Stories from Thursday, July 9, 2020

With an eye toward savings for employees and perhaps long-term savings for the county, the Putnam County Commissioners made a change to the county’s health insurance arrangement Monday. Membership in the Proactive MD health and wellness center will be part of county employees’ health insurance package beginning Aug. 1...

When Beyond Homeless Inc. recently found itself with more goods than it could possibly sell at its North Jackson Street thrift story, Executive Director Leigh Durbin decided to get creative. Between the shut-down of the store due to COVID-19 and an unprecedented number of donations, Durbin saw an opportunity and the seeds of the “Beyond Homeless Summer Shopping Experience” began to take root...

Responding to concerns of parents and teachers about returning to school, South Putnam’s principals have devised a fluid plan when it comes to safety. They are also hoping to maintain a sense of normalcy. “We think we have a pretty good plan moving forward,” Central Elementary Principal Todd Gowen said. “It is very fluid, as we know. I watched the news today and everybody’s all over the board.”...

In a normal summer at Robe-Ann Park, Mallary Meyer and Gillian Monnett would have been lathering on sunscreen and getting ready to climb into their chairs to help guard the city pool Thursday. But this, of course, is no normal summer. So the would-be Greencastle Aquatic Center lifeguards find themselves on ladders all right -- not destined for a guard chair, mind you -- putting their artistic abilities to work on a mural on the north side of the Emerald Palace playground...

Having served as the executive director of the Hoosier Lottery since 2013, a Greencastle Native will spend the next year overseeing the organization in charge of Powerball. Sarah Monnett Taylor was recently elected by the board of directors of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) as its board president for fiscal year 2021...

For years when I was first entrusted with the editorship of your favorite newspaper, whenever a question arose about a local person or place or their related history, there was only one go-to with the knowledge I needed. Edith Browning. Aka The Chewing Gum Lady...

Donna South Boals, 69, of Fishers, died unexpectedly on June 25, 2020. Donna was born Nov. 27, 1950 to Donald and Rose South of Bainbridge She was a 1968 graduate of Bainbridge High School. She attended Butler and Indiana State University and spent much of her working life in the field of real estate. She loved spending time with family, dear friends and her many pets. ...

Leland and Jo Ann (Brown) McCammon of Cloverdale recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. The couple was married on July 5, 1970 in Columbus, Ind., at the Columbus Church of Christ. Leland and Jo Ann are both proud graduates of Indiana State University with education degrees. ...

Greencastle Middle School is looking for an assistant middle school football coach for the 2020 season. Anyone interested in the position should email Greencastle Middle School Athletic Director Bryce Rector at brector@greencastle.k12.in.us

Thursday was the first day I was able to make it to some Putnam County schools to check out how things were operating after high school sports were permitted to resume on Monday. Here are some observations: • I only found people at North Putnam and Greencastle, but things were pretty ordinary there...

REELSVILLE — A pickup truck was found submerged in about 5 feet of water in Big Walnut Creek on July 4. A person who asked not to be identified in print told The Brazil Times he was visiting with family on the Big Walnut Creek when he saw the truck. He said the vehicle left tracks indicating it had been driven off a 15-20-foot embankment into the creek...

Darrin Lee Greenwell, 44, of Cloverdale, passed away Wednesday, July 8, 2020 at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Born Aug. 3, 1975 in Indianapolis, he was the son of Dave and Sandy Greenwell. He was a 1994 graduate of Cloverdale High School where he participated in cross country, golf and band (drums)...

Helen M. (Dozier) Ogles was born Feb. 28, 1925 and passed into Heaven on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 at Mill Pond Health Campus in Greencastle. She was married to the late Morris Glenn Ogles. They were married for 68 years and lived in Belle Union all of their married life...

Hamilton Center recently welcomed Program Manager Monica Wallace to the Clay and Putnam satellite sites. The Clay County office is located at 1211 E. National Ave., Brazil, and Putnam is located at 239 Hillsdale Ave., Greencastle. Wallace holds a Bachelor of Science degree in early childhood education and child development and family life from Indiana State University. ...

Eight people were booked in the Putnam County Jail recently. Wednesday • At 3:56 p.m. Fred L. Vittatoe, 49, Greencastle, was taken into custody for possession of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana and driving a commercial motor vehicle without a valid CDL...