For its opening concert of 2008, Verizon Wireless Music Center couldn’t have asked for a better start or bigger name than country superstar Tim McGraw. In return, McGraw couldn’t have asked more from his loyal fan base as the entire audience waited through steady rainfall for his performance Friday night. They hung on every word, every note. Throughout the show, McGraw merged new material in between old favorites, careful not to lose momentum. He drew heavily from his latest album, Let It Go, singing “Last Dollar

For its opening concert of 2008, Verizon Wireless Music Center couldn’t have asked for a better start or bigger name than country superstar Tim McGraw. In return, McGraw couldn’t have asked more from his loyal fan base as the entire audience waited through steady rainfall for his performance Friday night. They hung on every word, every note. Throughout the show, McGraw merged new material in between old favorites, careful not to lose momentum. He drew heavily from his latest album, Let It Go, singing “Last

Title game rained out - Friday night’s Class 4A softball sectional championship between Noblesville and Hamilton Southeastern was rained out. The game was rescheduled for 10 a.m. today at Noblesville.

Staff report Westfield ended the regular season with a much needed win after surviving an eight-inning battle with Heritage Christian. The Shamrocks (12-13) snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory. Starting pitcher Zach Galyean went 3-for-4 at the plate and allowed just three hits and one earned run through six innings. Taylor Luna earned the win with two scoreless innings in relief. Kyle Bingham and Luna provided the RBI hits for Westfield. At Westfield Heritage Ch. (1) AB R H RBI Znachko, ss 3 0 0 0 Miley, 2b 4 0 0 0 Lyon, 3b 3 0 1 0 Ward, cf 4 0 1 1 Rector, c 3 0 1 0 Wilsey, 1b 3 0 0 0 Lucht, dh 3 0 0 0 Slone, p 1 0 0 0 Perrott, cf 1 0 0 0 McWilliams, lf 2 1 1 0 Sherrill,

In Cannes, Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi says she's outraged by ignorance about earthquake

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — During three years in the low minors, John Odom never really made a name for himself until he got traded for a bunch of bats.

LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) — A locksmith has managed to open a 159-year-old safe from Oregon that baffled other professional safecrackers and an expert from MIT.

CATLETTSBURG, Ky. (AP) — A man who wrapped his head in duct tape and tried to rob an eastern Kentucky liquor store was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison for the bizarre caper which spawned mocking videos on YouTube.

Reuters - Games like "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero III" have proved their ability to breathe new life into classic rock sales. But can they do the same for new music?

Sheridan invited disaster and No. 8 Madison-Grant was more than happy to oblige Thursday in the Class 2A Sectional 40 softball championship at Eastern High School. The Blackhawks committed three errors in the opening frame and unraveled by giving up seven unearned runs en route to a 13-0, five-inning loss. Sheridan finished the season at 11-13. Hamilton Southeastern’s Katie Syrus leans in to bunt the

Guerin Catholic Brebeuf JV Invitational At Wood Wind GC, Par 36 Team Scores: Brebeuf A 155, Guerin Catholic 176, Brebeuf B 182, Covenant Christian 193, University 201, Heritage Christian 219. Medalist: Gilmore (B) 36 Guerin: Dan Payntor 40, Andrew Godfrey 46, Adam Feest 44, Alex McPeek 46, Matt Fehr 50 Note: Payntor placed third overall. Birdies: Payntor 1 Westfield At Deer Track, Par 36 Team Scores: Westfield 152, Clinton Prairie 208 Co-Medalists: Tyler Carroll (W), Austin Lloyd (W) 37 Westfield: Alex Walker 41, Carroll 37, Colin Gray 39, Lloyd 37, Scott Harvey 40, Jake Essington 39 Carmel At Prairie

A battle between conference champions and top 10 teams Carmel and Noblesville might be the top area matchup of the upcoming IHSAA sectional tourney but there are many intriguing games involving Hamilton County teams. School-district rivals Hamilton Southeastern and Fishers, after splitting a two-game set in the regular season, will meet in the first game Monday of Class 4A Sectional 8 at Westfield. In Class 2A Sectional 40 at Oak Hill, a rematch between Sheridan and Guerin Catholic will take place Monday in the opening round. A red-hot Hamilton Heights team, winners of eight of its past

