Stories from Friday, April 12, 2013

To the Editor: As our community prepares to mark Earth Day once again this April 22, the environmental movement has become more and more difficult for everyday people to navigate: A maze of climate change, carbon offsets, emissions guidelines and more...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Legislation adding nonprofit organizations (NPOs) to receive donated or willed property for nature preservation was signed into law by Governor Mike Pence on Wednesday. Co-sponsored by District 44 State Rep. Jim Baird (R-Greencastle), Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) 367 will go into effect on July 1...

If you have a question for primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist and UN Messenger of Peace Jane Goodall -- who will visit DePauw University on Wednesday, April 17 -- you're invited to submit it. Questions sent to ubbenquestions@yahoo.com between now and Sunday evening will be distributed to DePauw student journalists, who will select the ones they will present to Goodall at the conclusion of her Ubben Lecture...

DePauw University has appointed Melanie J. Norton as vice president for development and alumni engagement, DPU President Brian W. Casey announced. Casey also unveiled plans to significantly expand and integrate alumni engagement activities across the university with Steven J. Setchell named to serve as DePauw's first associate vice president for alumni engagement...

BAINBRIDGE--After Bainbridge's special business meeting in March about switching zoning ordinances to bring in Casey's General Store, the town council met on Wednesday for its monthly meeting and signed the ordinances to change the zoning. The town council signed the ordinances to switch a residential area to business area and to let the construction of storage units. The area that is to be rezoned is at 208 and 210 N. Washington St...

In a week when the first real spring rains arrived, the Greencastle School Board accepted bids that should stop the leaks at two Greencastle schools. Work will commence this summer on new roofs for Tzouanakis Intermediate School and Greencastle High School, according to contracts signed Wednesday evening...

With the rise in school shootings, it is necessary for emergency personnel to have specialized training to handle such situations. Over the past week, more than 60 officers within nine police agencies participated in active shooter training at the old Jones School in Greencastle. Training was done Monday evening as well as Thursday morning in four hour sessions to ensure that all were able to participate...

The Greencastle boys' golf team got quality scoring from its top-five players and outmatched host West Vigo with a 153-222 win on Thursday. "Alec (Davis), Luke (Brotherton) and Jake (Buis) had good, solid rounds," GHS coach Steve Paquin said. "They were able to overcome the weather conditions and play excellent golf."...

The North Putnam boys' track and field team is young but they have high hopes of building into a strong season. The Cougars are loaded with underclassmen and preparing for an exciting -- though challenging -- year. "Twenty of our kids are either freshmen or sophomores so this year will be an exciting process," NPHS coach Tony Gray said. ...

The North Putnam boys' golf team started the year off with a pair of wins earlier this week, which is cause for optimism. The golfers and their coach have been optimistic since before the season even began. "They've come in this year with a mentality that they've all done something extra that they didn't do the year before," NPHS coach Linda Patrick said. "They feel like they've greatly improved, and that's why they're looking forward to this upcoming season."...

It's not often that anything I do could be described as trendy. I'm a balding, 30-something who gets 10 miles per gallon and thinks music reached its high point in 1992. Like I said, behind the times. So when I added a couple of bow ties to my repertoire in recent months, it was with complete ignorance of the fact that the classic piece of neckwear has staged something of a comeback in recent years...

A two-vehicle accident on U.S. 231 at the entrance to the Edgelea Subdivision just north of Greencastle apparently looked much worse than it turned out to be Friday evening. Although the accident report was unavailable at presstime, the 5:25 p.m. collision reportedly occurred as a teenage driver attempted to turn left off Edgelea Drive to go south on U.S. 231 and pulled her car into the path of a northbound pickup truck, hauling a stock trailer...

A 43-year-old Greencastle man who essentially let himself be caught in the act of robbing the CVS pharmacy so he could go back to jail last May, is happy to be getting out before year's end. Jeffrey E. King, eloquent and incisive in ways much belying his orange Putnam County Jail jumpsuit, told Superior Court Judge Denny Bridges that the last 321 days in the local jail "has changed my life."...