Doing What's Right For Washington County

It's interesting that the Washington County Prosecutor talks about doing what's right for Washington County, Indiana and has in his previous statements done so repeatedly. Then why is it that political corruption and police corruption along with election violations pertaining to the Salem, Indiana mayoral election of 2019 get absolutely no attention. Now its well known around these parts that Washington County, Indiana has long been a hotbed of political corruption and the good old boy system rubbing each others backsides. Not to mention the various incidents which have happened over the years in Salem, Indiana and environs such as American citizens being denied their constitutional and civil rights by the local authorities. Much like it's sister county to the north Jackson County where in 2021 a black inmate arrested for shoplifting and evasion was arrested by the police and sheriff's department there. Only to be found dead some time later apparently being poisoned in jail while being in jail which should be a place where contraband shouldn't be and prisoners shouldn't be mistreated. This state of affairs is well known to have happened in the past in Washington County, Indiana along with citizens being harassed by various members of law enforcement and so called good old boys including one local neanderthal politician telling a community member that she needed to be more careful as in don't expose the good old boy politicians and butt kissers. You know the type being the community do gooders that always talk about doing their public good in the community while drugs and dope and corruption stinks up the entire county. Not to mention hiding things from the public that involves community funds being stolen away and ending up in the pockets of public officials and those related to the public officials. Add in a couple of judges that are more interested in their own version of the law rather than following the Indiana Code and Indiana and United States Constitution. I wonder when this said Prosecutor and his staff of hired guns are going to start investigating the misuse of public funds including COVID aid that mysteriously went to a few businesses around Salem. Some of that money mysteriously went into a few people's pockets including someone that didn't even have a business entity nor filed the proper reports and information with the Secretary of State along with the Indiana Department of Revenue and other necessary filing requirements all businesses have to comply with. Since we're on doing what is right for Washington County do ask why is it that Washington County is one of the biggest drug dens in all of Southern Indiana and has been for about 30 years? Ask yourself why haven't the powers that be in Salem, Indiana including all of these public officials aren't really interested in fixing the methamphetamine crisis and heroin issues that plague Washington County and Salem, Indiana. Ask yourself why Salem is just as a big of a drug den as it was 20 years ago when it mostly marijuana and LSD that was a big local problem and a few well known citizens were known to be involved in the drug trade. Of course the local city police and Sheriff's Department of that time turned a blind eye to the corruption and the public officials that knew all about it got real mum about the whole thing when anyone questioned them. Of course one local businessman in Salem was involved in making sure that someone was bailed out of a Florida jail when they were caught importing drugs and also was able to get out of the pickle without a scratch. Wonder why that was? Because Daddy Warbucks got on a plane and flew down to Florida to make sure this community member didn't get a jail sentence in the big house. Let's also ask why people were getting beaten in the County Jail back in the 1970s and 1980s and for all anyone knows it could still be happening behind closed doors. After all look at the rough pictures of those arrested and put in the police mugshots and media when these people are arrested. Most people don't run around with cuts and bruises to their face or black eyes unless they were physically assaulted and I don't think they were running into doorknobs or getting into a fight with their woodstove. Let's also ask a question of why local law enforcement and local officials are above the law or think they are because no one at the state level in Indiana or the FBI hasn't been to Washington County, Indiana to check things out because everything is just hunky dory in Washington County, Indiana and Salem, Indiana. It reminds me of an incident a couple of years ago when a so called scion of the community was highly upset of someone writing an article criticizing the local community of Salem, Indiana and they also talked about the same sort of corruption that I have mentioned in my posts here. Not to mention they had made mention of the corruption issues with drugs and telling the young people of Washington County that they should consider moving to other places with less corruption and do as little business with Washington County as possible and that includes local businesses and outfits. One young lady who posted such a diatribe that she didn't write and she just posted what she read was pilloried and condemned by the local do gooders and the community so called back scratchers and leaders. Including one prominent former Salem businessman well aged into his years who criticized her for writing the piece and then later having to backtrack because he didn't know who wrote the piece. Of course being a lifelong butt kisser and crony in Salem, Indiana was that "Salem is not corrupt" yet there are thousands of people in Washington County that know by personal experience in dealing with the police, legal system and judicial system that they've been screwed in some cases countless times by the good old boy system and those who are in power who behave corruptly. Even to the point that a former resident of Salem and Washington County now living in Arizona once remarked "Shame on those locals and public officials that are profiting from the drug trade and turning their eyes the other way while drugs are ruining the community" paraphrased of course because I can't locate the exact quote made in 2020 or thereabout. So when are the public officials of Washington County going to actually do the right thing for Washington County and actually do something about the drug problems and corruption problems in Washington County. It's 2022 and they can't hide things like they used to do in Salem, Indiana because we've got our cameras and we've got the internet and we've got the First Amendment to bring these things to light. There is one thing that cockroaches and mice and other vermin truly hate and that is the light and especially the light of truth shining on their crookedness and criminality and nefarious deeds. Shine on Washington County and you can do so much better than the criminal element that exists in your local authorities and local government. It's too bad that the local citizenry is still asleep or accepting of this corruption because they're often related to someone that is involved knee deep in something they shouldn't be doing. Calling out these vultures and criminals is really doing what is right for Washington County not the prostitutor's office making useless statements protecting their backside.

