All roads lead to Salem on Saturday and Sunday, October 7 and 8 for the 148th Old Settlers Days at the Steven’s Museum and John Hay Center. 

Old Settlers Days was first established and held for the community in 1875, to commemorate and honor the pioneers who settled the wilderness lands of the Indiana Territory that would eventually become Washington County.

Admission is free and you can walk the museum grounds to enjoy entertainment, demonstrators and re-enactors and maybe even hear a story or two. Books read during Storytime are written by local authors Savannah Hartsfield, Betty Stanley, Kathy Dye and Melody Graves

There will be kids games with 4-H Youth educator Taylor Chastain and face painting.

Enjoy homemade apple cider, parched corn, a variety of foods and beverages and lots of crafts and tour The Depot and see the World Headquarters of the Monon Society. 

Saturday, October 7, 2023
8:00 am – Biscuits and Gravy Breakfast – Stevens Museum Basement
10:00 am – Festival Opens
National Anthem performed by Heather Ledgerwood accompanied by
West Washington ASL group
10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Parched Corn & Apple Cider – Salem Rotary Club
10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Art Show – Sponsored by Salem Rotary
 (Salem & Eastern students) Stevens Museum Basement
11:00 am – Storytime in the School house
11:00 am-4:00 pm – Ham and Bean dinner – The Depot
11:30 am – 1:00 pm – Corydon Dulcimers perform – John Hay House
      porch
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Leis Family – John Hay House porch
1:00 pm – Storytime in the School house
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm – SHS Guitar Club – John Hay House porch
3:00 pm -Storytime in the School house
4:00 pm – Arts & Craft vendors close for the evening

Free concert @ Amphitheatre (Food & Drink Vendors Open)
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Jim Smoak
7:30 pm – 9:00 pm – Andrew Applegate

Sunday, October 8, 2023
8:00 am – Sunday morning church service – Pastor Rick Main
10:00 am – Festival Opens
National Anthem performed by Heather Ledgerwood accompanied by
West Washington ASL group
10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Parched Corn & Apple Cider – Salem Rotary Club
10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Art Show – Sponsored by Salem Rotary
 (Salem & Eastern students ) – Stevens Museum Basement
11:00 am – Storytime in the School house
11:00 am – 4:00 pm – Ham and Bean dinner – The Depot
12:30 pm – 1:00 pm – SHS Choir Soloist – John Hay House
porch
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Gary Brown – John Hay House porch
1:00 pm – Storytime in the School house
2:30 pm – 3:30 pm – Perry McKnight – John Hay House porch
3:00 pm -Storytime in the School house
4:00 pm -Festival Closes

Food Vendors

• Hayes Lemonade Shake-ups
• Brother B’s Homemade Ice Cream
• 812 BBQ
• Busy B’z Kettle Corn
• Hardinsburg Hwy 150 Blues Cafe
• Mainstreet Concessions
• Mama B’s
• Vance Concessions
• The Cookie Box

Arts & Crafts Vendors 
 

• Big Creek Boutique
• Midwest Threads – Boutique clothing
• Holly Benningfield – Boutique clothing
• Kays Chapel Boutique
• Dawn Boling – Heat pressed items (keychains, cutting boards)
• Savage Boutique – Handmade shirts, crocheted items
• Lisa Brown – Baked Goods
• Donna Creadon – Handmade Jewelry
• Sharon Dennis – Super Patches
• Elizabeth Denton – Candles/Wax Melt
• Rebecca Engler – Beaded pens, bracelets
• Linda Sue Farrell – Herbs, plants
• Florence’s Flowers – Country home creations, dips, embroidery
• Sarah Garvin – goat milk soap
• Linda Ghrist – sterling silver & costume jewelry
• Connie Hodges – Suncatchers
• Gina Hoskins – Baked Good
• Clint Baker – woodworking
• Gerilee Hunt – JBloom Jewelry
• Rochelle Lawson – Scentsy
• Lawson Farms – Pumpkins, mums. Frozen meats
• Janet Moore – Beef Jerky
• Mosier Chiropractic
• Sara & Larry Motsinger – Wooden toys & decor
• Marlena Nantz – Fall wreaths, Indian corn
• Madelyn Nelson – Paparazzi jewelry
• Bailey Richardson -Freeze dried candy, homemade body butter/lip
  balm
• Erika Richardson – Handmade jewelry
• Tara Richey – Decorated tumblers, earrings
• Lara Rogers – Hanging towels, casserole cozies
• Whitney Stroud – Seasonal, monogrammed made to order wreaths

The City of Salem is gearing up for its general election on Tuesday, Nov. 7 with a full slate of candidates on both sides as well as two Libertarian candidates.

