Stories from Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Family and friends are mourning the loss of a 17-year-old Greencastle High School student following a Monday afternoon tractor accident. Riley Sutherlin, who recently completed his junior year, was killed when the backhoe he was operating overturned. Putnam County 911 Dispatch received the call...

Amid the news reports of tornadoes and damage in Hendricks, Marion and Hamilton counties Tuesday afternoon, Putnam County appears to have avoid serious storms. Chris Edwards, severe weather specialist for the Putnam County Emergency Management Agency, said he had received no serious weather reports as of late afternoon, outside of some minor flooding...

John Dittmer, professor emeritus of history at DePauw University and a nationally recognized authority on the civil rights movement, appears in "Freedom Summer," an episode of "American Experience," which debuts nationally on PBS Tuesday night. "Over 10 memorable weeks in 1964 known as Freedom Summer, more than 700 student volunteers from around the country joined organizers and local African Americans in a historic effort to shatter the foundations of white supremacy in what was one of the nation's most viciously racist, segregated states," notes a synopsis of the program.. ...

Extreme speeds in a construction zone on Interstate 70 landed a Hancock County man in the Putnam County Jail Monday. At 11:45 a.m., Indiana State Police Region III Dispatch Center notified Putnamville troopers working along I-70 of a car traveling westbound at a high rate of speed and recklessly...

Elizabeth Ann Pifer, 101, Greencastle, died Sunday, June 22, 2014. Born Dec. 28, 1912 in New Springfield, Ohio, she was the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Ralph Davy Wheadon. She graduated from Logansport High School, Wittenberg University, and had a Master's degree from Indiana University...

The Cloverdale Middle School Student Council recently held a year-end celebration cookout at the Nature Trail. Robert Smith, husband of council co-sponsor Susan Smith, cooked hamburgers and hot dogs for the council members, Principal Stacey Baugh and Superintendent Carrie Milner. ...

Fourth Grading Period All A Grade 9: Lillian Marie Boyd, Brice William Christian Carmichael, Lindsey Jane Davis, Aaron Christopher Fulkerson, Ryan Christopher Heavener, Kelsey Renae Helterbrand, Andrew Dylan Johnson, Ambrie Margaret Kidder, Nolan Scott Maners, Chloe Lucille Mannan, Lauren Nicole Meek, Scott Kang-Hee Meyers, Hanna Nickole Monnett, Isabel Rose Monnett, Kelsey Nichole Nees, Katelyn Marie Smith, Abigail Marie Speas and Victoria May Szalay...

Fourth Grading Period All A Grade 5:Ashlynn McKenna Basore, Aubree Jordyn Branigan, Denise Isabella Carrillo, Kedrick Aiden Coon, Ashley Lynelle Cumbee, Jeremy Charles Hess, Brayden David Mann, Ruth Ann Mann, Phoebe Lynn McDonald, Emma Grace McLaughlin, Lily Grace Monnett, Nathaniel Quinn Monnett, Michaela Marie Nees, Anna Michelle Powell, Sadie Marie Priest and Bailey Marie Sanders...

Joseph E. Laudig, 92, of Cloverdale, passed away Wednesday, June 18, 2014 at the VA Medical Center Indianapolis. He was the son of Edward and Mary Ann Laudig (Balentine) Laudig. Joseph married Mildred "Curly" Laudig April 13, 1941. Surviving are his daughters Nancy Branneman and husband Richard of Cloverdale, Vicki Jo Hess and husband Chuck of Plainfield and Patty Buis of Cloverdale; sisters Lois Case of Ohio and Jean Hurt of Arizona; brothers Don Laudig of Indiana and Ferd Laudig of New York; and 8 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and 10 great-great-grandchildren.. ...

Riley Louis Sutherlin, 17, of Greencastle, passed away on Monday, June 23, 2014. Riley was born on Feb. 11, 1997 in Indianapolis to Ronald L. Sutherlin and Alana A. Walker Sutherlin. He was a senior at Greencastle High School, where he was involved in the Classics Choir...

While inclement weather has canceled this week's ParkFest concert at Robe-Ann Park, one of the performers has found a way to put on a show just the same. The Greencastle Civic League announced the cancellation around mid-afternoon on Tuesday, as rain has fallen in the Putnam County area for much of the day...

Vicky D. Lytle, 59, of Bainbridge, passed away on Monday, June 23, 2014. The moment of her passing, the sky opened up and the world wept for the loss of one of its few remaining angels. Vicky was born on June 11, 1955 in Oakland, Calif., to Lawrence L. Nauman and Madelyn Alexander Nauman...

The Greencastle Civic League is hosting the fourth annual tennis tournament for kids in Putnam County. The tournament will be held on July 12 starting at 8 a.m. at the DePauw University outdoor courts, and is open to kids between the ages of 5-14. All participants will receive a t-shirt and there will be trophies and medals for age-division winners. ...

Four North Putnam High School players made the Indiana Elite North/South All-Star team and Cougar coach Benny Ault coached the underclassmen team which included Bronwyn Spencer and Sierra Spencer. Morgan Albers played in the junior division and Bailey Ault made the senior division...