The Laughingstock of Salem, Indiana

Salem, Indiana despite its checkered past with racial problems including a certain unknown percentage of the town and now city being comprised of bigots, racists, Klan members and other sorts of unsavory characters was at least a decent place to live. Despite the stupidity of racist ideas and stupidity of that entire ideology as if the residents of Salem were somehow mentally and genetically superior to that of other races and Salem being in many ways a sundown town at least most people had some basic respect for the rest of society. Not any more in most cases In Salem these days you have landlords, apartment managers and other cretins that allow all kinds of criminals and miscreant trash to roam their premises while tenants and individuals that pay their bills and do the right get thing are harassed for calling out bad behavior. Not to mention the open and outright abuse of drugs such as marijuana, meth, opioids and pills that are regularly used by these individuals. All in the plain sight of anyone and known by many people including the landlords and apartment managers and such. Strangely enough when scumbags are doing drugs in the presence of children (who are young and impressionable) those who complain about the illicit use of these drugs in violation of apartment leases are often told in no less than threatening language they'll be evicted. Then again, if one calls the local Salem Indiana police about a pot smoker whose foul odors go through walls and into the next apartment nothing ends up getting done even though the department supposedly has a drug dog to sniff out weed, meth use, and other contraband. Interestingly enough having to battle such people with criminal records out the wazoo seems to be a common problem in Salem, All the while these same LOSERS and drugheads have criminal records going back years even decades. However, whenever you bring this up to the local yokels in Salem you'll get the response that its not the person you are thinking of when you find that they have a checkered criminal past. Of course, you know you've got the right person based on name, physical characteristics, age, arrest records, previous addresses and such. All the while the goon apartment manager screams about how their record came back as clean. Obviously they didn't know how to do a proper background check either or their superiors in the business. Add in that many drug abusers have other criminal involvement involving thefts, auto thefts, burglaries, drunk driving one would think a simple search of these individuals in court records would suffice. Not so in hillbilly mentality Salem where the average IQ is about 85 and its been dipping for the past couple of decades. Add in the rotten school systems of Washington County where half of the kids graduate 12th grade without even being at a 12th grade reading or English composition proficiency. Math appears to be even worse when its only about 35 percent which is why Washington County residents and a whole lot of Salemites don't make much money. However to listen to the local education officials in the superintendent offices including superintendents, assistant superintendents and other butt kissers one would think that Salem, Indiana and Washington County in general has the best schools in the region. However, a close look at statistics and rankings from 2012 through the pandemic start of 2020 shows that Salem High School, Salem Middle School and Bradie Shrum Elementary all score way below many school districts in other counties of Indiana in similar demographic areas, school size, resources and much more. When an elementary school repeatedly receives a C or D rating from the Indiana Department of Education it doesn't say much about the quality of the school when from 2012/2013 until 2020 the ranking is a C or mostly D ranking by the state. Even more laughable is to hear a former principal of Bradie Shrum make the comment that its less about the education of children but how they get along with others. Hmmm, sounds like they're more interested in social promotion rather than producing children that will grow into adults and realize what a totally fucked up place that Salem, Indiana truly is and leave for greener pastures. The best part of this is that I can go back to my high school class of 130-140 and remember that only about 1/4 of the graduates at that time stayed in Salem and the rest moved elsewhere because they knew what a rotten dump that Salem, Indiana truly is and that opportunities, jobs and futures were vastly improved when looking elsewhere. It's even more damning when in 2021 that most of these people will be retiring in 10 to 15 years and looking to move somewhere else but they won't be moving back to dumpy little run down Salem especially when its wracked with semi-illiterate young adults and middle aged dropouts by then . Not to mention drugs everywhere which has been the case in Washington County for the last 10 to 15 years but also going back to the 1980s and 1990s when the small town mafia style goons started bringing in dope such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, meth and other trash. The problem is do the people of Washington County really care? Or are they mostly sitting in their little restaurants and houses and hypocritical churches while the community around them turns into a cesspool of meth heads, heroin junkies and 80 IQ pot smokers with criminal records so long that they couldn't get a stable decent job anywhere much less amount to anything else. This isn't quite the Salem, Indiana that I remember and its been repeated countless thousands of times across the country over the last 30 years of dope being dumped everywhere which has made for a nation full of dopes who are incapable of logic, reason, sound education and being a decent person or upstanding citizens. There have always been lowlifes, scofflaws and criminals but the current state of affairs in Washington County, Indiana is ridiculous.