Host Noblesville stunned the state’s No. 2 ranked team, county rival Carmel, and defending state champion Hamilton Southeastern opened defense of its title with a bang. The semifinal round of the Noblesville Softball Sectional had a little of everything for a big crowd which attended. Coach Mike Ramsey’s Lady Millers pulled the big surprise of the evening (perhaps the big surprise of the 2008 season) by defeating Carmel 4-1 in the opening game.

While the Lafayette Jeff boys track regional was ultimately a Broncho team celebration, Hamilton County crashed the party in a big way. Five county teams finished in the top 10 at Thursday’s regional race. The number of impact athletes came from all over the area: Noblesville’s Tyler Hiatt set two regional throwing records, Fishers’ Drew Shields was a three-event distance winner and Hamilton Heights sophomore Zach Copas announced that he’ll be a sprinting force to be reckoned with for the next couple years.

Major League Baseball is coming to Noblesville this weekend. Someone from Major League Baseball will be a part of the Road Trip-Fanfest coming to Noblesville on Monday as part of 40-team tournaments of Noblesville Youth Baseball’s 9-10-11-12 year olds at Hazel Dell. This is the third summer that Baseball Youth Road Trip has taken its traveling Fanfest to major youth tournaments across the nation. This summer, 130 stops will be made reaching close to 500,000 kids and adults. Prizes and games will be held.

In the midst of global economic reports that signal bad signs for the U.S., Indiana’s treasurer said people in Sheridan and across the state have reason to breathe a bit easier. Richard Mourdock told members of the Sheridan Chamber of Commerce Thursday that “troubling signs” such as the sub-prime mortgage crisis, financial institution failures, the weakening U.S. dollar, indebtedness to foreign corporations and rising oil and gasoline prices spell tough times ahead for the nation.

In observance of Memorial Day Monday: - All Hamilton County public schools are closed. - All Hamilton County Government offices are closed. The regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Commissioners has been moved to Tuesday. - Westfield government buildings are closed including the administration office, clerk treasurer office, community development, economic development, parks and recreation department, public works department, Mayor Andy Cook’s office, customer service center and public safety administrative offices. - The Westfield Advisory Plan Commission Meeting which is usually scheduled on the fourth Monday of each month will be held Tuesday due

Indiana State Sen. Luke Kenley, seated left, and IHCA President Steve Smith, seated right, talk with residents of the Lodge Assisted Living in Noblesville and long term health care providers during a Town Hall meeting Thursday. Kenley hosted the meeting to discuss long term health care issues facing Grant, Hamilton, Madison and Tipton counties. Steven Furlow / sfurlow@noblesvilledailytimes.com

The Fishers Police Department is teaming up with the Fishers YMCA Teen Center to reach out to the teens of Fishers. The seventh annual Fishers Police Department Teen Academy will be held at the YMCA Teen Center June 16 through June 19. The academy is one week of law enforcement type training that will allow teens to better understand how law enforcement works. The academy will also allow teens to get to know several officers. Each day will begin with physical exercise. The students will then attend classroom training followed by practical hands on skills to

Many people enjoy a stroll in the park or a dip in the swimming pool during the summer, but poor air quality can ruin the fun. To help keep the air clean this summer, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management wants Hoosiers to modify their daily routine during the last two weeks in June. Ozone levels are expected to peak from June 16-30, so changing driving habits and energy usage will mean fewer emissions and less ozone. Ozone is a chemical molecule found naturally in the upper atmosphere that protects the earth from harmful solar rays. However,

