The Great Pumpkin Walk Coming to Salem….and we want YOU to be a part of it, said Chris Bundy.

Washington County Tourism is sponsoring a pumpkin walk and pumpkin carving contest slated for October 28th and 29th.

Participants can win cash prizes in several categories for their pumpkin creativity and the public will be able to enjoy the efforts of participants by viewing their creations along the community walking trail beginning at the Salem Middle School and ending at the YMCA.

Participants may supply their own pumpkins or pick up a free pumpkin, courtesy of Stumler’s and Cornucopia Farm, to at the YMCA parking lot on Wednesday, October 27th between the hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Finished pumpkins should be taken to the YMCA parking lot on October 28th for contest entry between the hours of noon to 5 p.m.

The finished creations will be placed along the community walking path in time for them to be viewed from dusk to 10 p.m.

Lights for the pumpkins will be supplied by the tourism commission.

The pumpkins will again be lit on October 29th from dusk until 9:30 p.m.

Anyone wishing to claim their pumpkin should do so at the end of the pumpkin walk between 9:30 to 10 p.m. on the 29th.

After 10 p.m. and until 10:30 p.m., remaining unclaimed pumpkins will be available to anyone wishing to take one home for Halloween display.

Unclaimed pumpkins will be disposed of after that time.
Categories include adult, high school, middle school, grades K-2 and grades 3-5. 

Best pumpkin in the adult category will be awarded $125 with each of the school categories receiving $75 for the best entry.

In addition to enjoying viewing the pumpkins during the walk, children will also be able to claim candy along the way as well as participate in various craft stations.

Further Information…
…When pumpkins are turned in, each will receive a number and category listing so each will be anonymous for judging purposes.  Judges are from out of town.
…Pumpkins may be carved, painted, have additional pieces added (such as hats, glasses, hair, etc.).  The pumpkins will be displayed after dark, so pumpkins that can be lit are encouraged.
…For the elementary category parents are certainly encouraged to supervise their children’s execution of their design, but please let the child be the one coming up with the creativity.
…Multiple entries may be made.  Free pumpkins are limited to one per family member, but entrants may supply their own multiple pumpkins if desired.
…Pumpkins deemed offensive (yes, there are such things as inappropriate carvings) will be eliminated.
…Be sure to leave an opening either on top or in the back for the lights which will be provided each evening by The Tourism Commission.
…Be creative and have fun!  We hope to see your entire family at the event!

In the midst of a voter registration investigation, Indiana State Police said Patriot Majority USA’s allegations against state officials of voter suppression are “completely false.”

The response from ISP comes after the Indiana Voter registration Project, a subsidiary of Patriot Majority USA, asked the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division to investigate efforts by state officials to “suppress tens of thousands of African American votes.”

ISP officials said not only are the allegations untrue, they uncovered “intentional acts of fraud.” Officers conducted a raid of the Indiana Voter registration Project offices in Indianapolis Oct. 4.

“Every allegation by Patriot Majority USA against the Indiana State Police is completely false. In fact, it is clear from evidence documented to date that we have uncovered intentional acts of fraud by representatives of Patriot Majority USA,” said Captain David Bursten, Chief Public Information Office for the Indiana State Police. “The Indiana State Police is charged with enforcing the laws of the state of Indiana and we are determined to protect the integrity of the election and every citizen’s right to vote.”

In late August, Hendricks County Voter Registration Officials received voter application forms that appeared to be fraudulent or forged and they contacted the Indiana State Police. Per standard protocol, the ISP then made a courtesy notification to the Indiana Secretary of State’s office that it had initiated an investigation that has since expanded to 56Indiana counties.

Important points related to this ongoing investigation include:

• The possible fraudulent or false information is a combination of made up names and made up addresses, real names with made up or incorrect addresses and false dates of births with real names as well as combinations of all these examples.
• The expanded number of counties involved leads investigators to believe the total of potentially fraudulent records may be in the thousands, thus creating a potential to disenfranchise many voters
• A representative sample of voter registration applications received by county voter registration offices suspected of being fraudulent have been COPIED and provided to state police detectives. In all cases the ORIGINAL applications are maintained by the appropriate voter registration office
• When the search warrant was executed on October 4, copies were made of voter application forms and the originals were left with representatives of Indiana Voter Registration Project, a subsidiary of Patriot Majority USA
• In accordance with state law, all voter registration applications received by Indiana voter registration offices are processed according to established policies

There are simple steps citizens can take to confirm they are properly registered by visiting this site: https://indianavoters.in.gov

If after checking this source, a citizen discovers inaccurate information that indicates they could be a victim, they should contact their local voter registration office and the 24-hour Indiana State Police Voter Registration Application Fraud tip line of 888-603-3147.