Voter registration ends at midnight on October 10 while early voting begins at 8a on October 25. 

According to Washington County Clerk Stephanie Rockey, voters can cast their ballots early from 8a-Noon and 1-4p Monday thru Friday at the Election and Voter Services Office at 801 South Jackson Street in Salem, Suite 102.

Other dates to keep in mind include:

• October 28^th and November 4^th– Early Voting Saturdays- 8- Noon
• November 4^th at 10am- Poll worker training- Held in Circuit Court
• November 6^th– Early Voting ends at Noon.
• November 7^th- Election Day! Polls are open 6am-6pm. Salem Armory.

There were only two contested races in the primary — between Republican Incumbent Mayor Justin Green and former Indiana House of Representatives District 73 member J. Michael Davisson, who held the seat for just over a year — and Randy Lee Jr. and Gail Napier for the City Council District 4 seat. 

Lee and Green will face challengers in the fall election. 

While there weren’t any Democratic candidates running in the spring primary, several have been certified and added to the ballot for the fall. 

Green will now be challenged by William “Bill” Ackerman (D) and Tommy Brown III, the first Libertarian candidate for Mayor in Salem’s history. 

Green defeated Ackerman by 572 votes in November 2019. Ackerman later sued Green based on an issue of Green’s residency but lost the legal action and Green was affirmed as Mayor in 2020. 

Incumbent Republican Sally Hattabaugh, City Clerk-Treasurer, is seeking another term and will face Democratic candidate Erin A. Bontrager. 

For City Council, District 1, Republican Incumbent Dan R. Linda will face Democratic challenger Billy Thompson. 

For Council District 3, Republican Primary winner Dylan M. Moore will face Democratic challenger Paul L. Holsapple along with Libertarian Tina Ransom. 

Republican Incumbent Steve Crane, City Council District 3, will face Democratic challenger Mia Leonard. 

Republican candidate for City Council District 4 Randy Lee Jr, who defeated Gail Napier in the spring, will face Democratic challenger Renee L. Mather. 

Roger K. Pennington, Republican candidate for City Council at Large, will face Democratic candidate Julie Morgan Thixton. 

WSLM will provide live coverage of the election returns on November 7. 

The Washinton County Health Department reports that mosquitoes testing positive for West Nile Virus have been detected within the county.

A positive result came from one of the Testing pools within the city.

Testing pools are set up by a state official yearly to monitor the mosquito population for disease.

We recommend that people take the following precautions:

• Avoid being outdoors when mosquitoes are active (especially late afternoon, dusk to dawn and early morning);
• Apply an EPA-registered insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus or para-menthane-diol to clothes and exposed skin;
• Cover exposed skin by wearing a hat, long sleeves and long pants in places where mosquitoes are especially active, such as wooded areas;
• Install or repair screens on windows and doors to keep mosquitoes out of the home. Even a container as small as a bottle cap can become a mosquito breeding ground, so residents should take the following steps to eliminate potential breeding sites:
• Discard old tires, tin cans, ceramic pots or other containers that can hold water;
• Repair failed septic systems;
• Drill holes in the bottom of recycling containers left outdoors;
• Keep grass cut short and shrubbery trimmed;
• Clean clogged roof gutters, particularly if leaves tend to plug up the drains;
• Frequently replace the water in pet bowls;
• Flush ornamental fountains and birdbaths periodically; aerate ornamental pools, or stock them with predatory fish.

If you know you have been bitten and experience any type of adverse reaction, it is recommended that you contact your physician as soon as possible.

Brown County State Park, Indiana’s largest, ranks third on New York Travel Guide’s recently published list of its 15 best state parks for fall foliage.

To compile the list, the guide compared more than 600 parks in three categories, including reviews of fall colors, fall photography popularity, and each park’s overall rating.

Last December, Brown County State Park ranked sixth on a list of most beautiful state parks in the country according to a study done by Travel Lens, which also ranked the park 13^th among the country’s “most Instagrammed state parks.” In 2021, the park was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and it is a fixture on various “best of” rankings for its mountain biking trails.

The park comprises nearly 16,000 acres, most of them heavily wooded.

“Come experience and watch the fall colors explode over the rolling hills of southern Indiana’s hardwood forests in Brown County State Park,” said Terry Coleman, director of Indiana State Parks.

