Stories from Monday, January 11, 2021

The lights are out, the party’s over, and any holiday snow we had is long gone. But looking back, Greencastle Park Department officials see nothing but good things about their first venture into the Festival of Lights. Of course, volunteers from the Greencastle Civic League did much of the heavy lifting, providing more than 25,000 lights and workers to help put them up ... and take them down, which they did this past weekend...

Still easing their way into 2021, the Putnam County Commissioners will be making some important decisions at the second meeting of January, set for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19. At that meeting, moved one day due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, the three-person board will consider the 2021 Economic Development Income Tax (EDIT) plan as well as making employee appointments for the year...

FILLMORE -- Even with no real new business to address with beginning 2021, it recently became suggestive that some Fillmore residents believe town leaders are not being transparent. A few of them let their thoughts be known during the Fillmore Town Council’s regular meeting last Thursday evening. Though some exchanges were tense, the overarching concern became how to better involve the town as a whole...

Thirty-five years ago, an extraordinary group of committed citizens of Putnam County founded the Putnam County Community Foundation to “enrich the quality of life and strengthen community for this and future generations.” As the executive director of the Community Foundation, I have the privilege to serve the multiple generations touched by our founders’ vision...

The weight of both history and the present hung on Greencastle Monday night. Brody Whitaker was 21 points shy of tying Mike Troyer’s all-time boys’ career scoring record while the 3A No. 15 Tiger Cubs were also in a predicament in WIC boys’ basketball play with 3A No. 8 Sullivan in a position to break away from the conference with a win at McAnally Center...

Thomas “Tom” Ray Witty, 72, Bainbridge, passed away on Friday, Jan. 8 2021 at his home, surrounded by family. He was born to Otis and Mildred Witty (Brush) in Brazil on March 1, 1948. He married Nancy (Gritton) Witty on Feb. 3, 1968. Together they raised four children, Michael Witty of Bainbridge, Scott Witty of Bainbridge, Amanda (Mike) Mahoy of Bainbridge and Joey Witty of Indianapolis...

There is much conversation about COVID in our county: How many positives, how many are in the hospital, how many deaths, where is the vaccine, when can we get our shot? However, there is no obvious conversation about the homeless. Just how is COVID impacting this population in our county?...

Starting now and going until Feb. 5 the Greencastle Park Department is looking for creative, crafty and caring people to make and donate Valentine cards for residents in the local nursing homes and assisted living centers in Greencastle and Cloverdale...

The Putnam County Community Foundation continues to accept applications for its community grants program. All 501(c)(3) public charities, churches and units of government serving Putnam County are eligible to apply for grant funding. The grant application is electronic and can be found at www.pcfoundation.org/grants. ...

Bainbridge Elementary School recently received a grant from the West Central Solid Waste District to create a bench for the school. With help from the Bainbridge community, students collected 400 pounds of plastic bottle caps which were shaped into the bench by Green Tree Plastics...

George Everett Parker, 87, passed away on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021 at his home in Lewisville. He was born Wednesday, Dec. 27, 1933 in Morgan County to the late William A. and Hazel V. (Rice) Parker. George was a 1951 graduate of Eminence High School and went on to serve his country in the United States Army. While stationed in Germany he met Ilse Becker and they were married on July 14, 1956...

James A. Rempe, 75, of Cloverdale, went to be with the Lord on Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. James was preceded in death by his son, Anthony James Rempe,; twin brother, Timothy Rempe; brother, Robert Rempe (Debbie) ; and father James Rempe and mother Elizabeth Rempe...

MLK Day is a “day on, not a day off.” Every year, colleges, organizations, and citizens gather together to serve their communities and to honor the legacy and work of Martin Luther King Jr. DePauw University is planning a 2021 commemoration of MLK Day in collaboration with the local NAACP. The event features a conversation on art and activism with Emmy-winning writer and community activist Scott Woods at noon via zoom...

The following cases were filed in Putnam County courts recently. Daniel E. Smyser, 38, Greencastle, Class B misdemeanor criminal mischief Dakota L. Savage, 30, Cloverdale, Class C misdemeanor driving without ever receiving a license Richard H. Corbett Sr., 62, Greencastle, Class C misdemeanor use of private land without consent, Class C infraction shooting from or across a public highway...

Four people were booked in the Putnam County Jail recently. Sunday • At 3:40 p.m. McKenzie C. King, 24, Greencastle, was lodged at the jail for neglect of a dependent. • At 2:53 a.m. Donald F. McCormick, 33, Greencastle, was taken into custody for invasion of privacy and on a Marion County warrant...

To the Editor: Last week while rioters, fueled by the incendiary rhetoric of President Donald Trump, were launching an assault on the U.S. Capitol, the very seat of our democracy, legislators inside that same structure were employing a different type of attack. ...

Cloverdale wrestlers Jessica Geiger and Kadawn Gao qualified ffor the Indiana High School Girls’ Wrestling State Finals this Friday at Hamilton Heights HS through their finishes at the IHSGW South Regional held at Franklin Community HS. Geiger, defending state champion at 145 pounds, won the regional at 152 pounds after collecting pins over Sylvia Wright of Crawford County, Jaime Tully of Knightstown and Livia Quigley of Greenfield Central in the final...

SPENCER – Cloverdale has seen a tale of two different boys’ basketball teams play out during the 2020 portion of the schedule. The team that went 4-0 to start the year reemerged to start the 2021 part of the campaign, always keeping Owen Valley within arms reach and snatching the game with a late score and a defensive stop to defeat the Patriots 52-51...

Greetings and Happy New Year from EDGE 21, our community’s 21st Century Scholars mentoring program. It is our pleasure to provide the community with a brief update on the current status of EDGE 21 and our plans to continue building strong partnerships and mentoring Putnam County students in 2021...