright on farm land...

The Area 30 Career Center Interlocal Board of Directors met Thursday morning for a short meeting to discuss several routine issues as the new school year begins. As many officials, including the state of Indiana, begin to focus on texting and driving safety, Ivy Tech will be sponsoring a seminar on Distracted Driving Convocation on Thursday, Aug. 30 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. However, high school students will only be attending a portion of that...

Local residents are invited to attend an informational session Tuesday, Aug. 21 at Greencastle City Hall to hear a progress report on efforts to establish a homeless shelter program for the Putnam County area. Homeless Solutions Inc., the newly created nonprofit organization dedicated to the mission of providing shelter and related services to area households that are experiencing homelessness and extreme poverty, is expected to announce its operational plans and a timeline for opening at the Tuesday meeting.. ...

One month after posting one of its worst state unemployment rankings ever, the Putnam County jobless picture has rebounded a bit and even escaped the bottom 20 for July 2012. A 9.5 percent unemployment figure for July puts Putnam County in a tie with Owen County for the 72nd best jobless rate (or 21st worst, if you prefer that perspective)...

There have been no reports of Chevrolet Corvairs in the area recently, but a southern Putnam County road just may be unsafe at any speed. James Moore, who resides on County Road 1050 South, just north of Cataract Lake, recently protested the road's 45- mph speed limit to the Putnam County Commissioners...

Senior Ryan Chestnut and head coach Troy Burgess (above) lead the South Putnam Eagles onto the field for the first high school football action of the 2012 season. In Cloverdale, Kyle Manion (right) joins the marching band at halftime of the Clovers' opener.

BAINBRIDGE -- A tumultuous 2011-12 school year is now over for the North Putnam school corporation, but it is still paying for some of the problems that occurred. The North Putnam School Board voted to approve an insurance bid on Thursday for $249,755.50, nearly double last year's cost...