Stories from Tuesday, March 18, 2014

As its three county rivals weigh their options, Greencastle High School is moving forward with a plan to merge with the Western Indiana Conference. The departure of Monrovia for the Hoosier Crossroads Conference at the end of this school year leaves just five members in the West Central Conference -- Cloverdale, Greencastle, North Putnam, South Putnam and Cascade...

Christian Hamilton, 86, of Cornelius, N.C., died Monday, Feb. 17, 2014 at the Levine-Dickson Hospice House in Huntersville, N.C. He is survived by his beloved wife Rachel Jeffreys Hamilton; also by his daughter, son-in-law, and grandson, Megan, Will and Benjamin Rhodehamel of Brownsburg...

To the Editor: The inaugural Quail Forever Banquet (formerly Quail Unlimited) was held Feb. 22, 2014 at the Dixie Chopper Business Center. It was a huge success and a very enjoyable evening. The Dixie Chopper Business Center was responsible for catering this event and we thank them for their hard work and delicious fare. We also thank American Legion Post 58 for their support, and the donated art collection of the late Wayne Faatz...

To the Editor: Things are moving along here at Beyond Homeless, and we are still planning to begin offering services on the last Monday of the month, March 31. As we near that time there are many things to think about and put into place. I'm not shy in saying we need some help...

By now, you've probably heard all the consternation over the new Indiana tourism slogan. Honest to Goodness Indiana. Yep, honest to goodness, that's it. Somewhere I'm sure the committee members that once put "Wander" on our license plates are high-fiving and chest-bumping, telling each other, "See, I told you there would be a worse idea."...

David Winchester Collins "Lil Dave" was born in Gillette, Wyo., on the 15th day of October in the Year of our Lord 2010 to David R. Collins and Kristina M. Collins. He resided near Weston, Wyo., with his loving father, mother and baby sister Liberty AnnaMay Collins. Lil Dave left us unexpectedly at the young age of 3 to be with the lord as an angel on March 7, 2014...

On Friday, March 14, Greencastle Middle School instrumental students competed in the Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) organizational competition at Cloverdale High School. On Saturday, March 15, the GMS vocal students competed. The students spent many hours preparing three pieces and performed before a panel of three judges...

County Jail Seven people were booked into the Putnam County Jail recently. At 6:05 p.m. on Friday, Theresa Anne Bowling-Odom, 39, Hillsboro, was charged with bond revocation and nonsupport of a dependent. At 11:02 p.m. on Saturday, Christen Nicole Walton, 29, Cloverdale, was arrested for violation of home detention...

Tim Maniscalo, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) serving Central Indiana, will be speaking to the Greater Greencastle Chamber of Commerce in April as part of advancing its mission to create a marketplace of trust for buyers and sellers...

While certainly not surprising to anyone who has ever eaten lunch at the Ivy Gallery, Area 30 Career Center culinary arts students chewed up the competition at recent state competition. Culinary students from Area 30 brought home state honors and will represent Indiana at the upcoming National ProStart Invitational and the FCCLA National Leadership Conference...

After three seasons at the helm, Troy Burgess tendered his resignation as the South Putnam boys' basketball coach on Monday. The move had been speculated since Burgess stepped down as the Eagle football coach in December, but no official word came until the matter was before the South Putnam School Board for its March meeting...

DePauw center Tommy Fernitz was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division III All-District Second Team for the Great Lakes region, selected by member coaches of the NABC in NCAA Division III. Fernitz led the Tigers with 14.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. He led the North Coast Athletic Conference in rebounds per game and field goal percentage, shooting 62.9 percent from the floor...

Following a 27-1 regular season, DePauw's women placed two players on the D3hoops.com All-Great Lakes Region teams as well as the region's top coach. DePauw senior forward Alex Gasaway was named to the first team for the second straight year after earning third team all-America honors last year and first team pre-season all-America accolades prior to this season...

A leadoff homerun from freshman shortstop, Michael Hartnagel, set the tone for the Tigers as they swept the visiting Manchester University Spartans in the home opener Tuesday afternoon at Walker Field. After a rough start to the 2014 campaign, the Tigers were able to out find their offensive stroke grabbing game one by a score of 9-5 and taking the nightcap by a score of 6-4...

After months of discussion, the South Putnam School Board chose to move forward with its construction project of a new weight room facility at the high school as well as additional restrooms at Central Elementary. Representatives from Schmidt Associates came before the board Monday evening to present the final construction document review before gaining approval to go to bid...

The Mini-Farm Fest portion of the annual Putnam County Ag Day celebration typically focuses on kids and their young animal counterparts. The 2014 edition was no different as three Cooper brothers (above, from left) Corbin, 3, Aiden, 6, and Bronson, 5, enjoy suckers as they launch their colorful mechanical entries in the pig-racing event. The boys are sons of Caitlin and Ryan Cooper of the Stilesville area...

Approvals for remodeling, restructuring and classroom technology practices were the highlights of the Greencastle School Board's monthly meeting on Monday night. After a presentation from Schmidt Associates laying out estimated costs, timetables, designs and computer sketches of what the finished products will look like, the school board approved permission to put out bids for the construction of a new storage facility as well as an extension to the cafeteria at Greencastle High School, and a parking lot reconfiguration at Tzouanakis Intermediate School.. ...

The Putnam County Commissioners voted unanimously Monday night to allow race tracks as a special exception in land zoned as Agricultural 1. The passage of the matter does not automatically allow race tracks and off-road facilities in such areas. Instead, as a special exception, it is a use for the land that can be granted by the county Board of Zoning Appeals on a case-by-case basis...