Stories from Friday, September 5, 2014

County Jail Several people were booked into the Putnam County Jail recently. *At 11:05 a.m. on Tuesday, Daniel Richard Sparks, 27, Indianapolis, was arrested for sale of methamphetamines, possession of methamphetamines, unlawful possession of firearms and bond revocation...

The following cases were filed in Putnam County courts on Tuesday, Sept. 2 and Wednesday, Sept. 3. Criminal Cases Zachary T. Allen, 20, Greencastle, Class A misdemeanor domestic battery Austin D. Sears, 21, Greencastle, Class 6 felony battery with moderate bodily injury...

Christmas may still be four months away, but the performance committee of the Community Christmas Choir at Russellville is busy preparing for its annual program. The choir, which is in its 13th year, has been a growing tradition for residents in Montgomery, Parke and Putnam counties. Last year, more than 1,500 people attended the concert at the Russellville Community Center...

A 90th birthday celebration will be held for Mildred Sutherlin on Saturday, Sept. 20 from 2-4 p.m. in Harris Hall at the Putnam County Fairgrounds. The family has requested no gifts.

Wilma Wallace invited her classmates from the Fillmore High School class of 1949 to her home for lunch on July 12. Eight members, two spouses and three daughters attended. Memories of yesteryear were passed around, as was so much fun. Classmates in attendance included (front from left) Madonna (Goss) Woodall, Anita (Selsor) Henderson, Florence (Pell) Daringer, Vera Jean (Ross) Clark, (back) Don Thompson, Ethel (Thompson) Hammond, Kenneth Carpenter and Wilma Wallace. ...

The annual (John Franklin) PHELPS reunion will be held Sunday, Sept. 14 from noon-4 p.m. at the Red Bud Hill Reception Hall. Those attending are asked to bring a covered dish, utensil service, stories, pictures and memories to be shared. If you wish to have family pictures taken during the event, participants are asked to bring their camears...

Danny and Janet Lackey of Plainfield are excited to announce the engagement of their daughter, Samantha Jean Humphress, to William Michael McClelland, the son of Bill and Marilyn McClelland of Brazil. The future groom is a 2006 graduate of Northview High School. He is currently employed at Process Development and Fabrication of Brazil...

Wendell and Vera Jean Clark of Greencastle recently celebrated 60 years of marriage together on September 1. They were married September 1, 1954 at the Fillmore Christian Church by Reverend James Shockley. They have three daughters, Melony Scott and husband Mark of Greencastle, Angela Davis and husband Camden of St. Paul, Texas, and Sheila Miller and husband Steve of Greencastle...

The Area 30 Career Center will be hosting a golf scramble at Clover Meadows Golf Course on Saturday, Sept. 20 to benefit its scholarship program. The objective of the scramble is to raise money in hopes of presenting scholarships to as many deserving students as possible during its senior awards banquet in May. Scholarships are awarded to students who are either entering the workforce or pursuing postsecondary education and training. Last year the scramble raised more than $3,500...

William Gene Simmons, 78, of Mt. Meridian, passed away Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014 at IU Hospital surrounded by his family after a short battle with lung cancer. Bill was born on Feb. 4, 1936 in Oklahoma to the late Herbert and Susan Cloyd Simmons. He graduated from Belle Union High School in 1954...

The heat and humidity didn't keep the Putnam County community away from the First Friday celebration on the Greencastle Square. Hundreds showed up to hear some live music from Phillip Steven and the Open Road along with taste testing some homemade salsa creations from Putnam County locals. Bob Huffman (above, right) took some time Friday evening to taste two types of salsa created by Bill Mentgen...

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Less than a week after the family of Mary E. Whitaker conducted private funeral services in New York City, the two men implicated in her murder have been indicted by a federal grand jury. The homeless duo of Jonathan Conklin, 43, and Charles Sanford, 30, with last-known addresses in Erie, Pa., were indicted Friday on charges linked to the murder of Whitaker, a 61-year-old Greencastle native, during an Aug. 20 robbery at her Sherman, N.Y., summer home...

Children who have experienced physical or emotional trauma are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, suffer from depression, attempt suicide and experience domestic violence as adults, according to the Adverse Childhood Experience Study. In an effort to help youth workers better meet the needs of children who have experienced trauma, the Indiana Youth Institute (IYI) is hosting a forum, to take place at Area 30 Career Center in Greencastle, that will explore how to recognize signs of trauma and how it affects children's behavior, development and relationships.. ...

Evidently cantankerous old W. C. Fields could never have been a park director. For among his notable lines and vices, the famously brusque comic is known for proclaiming he could "never work with kids or dogs." Then he really would probably rather be buried in Philadelphia than living in Greencastle right now .....

Roland H. Wesner Jr., 62, of Reelsville, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014 at Union Hospital, Terre Haute. He was born July 5, 1952 in Indianapolis, the son of the late Roland Sr. and Eva (Roy) Wesner. He married Delora Wesner on April 4, 1980, and she survives...

Vacancy in the shift captain ranks for the Greencastle Fire Department? There's an App for that. Kyle App. App, a veteran of more than 13 years with the city fire department, was sworn in Friday as captain of the third shift for GFD. He joins John Shafer and Brian Poole as the department's three shift captains. App's promotion leaves a vacancy in the lieutenant ranks alongside Lts. Kenneth Shepherd and Rob Frank...