The Scions of Washington County, Indiana......Totally Clueless Do Gooders Patting Themselves On Their Back While Their Community Turns Into a Drug Infested Dump

[02/26/20] Where are all the scions/prominent people in Washington County when our local officials continue to grind the people into the ground with increased taxes while doing nothing for two generations to create a more stable tax base and a more prosperous community. Of course, they'll make the same tired old assumptions how no businesses would want to come to Salem, Indiana because well we're 18 miles from the Interstate. Interestingly that theory doesn't work for cities in Indiana such as Jasper, Bedford, Madison and others over the years that have attracted a lot of different businesses and new factories and facilities. However, the GOOD OLD BOY network in Salem, Indiana doesn't want anything to change. THEY CERTAINLY DON'T WANT THE PEOPLE aka TAXPAYERS who are treated like PEONS with contempt by the local authorities to start QUESTIONING the economic screwing that they have been getting over the past 30 to 40 years while other communities attempted to retain and expand to new industries and businesses that expanded their tax base. Of course, the GOOD OLD BOYS don't want their power structure changed or people to start asking intelligent questions about why and what they are doing with OUR MONEY and OUR COMMUNITY. Much less that the locals might finally tire of the SAME OLD CRAP that they've been fed for 30 to 40 years while other communities in Indiana and this region of Indiana have economically expanded and improved their tax base, etc. Washington County and its dumb officials have spent years making excuses about why Salem can't attract new business and new business development because it might start breaking down the old way of doing things and the old way of the GOOD OLD BOYS and their handpicked goons and tyrants running roughshod over the people. This isn't a political campaign, its a community cleanup campaign because the good people in Washington County deserve a HELL OF A LOT BETTER than what they have been fed for the past 40 years. Washington County and Salem can do so much better and as usual our closing theme is to EXPECT MORE

