Stories from Thursday, November 30, 2017

Samuel “Sam” Henry Lancaster Jr., 55, of Greencastle, passed away on Monday, Nov. 27, 2017. He was born Dec. 5, 1961 in Greencastle, the son of Samuel Henry and Patricia (Buchanan) Lancaster Sr. and was a graduate of Greencastle High School. Sam worked through the Wabash Center in Lafayette and Comprehensive Services in Greencastle. He enjoyed going to Canada to go fishing. He also enjoyed bowling, having bowled on the Special Olympics team along with being on the Wabash Center team...

Savanna Royce Birkemeier, three-month-old daughter of Ryan and Shelody (White) Birkemeier, was born Aug. 4, 2017 in Danville. She passed away surrounded by her family on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017. Savanna is survived by her parents; big brothers Jaxon and Nolyn VanDuyn; grandparents Roberta and Dennis Church, Charles and Becky White and Gary and Ann Birkemeier; her aunt and uncles, Scheyanna and Scotty Mundell and Bryce and Jamie Birkemeier; and her godmother, Breyanna Tappan...

TERRE HAUTE — Terre Haute South swept a pair of high school swimming meets from Greencastle on Wednesday night, winning the boys’ meet 133-53 and the girls’ event 124-59. Still, Tiger Cub coach Kent Menzel was happy with the performances of his athletes...

Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes all the way through. That summed up the South Putnam Eagles 46-44 victory over the South Vermillion Wildcats in Wednesday night’s girls high school basketball game. Good basketball teams win games when they don’t play well and do not care about style. The Eagles personified that as they improved to 5-1 on the young season...

David Vogel scored a career-high 25 points, and DePauw defeated Rose-Hulman 68-66 on Wednesday. Vogel, whose previous career-high of 22 came against Franklin in the team’s season opener, went 8-for-11 from the field and 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. He also went 4-for-4 from the line, including two clutch free throws late, and added four rebounds, one assist and one block to his line...

North Putnam (0-1) at South Putnam (2-0) Media coverage: WREB-FM 94.3 will broadcast the game. The coaches: Collin McCartt is in his fourth year at North Putnam with a record of 21-50. Greg Dean is in his fourth year at South Putnam with a record of 15-55...

COATESVILLE -- Hope Haven Horse Farm on U.S. 40, Putnam County’s first riding therapy horse farm, has rebranded to the Lakeland Center for Therapeutic Riding Research. The nonprofit announced the name change at a recent launch party where the organization announced its new focus and promised continued care to those in need...

PUTNAMVILLE – More than 100 Putnamville Correctional Facility (PCF) offenders recently graduated from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship program at the institution. The program is operated within the Indiana Department of Correction in collaboration with PEN Products, the PCF public/private business unit, and Aramark, who operates the food service contract with PCF...

The following cases were filed in Putnam County courts recently. Joshua S. Stephens, 38, Greencastle, Level 6 felony theft, Class A misdemeanor theft Travis Lee Smith, 40, Greencastle, Level 6 felony possession of methamphetamine, Class A infraction driving with a suspended license...

Two people were booked in the Putnam County Jail recently. Wednesday • At 2:16 p.m. Anthony Ryan Stone, 19, Cataract, was lodged at the jail for failure to appear. Tuesday • At 9:43 p.m. Joshua Perry Griffin, 23, Reelsville, was housed at the jail on an out-of-county warrant...

The Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP) is proud to present the Rising Stars of Indiana Class of 2019. Each Indiana high school was invited to recognize up to four students currently in the 11th grade based on academic achievement. This is the second year of the program, and 1,025 students from 265 schools have been recognized...

The Putnam County Public Library is recognizing veterans this holiday season with a Heroes’ Tree. The public is invited to create homemade ornaments in honor of service members -- either a specific veteran or service members in general -- which can be hung on the Heroes’ Tree located in the library lobby...

For the second time six weeks, a fast-food chain restaurant has apparently called it quits in Greencastle. A “Closed” sign went up Thursday afternoon on the Kentucky Fried Chicken marquee at 509 Bloomington St., apparently signaling the end of a 50-year association with Putnam County...

SPENCER -- A five-month investigation conducted by the Owen County Sheriff’s Department has resulted in the arrests of two area teenagers on numerous felony charges. The arrests stem from a June 11 robbery and home invasion that took place in the early morning hours at the residence on the Cunot Cataract Road...

Displayed against the familiar background of the double domes of McAnally Center overlooking Robert L. Harbison Stadium are the latest conditions in local weather. At one’s fingertips is all the information (and probably more) needed to determine current conditions, recent weather and even upcoming forecasts...

Preparing to have the “Best Christmas Ever” are parents Brian (Joshua Bain) and Carol (Meghan Armitage) along with their young children Ben (Joey Draper) and Ava (Josie Tischer) as part of the annual Community Christmas Choir, which opens Friday evening at the Russellville Community Center. In addition to the choir’s annual performance, this year’s show features the musical “How to Have the Best Christmas Ever."...