The Scott County Sheriff’s Department is looking to hire a CORRECTIONS OFFICER PART TIME

WORK SCHEDULE: (Varies / 24 Hour Public Service Operation)

QUALIFICATIONS: This position will primarily be responsible for monitoring inmates, transporting and searching inmates, including the possibility of strip searches. In addition, applicants must be able to perform all essential functions of the job. A copy of the complete job description is available from the Auditor’s office and may be obtained at the time of application; 21 years of age; Ability to complete required training as needed.  Possession of a Valid Indiana Driver’s License and be in good standing with the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

APPLICATION PROCESS: Candidates can obtain a Scott County Employment Application from the Scott County Auditor’s Office from 8:30 to 4:30 pm. The Application must be submitted to the Auditor’s office by 4:30 pm, Friday, October 28th, 2016. After a review of applications, applicants will be contacted by phone or mail for a written basic skills test

Scott County, Indiana is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, religion, age, or disability or any other characteristic protected by law.

Temple and Temple began the tree clearing for the remaining projects in order for the Salem Municipal Airport to be able to open it’s new 3,000′ runway.

The tree clearing, construction entrance road and erosion control installation work will continue over the next few months.

A 33-year-old man formerly of Tampico was taken into custody on Friday for at least 2 felony theft charges for stealing checks from mailboxes in Washington and Jackson County.

According to Washington County Deputy Sheriff Brent Miller, since then two more victims have came forward who reported having checks stolen.

“We’re in the early stages of investigation,” said Miller. “We are likely to have more victims come forward. Because some people don’t check their bank statements but only once a month, we could have several others coming to us.”

Robert Lee Hollin Jr. was identified after local checks were re-written and cashed at the Circle K in Scottsburg.

Miller said video surveillance from the Circle K in Scottsburg, as well as other Circke K locations, have clearly identified Hollin.

The convenience store contacted Indiana State Police Detective Scott Stewart, who contacted Miller.

Miller said the case was now being investigated with Stewart because it has ties outside of Washington County.

“We have checks being cashed in Jackson, Scott and Clark Counties,” said Miller. “There will be more charges coming.”

Hollen admitted to Stewart and Miller that he and his wife had stolen nor more than 20 personal checks out of mailboxes located in Washington and Jackson counties during the past month.

Miller said the checks were written to various companies or people to pay bills and were in the mailboxes with the red flag up waiting on the post office to retrieve them.

Hollin stole the checks, used White Out to cover up the names and amounts, and ‘re-wrote” the checks and cashed them at the various businesses.

Miller said Rachel D. Hollin was also arrested and is in custody in Clark County on other charges.

Robert specifically remembered taking checks out of a mailbox located on SR135 north and out of the mailbox at SR160.

Robert did say he recalled the name of a local person on at least one of the stolen checks.

Hollin further admitted that he rewrote the checks and cashed them at Circle Ks in Brownstown and in Scottsburg.  A check was also cashed at the Meijer store in Jeffersonville.

Miller said a records search on Hollin Jr turned up a prior conviction for theft or conversion in Jackson County.

Miller said Deputy Andrew Mull had worked a case on Sept. 26, called to report that on Sept. 21, someone stole 5 envelopes out of her mailbox, containing five personal checks, which were issued on her personal checking account.

One of the checks had been rewritten and cashed at the Circle K in Brownstown.

No amount was given, but Miller indicated it could be in the thousands of dollars and involve more than the three current victims.

On Sept. 28, the victim’s husband called the sheriff’s department to say that four checks had been converted by merchant to electronic withdraw by Meijer in Jeffersonville.

On Oct. 8, another victimon State Road 160 came to the sheriff’s department and reported that on Oct. 6, someone had stolen 2 envelopes out of his mailbox containing 2 personal checks and that one had been rewritten and cashed at the Circle K in Scottsburg.

On Oct. 13, ISP Detective Stewart received information from the Circle K in Scottsburg regarding that victim’s check.

Miller said he was able to identify Hollin Jr and Rachel D Hollinn as possible suspects in the investigation.

On or about Oct. 14, the Hollins were located. Stewart read the rights to Robert Lee Hollin Jr. while Deputy Sheriff Miller was present.

Hollin stated he understood his rights and further signed the waiver of rights portion of the form and agreed to answer questions.

“The checks were accepted at more than one store in multiple counties and we don’t know the total dollar amount, number of checks or the number of victims,” said Miller. “Hollin admitted to driving some other county roads other than 135 and 160. My advice to the public is to look at your bank statement and if  you’ve had anything suspicious in the last couple of months, call the sheriff’s department.”

The tip line is 812.883.5556.

Also, Miller said if neighbors notice someone getting into a mailbox and it looks suspicious, give the sheriff’s department a call.