The Billy Bob Government Officials of Washington County, Indiana

[03/01/20] One thing about Washington County government that never changes is the sheer amount of stupidity of many of the local officials. Before I get blamed for smearing them with a wide brush not all of them are stupid but there are many stupid ideas and even more stupid opinions that expressed by these people that call themselves county officials. Washington County government has been a total laughingstock for as long as I can remember and that's going back to the 1980s but its gotten much worse over the years. From the crummy way the local politicians and good old boys treat the public with total contempt from the way that they could give a damn less about what the public thinks about various proposals. From hiding records from the citizens groups wanting change and reform to violating Indiana's Open Records Law and Open Door policies to just plain hiding things or trying to sweep them under the rugs. It's well past time for the citizens of Washington County, Indiana to start putting these small town hoods and tyrants back in their rightful place at the ballot box and also by going to their meetings, questioning their actions, motives and intentions behind their clown games. The stakes are too high for this community because once a community gets a bad name for corruption, drug problems, criminality and such it is very difficult for the community to recover without a vast change in fortunes. Washington County is at a crossroads both economically and socially with massive changes coming to our country in economics, politics and such. We have sat still for far too long and let the good old boy system run things and they've FAILED at being competent managers and stewards of the public trust. Instead, they make their backroom deals and cover-ups so that they don't get roasted by the general public. The same could be said of the Salem School Board in 2018 running a Friday afternoon meeting in order to levy another 13 million dollars in taxes and more property taxes for those living in the areas covered by Salem Community Schools. All so they could get their 13 million dollars underhanded as usual and basically saying screw the public and the taxpayers. It's time for total transparency in government at the state, local and federal levels. It's time to start calling out crooked public officials not only a sizable number of them in Washington County but also the State Of Indiana as the United States. It's time for Washington County citizens to be good stewards of what we have and to always EXPECT MORE. [02/26/20] Cleaning Up The Streets of Salem and The Roadways of Washington County It might be added that Washington County has a trash problem in that many of our local residents seem to think that trash belongs outside of their vehicles along the highways, streets and country roads of Washington County. Trash makes our community look bad and makes us look like a bunch of senseless idiots when we have people throwing out beer bottles, beer cans, fast food bags, needles, food wrappers, household junk, couches, chairs and all kind of other little nasty items that people throw out onto our roadways and streets in this county. The question is what are Washington County officials doing about the litter problem other than making a few cosmetic changes to make it look better. The same could be said for the center of the City of Salem that looks like it needs a bath especially areas of South Main Street, South Water Street, South High Street as well as a few other areas. Not to mention the mess that is now South Main Street since state highway designation was taken away back in 2012 that it has became increasingly rough, bumpy, unpaved and looks like something I would see in places that I've visited that I would prefer to never visit again. There is no excuse why the Salem City Council and Salem Mayor can't get things done that actually benefit the community and fixing our infrastructure is one of them and another is making sure that public employees are performing their jobs to satisfactory levels and fixing problems. When people call the mayor's office they want to talk to someone or relay a concern not be blown off by the previous mayor or other city officials that seem to have a problem answering to those that pay their salaries Not to mention these public officials need to get off their asses and start by cleaning up whole blocks of our community, painting curbs where there is fading paint, planting trees and flowers and shrubbery and working on a plan for putting some sidewalks in the town in places that really need them. There is no reason why we have people walking out in traffic on SR 56/60 because the town refuses to find ways to at least put reasonable sidewalks in places that really need them. Not to mention some improved lighting and signage so people aren't getting ran over. Including painting the lines around the Salem Square. It seems that our public officials have checked out and are out to lunch but not only during the noon hour but most of the rest of the time they should be getting things done for the community. Furthermore, Salem needs to start working on revamping the community and fixing not only our streets and infrastructure but also clean up the community and that starts with all of us participating in community cleanup efforts but even more importantly that means not throwing things out of your car windows and truck windows or leaving your trash where it doesn't belong. Trash belongs in a receptacle not on the ground and it belongs in dumpsters and proper cans and not strewn across the parking lots of the businesses of Salem. This is unacceptable that this sort of behavior is allowed. Our county roads in Washington County area an unmitigated disaster in that we have tons of waste, cans, bottles, trash, food wrappers, fast food bags, plastics alongside the roadways all over Washington County. Not to mention needles and other disgusting things that are being left in places that someone's child could pick up get some sort of disease like Hepatitis or who knows what they are leaving behind. Furthermore, the county officials need to get off their asses and start focusing on representing the county and all of the taxpayers and county residents. The same goes with people letting their youth do things like peeing/leaving waste in public places when there are facilities meant for public use and to be treated with respect. It's time to put down the childish things and take personal responsibility and of course to EXPECT MORE. [02/26/20] Where are all the scions/prominent people in Washington County when our local officials continue to grind the people into the ground with increased taxes while doing nothing for two generations to create a more stable tax base and a more prosperous community. Of course, they'll make the same tired old assumptions how no businesses would want to come to Salem, Indiana because well we're 18 miles from the Interstate. Interestingly that theory doesn't work for cities in Indiana such as Jasper, Bedford, Madison and others over the years that have attracted a lot of different businesses and new factories and facilities. However, the GOOD OLD BOY network in Salem, Indiana doesn't want anything to change. THEY CERTAINLY DON'T WANT THE PEOPLE aka TAXPAYERS who are treated like PEONS with contempt by the local authorities to start QUESTIONING the economic screwing that they have been getting over the past 30 to 40 years while other communities attempted to retain and expand to new industries and businesses that expanded their tax base. Of course, the GOOD OLD BOYS don't want their power structure changed or people to start asking intelligent questions about why and what they are doing with OUR MONEY and OUR COMMUNITY. Much less that the locals might finally tire of the SAME OLD CRAP that they've been fed for 30 to 40 years while other communities in Indiana and this region of Indiana have economically expanded and improved their tax base, etc. Washington County and its dumb officials have spent years making excuses about why Salem can't attract new business and new business development because it might start breaking down the old way of doing things and the old way of the GOOD OLD BOYS and their handpicked goons and tyrants running roughshod over the people. This isn't a political campaign, its a community cleanup campaign because the good people in Washington County deserve a HELL OF A LOT BETTER than what they have been fed for the past 40 years. Washington County and Salem can do so much better and as usual our closing theme is to EXPECT MORE