Twenty Hamilton County residents are among the 86 graduates of United Way of Leadership United, central Indiana’s comprehensive leadership development program. Carmel residents: Rebecca Carl, Clarian Health; Joy Fischer, Ice Miller LLP; Rod Haywood, Kaleidoscope Youth Center; Mike Kaiman, Turner Construction of Indiana, LLC.; John Kim, Eli Lilly & Company; Scott Metzinger, Merrill Lynch; and Jesse Sadowy, Duke Realty Corporation. Residents of Fishers graduating from the program include: Abed Darwish, Citizens Gas & Coke Utility; Laura Fuquay, Price Waterhouse Coopers, LLP; Paula Gartner, Cripe Architects &Engineers; Sandy Hege, Duke Realty Corporation; Brent Kiernan, Ingersoll-Rand Company –Security Technologies;

Clay Middle School math teacher Sarah Tilbury is one of 53 educators from the United States and Canada to earn recognition for her students’ achievements. Tilbury has been recognized as a recipient of the Edyth May Sliffe Award for Distinguished Junior High Mathematics Teaching. The Mathematical Association of America grants the awards each year based on how teachers’ students perform on the American Mathematics Competition. The award is given to teachers at the top five schools in each of 10 regions in the United States and Canada, based on the total performance of the three top-scoring

The Keystone reconstruction project is well underway and nearing one of the most challenging portions of the project. The day after the Memorial Day holiday, Tuesday, access to Keystone and cross traffic at 99th, 106th and 126th streets will be closed. These road closures will be in place until Dec. 1. Milestone Contractors and their subcontractors have been working in anticipation of these road closures. Traffic modifications are nearing completion at 116th Street and Carmel Drive as well as other intersections along Range Line

Medical and dental volunteers are needed at the Trinity Free Clinic, an acute medical and dental care clinic for Hamilton County. Adult and pediatric physicians, dentists, dental assistants, dental hygienists, optometrists, opticians and pharmacists are sought for monthly to quarterly durations. Clinics are generally open for three hours throughout the month. For more information contact Volunteer Coordinator Barbara Hittle, 819-0772; Barbara@trinityfreeclinic.org.

The annual Riverview Hospital Auxiliary sidewalk sale takes place 8 a.m. – 1p.m. June 10 in the Riverview Hospital Atrium in Noblesville. Sale items include baked goods, gently used puzzles, CDs, DVDs, books and objects from the gift shop. All proceeds go to the Riverview Hospital Auxiliary which has donated over $1 million to the hospital to purchase medical equipment and services for the community.

Noblesville firefighters Ben Bender, right, and Murry Dixon help themselves during the annual Riverview EMS Cookout, a thank you to Hamilton County EMS personnel for their work and service to the community.

Woodruff Place flea market June 7-8 The 33rd annual Woodruff Place flea market is 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. June 7, and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. June 8. There is no rain date and admission is free. It features antiques, arts, collectibles, crafts, clothes and furniture for sale at the “Mother of All Flea Markets” in Indianapolis. Come join in the fun, stroll the esplanades, admire the fountains, grab a funnel cake, look at the historic homes and enjoy the entertainment. The neighborhood celebrated its 135th anniversary in 2007. Located 1.5 miles from the city center, Woodruff Place is

Christ United Methodist Church will have their last Sunday in their current sanctuary this Sunday at 8:30 and 10:45 a.m. Services will feature a special guest speaker and former pastor, the Rev. David VW Owen. The first Sunday worship services in their Family Life Center are 8:30 and 10:45 a.m. June 1. They will recognize their graduates. The church is located at 318 N. Union St., Westfield.

Bethel Lutheran Church in Noblesville will have its annual rummage sale, Saturday, June 7 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the church grounds. Bethel Lutheran Church (www.bethellutheranchurch.com) is located at 20650 Cumberland Road. For worship times and fellowship opportunities, contact the church office at (317) 773-4315 or office@bethellutheranchurch.com.

A new Bible study class titled “Godly Leadership” begins June 8 in the conference room at Whiter River Christian Church in Noblesville. We all lead, but do we lead in such a way as to enable others to have better lives? God’s admonitions, examples, and principles in His Word represent the gold standard in terms of our leadership development. Led by Tom Roberts, this study examines how we can set the condition for success in others if we follow His lead. White River Christian Church is located at 1685 N. 10th St. For additional information