Stories from Thursday, May 19, 2016

Aubert "Bert" Lewis Meredith, 86, of St. Simons Island, Ga., passed away Thursday May 12, 2016 at his residence. A memorial service will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 21 at the Holy Nativity Episcopal Church, St. Simons Island, Ga. Arrangements are entrusted to Edo Miller and Sons Funeral Home and Oglethorpe Crematorium (www.edomillerandsons.co)...

Ralph Faye Beam, 97, of Lizton passed away on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at Homewood Health Campus in Lebanon. Ralph was born on April 28, 1919, one of nine children born to Walter and Vernia (McCormick) Beam at Morton, Ind. He was educated at the New Maysville and Bainbridge schools and graduated from Bainbridge High School...

There is a natural occurrence, which takes place every spring, that sometimes strikes fear in many people when it happens around where everyone lives. It's a warm spring day and you are out pulling weeds or spreading mulch, when all of a sudden you start to hear a buzzing noise in the air -- the noise gets louder and you look around to see a massive dark cloud of bees flying around your property. ...

On July 7, Beau Baird, recently elected as a delegate to the Republican State Convention, will join 29 other top Hoosier farmers and agribusiness professionals in Donaldson for the AgrIInstitute's Agricultural Leadership Program (ALP). Since its inception in 1984, the purpose of the two-year program has been to "create a cadre of self-assured, highly motivated professionals who possess the leadership capacity to serve Indiana agriculture and rural communities in public affairs at the local, state, national and international levels.". ...

The Putnam County Community Foundation is crediting the generous people of Putnam County with the successful completion of Lilly Endowment Inc.'s Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT) challenge. Inspired by a GIFT matching grant of $500,000, donors contributed more than $500,000 to the Community Foundation. As a result, the Community Foundation's unrestricted endowment grew by $1,189,833 since August 2014 when the GIFT challenge began. It ended March 31, 2016...

The Putnam County Community Foundation has announced the winner of the 2016 Give Local Putnam County Day event conducted Tuesday, May 3. The North Putnam Alumni Association will receive an additional $500 to use immediately or place in its endowment fund...

The "Mayberry in the Midwest" festival will be this Friday through Sunday on the Courthouse Square in Danville. Friday features a meet-and-greet with actors representing characters from the "The Andy Griffith Show" at the Hendricks County 4-H Complex as well as a dinner from 6 to 9 p.m. catered by the Mayberry Cafe. Tickets are $25...

The following cases were filed in Putnam County courts recently. Crystal G. Costin, 36, Greencastle, Level 6 felony possession of methamphetamine Phillip Penrod, 32, Oklahoma City, Level 6 felony possession of methamphetamine, Level 6 felony possession of a syringe, Class C misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia, Class C misdemeanor possession of a lookalike substance...

Betty Lou Schwomeyer, 80, passed away Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at her home. She was born on July 28, 1935, in Cedar Bluff, Va. She is the daughter of Jessie James Shrader and Rosie Ann Whitt. She married Joseph Schwomeyer Jr., on Jan. 17, 1952, and he preceded her in death on Feb. 19, 1995...

SPENCER -- Two Owen County men with ties to Greencastle and Putnam County were charged with 19 counts of criminal recklessness and 19 counts of criminal mischief in connection with several rock-throwing incidents this month in northern Owen County During the investigation, Owen County authorities also learned that officers in Putnam County were investigating similar reports...

Speakers spent the evening Tuesday cheering the accomplishments and predicting a rah-rah future for member agencies of the United Way of Putnam County. But United Way Executive Director Jennifer Edwards literally brought the cheering to the forefront of the annual dinner meeting at the Inn at DePauw when she called upon board members to join her at the front of the room and turned them into a cheer squad to celebrate the organization's latest efforts at the conclusion of the evening...

As of Thursday evening, less than 72 hours before the start of DePauw University's 177th annual commencement, the weather forecast continues to look ideal. A total of 533 undergraduates are expected to receive bachelor's degrees in the ceremony, which will take place in Holton Memorial Quadrangle beginning at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, May 22...

BAINBRIDGE -- The recent partnering of North Putnam schools and energy-service company Johnson-Melloh has been beneficial, to say the least. A solar farm, new-and-improved heating and cooling systems, donated LED-lighting and financial savings highlight some of the boon so far...

To the Editor: On behalf of the Putnam County Board of Realtors, I would like to thank everyone that participated in our Community Shred Event on Saturday, May 14. The event was sponsored by Earl & Co. CPA and the Putnam County Board of Realtors, who covered the cost of the shredding truck and provided the shred service for free...

To the Editor: Note to Sarah Palin and other Trump supporters: Apparently it is okay for Donald to "say it like it is." But, it is not okay for Speaker Ryan to "say it like it is." Note to all presidential candidates: You knew, or should have known, what the rules are for delegates to the conventions. So quit crying about it because things did not go your way...

To the Editor: My wife, Jean, and I are greatly humbled by the support from so many people across State Senate District 24. As we have processed the results of the recent election, we want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to you. The ongoing conversations I have with people reveal a deep concern about what the future will bring for our children and grandchildren. Those concerns are my own, which is initially why I set out to run for public office...

If there's truly "no place like home," as Dorothy so emotionally postulates in "The Wizard of Oz," then why is it statistics show more than half of all accidents occur in such familiar surroundings? Fact is, most of my memorable missteps have occurred elsewhere...

Greencastle Community School Corporation has been fortunate these last three-plus years. Following the tumult of the fall of 2012, the school board put a pair of veterans with steady hands in the corporation's two most visible positions. With mid-year vacancies at superintendent and high school principal, the board turned to Dawn Puckett as interim superintendent and Russ Hesler as interim principal in December...