Stories from Saturday, March 22, 2014

EVAN STEFFY, a fifth-grader at South Putnam Central Elementary, will complete in the Scripps Wabash Valley Spelling Regional Spelling Bee at Terre Haute Sarah Scott Middle School. Students who qualified from across the Wabash Valley will compete in the competion. The winner will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. later this year...

County Jail Seven people were booked into the Putnam County Jail recently. At 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Chad William Wilson, 38, Clover-dale, was arrested on a probation violation. At 1:29 a.m. on Thursday, Krista Lee Larson, 24, Lebanon, was charged with failure to appear and check deception...

In voting by members of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, DePauw senior forward Alex Gasaway has been selected to the Division III Coaches' All-America Team as an honorable mention selection. Gasway was second on the team in both scoring (12.9) and rebounding (6.1) and shot 48.6 percent from the floor. ...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Appearances in the consolation finals by a pair of relays and Casey Hooker's all-America showing in the 200-yard freestyle highlighted DePauw's second day of competition at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships. The 200 free relay of Alex Alfonso, Jack Burgeson, Hooker and Blake Lehmann was 10th in the prelims in 1:22.39 before finishing 12th in the finals in 1:22.27...

The West Central Indiana Men's Senior Baseball League currently has three committed teams from Coatesville, Pittsboro and Mooresville. Organizers would like to expand to six teams before the season starts on Aug. 3. League officials will host an information and planning meeting on March 23 at the Cornerstone Pub in Stilesville. The league is now open to men 30 years and older...

The North Putnam High School softball team will host a coaches and youth clinic on Saturday, April 5 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. All coaches and girls ages six and above are invited and encouraged to attend. The clinic will focus on pitching, hitting, catching and fielding drills and instruction...

The next preseason meeting of the Putnam County Church Softball League will be on Monday, April 7 at 7 p.m. in the Greencastle Church of the Nazarene. The league will not be taking anymore teams after April 1. For more information please call or leave a message for Wayne Tharp at 720-0204. If you plan to play this year please send someone from your church...

Greencastle High School Basketball team members were chosen to compete in the Indiana Elite North vs South 3A All-Star challenge on Sunday, March 16. The games were held at Lebanon High School. Playing (from left) junior Callan Taylor, junior Lauren Bridgewater, sophomore Paige Bragg and junior Jessica Lenihan. Not pictured is senior Alex Basile...

Greencastle High School varsity swim/dive team gives back by raising $1,383.50 to support cancer research and the American Cancer Society. During the annual Greencastle Athletic Winter Sports Award night, Senior swimmer Emily Wheeler and her mother, Amy Mobley, present the fund to Jenny Bradshaw, Relay for Live and American Cancer Society representative...

DePauw University is the recipient of a STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System) Silver rating in recognition of the college's sustainability achievements. The award from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) represents an upgrade from last year's Bronze designation for DePauw...

Keith Berry has announced his candidacy for re-election to the Putnam County Council on the Republican ballot in the May 6 primary election. Berry is seeking re-election to the District 4 seat on the Council. "It has been my honor to serve on the Putnam County Council since being elected in 1998," Berry said. "I have tried to appropriate your tax dollars as I believe you would to operate the county in an efficient manner."...

Ascena Retail Group's Indiana ecommerce fulfillment center -- known as GC Fulfillment LLC -- has earned a $106,000 rebate check from Energizing Indiana and Duke Energy. The rebate is a direct result of lighting improvements that will reduce energy use at the company's 972,000-square-foot facility...

A pair of proposals that will ultimately provide better information about Putnam County government will have to wait. County Attorney Jim Ensley went before the council discussing a $3,500 proposal for Jon Tesmer to update the county website. The item remained for discussion only at Tuesday's meeting, as there is currently no contract with Tesmer for the services...

When Jeff Mace retired recently as Greencastle Fire Department assistant chief, it set off a chain reaction of department personnel changes culminating in a swearing-in ceremony earlier this week at City Hall. With co-workers, friends and family on hand at the outset of the monthly Greencastle Board of Works meeting, Mayor Sue Murray swore in John Burgess as the new assistant chief, succeeding Mace who had held that spot that past 14 years...