Stories from Thursday, April 23, 2009

With more than 120 lakes scattered throughout Greene-Sullivan State Forest's 9,000 acres, the outdoor opportunities are unlimited. Most of the lakes are stocked with largemouth bass, bluegill and redear sunfish along with channel catfish, bullheads, crappie and warmouth...

Although details are limited due to the ongoing investigation, officials at the Clay County Sheriff's Department confirmed Thursday one suspect is in custody and more are being sought for their alleged involvement in recent vehicle thefts. Clay County Sheriff Mike Heaton said Justin Axsom, 22, Jasonville, is currently being held at the Clay County Justice Center on a $7,000 cash bond (with no 10 percent allowed) while investigators continue to look for other persons of interest who possibly have information regarding at least two stolen vehicles from Clay County.. ...

A trailer full of equipment and tools was recently stolen from a construction site in Center Township -- the Greene County Sheriff's Department is investigating. Det. George Dallaire said the theft occurred sometime between the evening of Fri., April 17, and the morning of Thu., April 23, from a jobsite at the junction of State Road 45 and SR 54...

Utilities District of Western Indiana REMC has announced its Community Fund grant recipients for March. They include: A total of $19,900 was distributed this quarter. To date, the UDWI Community Fund has distributed nearly $270,000 in the form of grants to local not-for-profit organizations in our service territory...

Volunteers who want to help stamp out local crime will take to the streets on Saturday -- to collect money for CrimeStoppers at several intersections around the county. CrimeStoppers President Kelly Foglesong said the volunteers will be asking for donations between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m...

Gretchen Loriene Stark West, 98, of Coalmont passed away at 7:15 a.m. Thurday, April 23, 2009 at her residence. She was born Nov. 19, 1910 in Clay County to Clyde Roscoe Stark and Grace Jeffers Stark. She was a wonderful mother and housewife and loved serving her Lord. She was a member of Coalmont Baptist Church where she was involved with many activities and played the piano for many years. She worked in the cafeteria in the Shakamak Elementary and Junior High School at Coalmont...

Cecil E. Gallen, the man who wound up in trouble over his attempt to collect a $25 debt in January, was in Greene Circuit Court this week to plead guilty and be sentenced under the terms of a negotiated plea agreement. But it didn't happen -- the court rejected his plea...

A Sandborn man, who formerly lived in Lyons, is being held in connection with an armed bank robbery that occurred in Louisville, Ky., earlier this month. Erick Dwayne Steele, 23, whose last known address was 320 West College Street in Sandborn, was arrested by Louisville Metropolitan Police after an armed standoff...

Eastern Greene defeated visiting North Knox 73-59 in a high school girls track and field meet Thursday. "This is the first time that I ever remember beating North Knox," said Eastern Greene coach Mike Caldwell. "They were missing a couple of girls that were playing softball and we also were missing a couple of girls. I think things evened out...

The Bloomfield High School boys and girls track and field teams competed in a triangular meet at Sullivan Thursday. In the girls competition, Sullivan won with a score of 76. The Lady Cardinals had 44 points and Clay City was third with 43. Sullivan also won the boys event with 81 points. Clay City scored 67 and the Cards were third with 19 points...

The Shakamak High School boys golf team shot a 241 while Sullivan fired a 176 in a match at Phil Harris Golf Course Thursday. Derek Andre and Jordan Gilbert, both of Sullivan, each shot 43 to share medalist honors. Jon Wildin paced the Lakers with a 45...

Thirty-nine was the magic number for the Linton-Stockton boys golf team, who picked up two wins in a triangular road match Thursday. Jordan Bradbury, Chase Rhoten, Derrick Bradbury and Ben Boyd each shot 39, Stefan Sparks 42 and Brady Stefancik shot a 44 as the Miners recorded a winning total of 156 at the Hoosier Hills Golf Course in Cory...

Will Kennedy and A.J. Evans each hit a home run as part of a seven-hit attack as Clay City defeated visiting Linton-Stockton 6-2 in a high school baseball game that counted in the Tri-River Conference and Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference standings...

Shakamak freshman ace Mikayla Crane fanned a career-high eight batters as the Lady Lakers defeated Sullivan 3-0 in a non-conference softball game Thursday night on the road. "Mikayla pitched a good game tonight," Shakamak head coach Paige Wolf said. "She had a lot of strikeouts tonight and worked her way out of a couple bases-loaded jams."...

SWITZ CITY -- The youthful White River Valley girls tennis team dropped their second match in as many decisions on the season as the visiting Patriots of Vincennes Rivet blanked the Lady Wolverines 5-0 here Wednesday. "We are just a young team," WRV coach Katie Mullis said. "But we will get better. I just tell them to keep pushing themselves and give 110 percent."...

SWITZ CITY -- The North Central bats were sizzling hot on a breezy day Thursday afternoon, as the visiting Ladybirds crushed White River Valley 20-0 here in a non-conference softball game. North Central pounded out 27 hits, including seven doubles and one homer in the five-inning contest...

GREENE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT JAIL LOG No new entries. LINTON POLICE DEPARTMENT ACTIVITY LOG The Linton Police Department activity log for Wednesday included four follow-up investigations, one request for information only, one juvenile/delinquent, two drug investigations, one brush fire, four medical/illness, one animal complaint, one extra patrol, one welfare check/concern and seven traffic stops...

GREENE CIRCUIT COURT CIVIL CASES U.S. Bank National Association v. Paul E. Jackson, Kevin Jerrell, Tami Jerrell aka Tami J. Smith, Cavalry Portfolio Services Inc., Linton-Stockton School Corporation, mortgage foreclosure GREENE SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL CASES...

Mother's Day Brunch planned A Mother's Day Brunch will be held on May 9 from 10 a.m. to noon at Harvest Community Church. There will be a wide variety of food to choose from and special music will be presented during the meal. Make it a special day for your Mother by taking her and the whole family out to this event. ...

Andrew Bladen of Bloomfield was the low medalist, but North Knox came away with a pair of wins over the Cardinals and Union (Dugger) on the links at Phil Harris, Thursday evening. The Warriors won with a total of 185, while the Cardinals and Bulldogs carded 194 and 196 respectively...

The Shakamak baseball team climbed back to .500 with a 6-3 win over Vincennes Rivet Thursday night in a non-conference game. The Lakers have won two straight and are 4-4 on the season. T.J. Hill broke a 1-all tie with a one-out, two-run single in the top of the sixth inning for the eventual game-winning runs. Kade Sapp came off the bench with a pinch-hit two-run single to cap off the four-run, sixth inning...

CARLISLE -- An afternoon visit to the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility ended with a trip to the Sullivan County Jail for an Indianapolis woman. Crystal Hiser, 22, is jailed tonight facing a preliminary Class B felony charge of possession of methamphetamine...

Siera Fuller scored one run when she stole home and knocked in the other to lead the Bloomfield High School softball team to a 2-1 victory over sectional opponent North Knox Thursday night at home. Fuller drove in winning pitcher Shelby Gott with a sacrifice fly as the Lady Cardinals won their second straight game to improve to 5-4...

First in a series William "Minner" Fish is a guy who knows a lot about fishing -- especially fishing in the Greene-Sullivan county area. The 81-year-old Linton resident has been a fisherman since he was a youngster and he's operated Minner's Bait and Tackle Shop with his wife, Ruby, for more than 51 years...