More about Brown County State Park is at on.IN.gov/browncountysp.

For ideas of other Indiana state park properties to go for fall colors that might be less populated, see on.IN.gov/stateparks. For those who prefer free entry with fewer amenities for fall foliage viewing, see on.IN.gov/dfwproperties, on.IN.gov/forestry, or on.IN.gov/naturepreserves.  

With the deer reduction zone season underway and the statewide archery deer season starting Oct. 1, Indiana Conservation Officers remind hunters to stay safe.

More than 300,000 people are expected to participate in some form of deer hunting in Indiana during the various deer hunting seasons that run through Jan. 31, 2024, and the overwhelming majority typically do so safely.

When injuries occur, the most common are from accidents involving hunting from tree stands and elevated platforms. To avoid such injuries, hunters should follow the safety tips listed below when hunting from an elevated position.

Before the hunt:

• Read and understand the tree stand manufacturer’s instructions.
• Check tree stands and equipment for wear; fatigue; and cracks or loose nuts and bolts, paying particularly close attention to parts made of material other than metal.
• Pack and plan to use equipment specifically designed for hunting.
• Practice tree stand use and setup at ground level.
• Learn how to properly wear your full-body safety harness.

During the hunt:

• Wear your full-body safety harness.
• Use a tree stand safety rope.
• Make certain to attach your harness to the tree before leaving the ground, and that it remains attached to the tree until you return to the ground.
• Maintain three points of contact during ascent and descent.
• Use boots with nonslip soles.
• Use a haul line to raise and lower firearms, bows and other hunting gear.
• Make sure firearms are unloaded, action is open, and safety is on before attaching them to the haul line.

When doing any kind of hunting, remember to do the following to stay safe:

• Carry a cellphone and flashlight.
• Make a plan before you hunt.
• Tell someone your plan, including where you will be hunting and when you plan to return.
• Stick to your plan.
• Identify game before pointing a firearm.
• Know your target and what is beyond it.

For more information, see hunting.IN.gov.  

Earlier this week, a late afternoon crash near exit nine (Sellersburg) on I-65 claimed the life of a Salem woman and severely injured her husband.   

Cynthia Kay Hartman, 58, Salem was the driver of a vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. 

Her husband, a passenger in the vehicle, Mark Hartman, of Salem, Indiana, was transported to University Hospital in Louisville with life-threatening injuries.  

Around 6 PM on Monday, first responders and emergency personnel responded to a report of a single-vehicle rollover crash just off exit nine and CR 311 in Sellersburg. 

Troopers and crash reconstruction officers from the Sellersburg post and the Jeffersonville Police Department also responded to the scene.

The crash closed the off-ramp at exit nine northbound and the northbound on-ramp from CR311 for over two hours while officers and the reconstruction team investigated.  

At this time, it is still unknown why the vehicle left the roadway.

However, evidence at the scene shows a white 2023 Toyota Rav exited I-65 northbound at Exit Nine but then traveled off the left-hand side of the exit ramp.

The car then crossed over the grassy area between the northbound exit and the northbound on-ramp before crossing the on-ramp and became airborne.

The Toyota overturned and came to rest on its top on the north side of the exit ramp and just south of CR311.

Troopers, with the assistance of the Clark County Coroner’s office, notified the deceased’s family Monday evening.

Indiana State Police Jasper Detective Patrick Stinson initiated a criminal investigation on September 27, 2023, after receiving information from the Perry County Sheriff’s Office concerning allegations of rape and sexual battery with a 23-year-old mentally deficient female.

The investigation revealed that Austin Lehmkuler, age 26, of Ferdinand, Indiana, had allegedly transported the mentally deficient female to a wooded area in Siberia and forced sexual acts upon her. The allegations took place in Perry County.

After reviewing the investigation, the Perry County Prosecutor’s Office issued a search warrant on September 29, 2023, for Lehmkuler’s residence.

After probable cause was found during the search, Detective Stinson arrested Lehmkuler.  Lehmkuler is currently being held without bond.

Investigating Officer:  Indiana State Police Master Trooper Detective Patrick Stinson.

Assisting Officers: Sergeant George Wooten and Senior Trooper Curtis Blunk

Arrested and Charges:  Austin Michael Lehmkuler, 26, Ferdinand,  

• Rape (1 Count), Level 3 Felony
• Sexual Battery (1 Count), Level 6 Felony

All suspects are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.