Stories from Sunday, October 18, 2015

INDIANAPOLIS - A chilly day yielded good running conditions for Putnam County cross country runners at the Ben Davis Regional Saturday, as Kieffer Vittetow and Emma Wilson advance among others.

Buddy Ray Jones III, 32, of Reelsville, passed away on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015. Buddy was born on Oct. 19, 1982 in Greencastle to Buddy Ray Jones Jr. and Debbie Lynn Beaman Jones. Buddy was employed by the City of Greencastle for the past 13 years, where he served the community most recently as the assistant street commissioner...

Virginia "Ginny" L. Windmiller Gentry entered heaven on Friday, Oct. 16, 2015. Ginny was reunited with her parents, Lawrence "Mike" and Marie Carmichael Windmiller, sister and brother-in-law Janice and Bill White and lifelong friend Lana Call Rolle...

Roberta A. McCormick went to be with the Lord on Oct. 9, 2015 at Autumn Glenn Assisted Living in Greencastle. Roberta was born Nov. 18, 1923 to Robert E. and Anna F. Cottingham in Warren County. She graduated from Pine Village High School and was valedictorian of her class. She continued her education at Indiana State University and then Purdue. University...

Members of 100 Women Who Care Putnam County recently presented checks to two Putnam County charities -- Putnam County Special Olympics and Transformers. The double check presentation was the culmination of the group's latest quarterly meeting when in an unprecedented turn of events, the voting resulted in not just one but two tie votes between the Transformers and Putnam County Special Olympics...

Melanie Sue Ann (Pflueger) Brookshire, 36, of Roachdale and formerly from Brazil, passed away Friday, Oct. 16, 2015 at St. Vincent Clay Hospital after a long and valiant fight with cancer. Melanie was born June 25, 1979, in Clay County, the daughter of Mark and Jane (Snow) Pflueger...

As temperatures begin to drop, Indiana Department of Transportation maintenance crews have completed chip seal projects for 2015, preserving more than 1,200 lane miles of state roads with a surface treatment designed to protect and extend the life of the pavement...

In recognition of the community service of agent Matt Welker (left), the Allstate Foundation recently awarded the Allstate Agency Hands in the Community grant to Beyond Homeless Inc. Welker officially presented the $1,000 check to Beyond Homeless Executive Director Tanis Monday on Friday. ...

A northwestern Madison Township home was a complete loss and caused subsequent fire in nearby fields after a blaze Saturday afternoon. Madison Township Fire Department Chief Lee Price said a passerby alerted authorities about the fire on County Road 675 West, about 1.5 miles north of Roy Rogers Corner, at 3:29 p.m. The house was already fully engulfed and the structure, owned by local veterinarian John Helmers, was already collapsing into the basement...

The Indiana Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) will give a public presentation at the Putnam County Public Library on Saturday, Oct 24. The free public program is scheduled for 1-4 p.m. at PCPL, 103 E. Poplar St., Greencastle. As the world's oldest and largest investigative body into the UFO phenomenon, MUFON's aim is to be the refuge for inquisitive minds seeking answers to that most ancient of questions: "Are we alone in the universe?"...

The Humane Society of Putnam County has announced an open house at the reopened county shelter, located off State Road 240 east of Greencastle. Months of hard work and dedication have paid off and it is now time to celebrate, HSPC officials said in inviting the pubic to attend...

All sixth- to eighth-graders who love Halloween are invited to enjoy some spooky fun when the Greencastle Parks and Recreation Department hosts a Hunt for the Great Pumpkin. The Halloween-meets-Easter event is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24 starting at 7:30 p.m. from shelterhouse No. 1 (on the hill above the bandshell) at Robe-Ann Park...

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reports as of September 2014, the Indiana unemployment rate was 5.7%. In relation to Putnam County, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development reports 907 (5.2%) of residents in our county are unemployed...

The WIC volleyball crossover games pitted Putnam County rivals and old WCC rivals against each other Saturday when South Putnam fell to Cloverdale and Greencastle beat Cascade. North Putnam in the third-place game fell to Sullivan in three sets. The South Putnam team has not fared well this season and Cloverdale has been up and down and coming off a loss to Linton-Stockton. The Clovers capitalized early and won in three sets, 25-11, 25-21 25-16...

INDIANAPOLIS -- A chilly day yielded good running conditions for Putnam County cross country runners at the Ben Davis Regional Saturday as Eagle Kieffer Vittetow and Tiger Cub Emma Wilson advanced among others. The Greencastle girls' team placed seventh while the South Putnam girls' took eighth...

Take a walk from the front of the All-American Karate Academy back to the office of owners Steve and Niki St. Pierre, and you'll notice more than a few awards. Trophies, plaques, certificates and photos of old tournaments line the west wall of the school at 1021 Indianapolis Rd., Suite D. Those are the efforts of nearly 50 years of training for Steve and more than 20 for Niki...

Margaritte VM Chandler, 93, of Stilesville, passed away Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015. She was born May 16, 1922 to the late George and Cora Minnie Mae (McCloud) Clark in Putnam County. She was a homemaker and a member of the Stilesville Christian Church and the Plainfield Rebekah Lodge...

BAINBRIDGE -- Gleaners Food Bank will bring its mobile pantry truck to the parking lot of the Bainbridge Community Building from 10 a.m.-noon on Saturday, Oct. 24. There is no age eligibility requirement. This is simply food distribution for those in need...