Stories from Monday, April 24, 2023

BAINBRIDGE — Students and staff at Bainbridge Elementary School were evacuated Monday morning after a possible gas leak was reported. North Putnam Supt. Nicole Allee related to the Banner Graphic that staff in the main office reported an odor of gas at about 8:25 a.m. Bainbridge Town Marshal Ronnie Campbell was at the building and called it to the town...

Two more local bridge preservation projects fell victim to inflated construction costs this week. Putnam County had applied for bridge preservation grants for Bridge 109 and Bridge 112 on West Walnut Street Road, but learned this week that neither project would be funded...

Indiana Humanities will host a six-city tour of “Liminal: Indiana in the Anthropocene,” a new work by Hoosier filmmakers. “Liminal” is a meditative, aerial look at our state as an example of the geologic period known as the Anthropocene — the time during which humans have had a substantial impact on our planet...

On the same day it announced that a recently-closed bridge was fixed and ready to reopen, the Putnam County Highway Department announced the closure of another bridge. Bridge 45, which lies on the Putnam-Hendricks county line in Jackson Township, is now closed for repairs...

The Greencastle City Council didn’t just approve a pair of tax abatement requests, it set a precedent at its April meeting one councilman stressed. Making history by approving tax abatement on two residential enterprises -- abatements are most readily associated with industrial development -- city officials may never see another residential developer come forward with a project for which tax abatement is no requested...

VAN BIBBER LAKE — With an investigation ongoing, no cause has yet been determined in the recent fatal residential fire in Van Bibber Lake. The Indiana Department of Homeland Security stated to the Banner Graphic on Monday that no evidence of foul play has been found at this time...

Director Dustin Bond will have two sessions of auditions for the comedy “The Play That Goes Wrong,” the July production of the 62nd season of Putnam County Playhouse. The first round of auditions is Sunday, April 30 at 3 p.m., and the second is Monday, May 1 at 7 p.m. They will be conducted in the Michael McClaine Rehearsal Center of the Hazel Day Longden Theatre...

ROACHDALE — Students at North Putnam’s middle school and high school will continue to have opportunities for immersion learning moving forward. The North Putnam School Board approved requests brought by principals Bucky Kramer and Jason Chew Thursday evening to have a travel program for both schools. Trips have been scheduled this summer, with Chew and a group going to Greece and Italy, while Kramer’s will go to Germany, Switzerland and Austria...

A Rockville man has been charged with a pair of felonies in an alleged case of child molesting. In charges filed by Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter earlier this month in Putnam Superior Court, 28-year-old Reuben L. Kanagy faces a Level 1 felony count of child molesting and a Level 4 felony count of incest...

LINDEN – North Putnam’s offense hadn’t gotten the kind of run production it had at the start of the season over the previous week. The Cougars course corrected a bit Monday at North Montgomery, pounding out 23 hits in a 25-6 walloping of the Chargers...

Hallie Laverne Tincher, 93, of Greencastle, passed away on April 22, 2023, at her residence. Laverne was born in Russellville on Oct. 4, 1929, the daughter of James N. and Bernadine (Williamson) Woodall. She was a 1948 graduate of Greencastle High School...

LADOGA -- State Road 234 will close on or after Wednesday, April 26 for a culvert replacement project near Ladoga, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has announced. SR 234 is expected to reopen after mid-June, weather permitting. The official INDOT detour follows U.S. 231 south from SR. 234 to SR 236 east to SR 75 north...

Peace Lutheran Church is holding its third-annual plant giveaway and sale on Saturday, April 29 from 9 a.m.-noon in the church parking lot at 1421 Bloomington St., Greencastle. Church members have gleaned their flower gardens and are sharing their perennials, bulbs and seeds as well as years of gardening knowledge...

Six people were booked in the Putnam County Jail recently. Monday • At 3:37 a.m. Brent M. Polster, 41, Poland, was taken into custody on a local warrant. • At 12:53 a.m. Sara J. Sutherlin, 35, Greencastle, was housed at the jail on a pair of local warrants for theft...

Tonya Kaye Harris Sears, 72, passed peacefully on April 20, 2023, surrounded by family. She was born in Greencastle, on June 1, 1950, to Kenneth and Rosamary Harris. Tonya married Michael Sears on July 7, 1973, and was mother to Michael Jr., whom she adored. She was a sister to Bernie (Jan) Harris, Doretta (Bill) Poynter, Larry (Richard) Harris, and stepsister to Doug (Joanne) Bryan, Alan (Barb) Bryan and Debbie (Steve) Gause...