Residents of Salem, Indiana and Washington County, Indiana Need To Expect More

Outside of the Kimball Plant locating in Salem in 1986 and the expansion of GKN Sinter Metals in 1997 and other dates it might be noted that Washington County officials have done the Charlie Brown theme of moving the football when it is about to be kicked in regard to economic development. Many years ago Salem was investigated as being somewhere that Valeo Sylvania could build their plant yet it went to Seymour as have countless other businesses that would have been open to locating in Salem. Our so-called county officials whiffed time and time again and some of it was obviously to protect some of the existing employers at the expense of them having to pay better wages and have better working conditions and more opportunities for the local population. The local nincompoops of the City of Salem along with the county government didn't want to do anything about changing that state of affairs because it would interfered with some of the local business community being able to crap on people and treat them shabbily. That's been the modus operandi of Washington County government for some time now when they could have been doing things that really benefited the community they were more interested in political games and scratching each others butts and backsides. Who knows who had dirty pictures on each other in Washington County although there have been substantiated activities over the years that might come to light at some point. Instead Washington County/Salem City government and economic development officials were more interested in turning Salem from being a former manufacturing town into a manufacturing wasteland while drugs poured into the community onto the streets of Washington County and claimed the futures of so many people that could have did so much more for their families and the community at large. Instead Salem officials and county government turned a blind eye to the economic damage caused by the closure of plants such as O.P. Link, Smith Cabinet, Speedflex and their subsequent relocation to other destinations while the county and city fathers turned Salem into a bonafide retirement community with not much more than fast food jobs and low end dead end retail. Of course, they'll provide a litany of excuses of why Washington County cannot attract businesses like people not having enough money to start enterprises etc. All the while they turned away other businesses that could have thrived here and left a thriving community for the people of Washington County. That is the million dollar question? What the hell is wrong with the public officials in Salem, Indiana and Washington County, Indiana? There would be plenty of industries that would be suitable for Washington County like medical manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, small industries making parts for automotive such as plastics and injection molding, etc. Not heavy industry but sensible and reasonable small industry that would grow the local economy AND lead to a more stable tax base where the county government wouldn't have to screw the taxpayers so hard to pay for all of their pet projects of countless nincompoops in Salem and Washington County. After all when cities around us economically grew over the years Salem continued to stagnate and turn into a drug den when it could be so much more. In closing, we the people of Washington County and Salem, Indiana should EXPECT MORE

Salem, Indiana is Turning Into A Run Down Dump

Salem Is Turning Into A Dump........ What did he just say? He said Salem is turning into a dump. Yes, I said it. I've had family that has lived in Washington County since the very beginning of this community in 1814 of which my ancestors gave up their land that ended up being platted and use by John DePauw and others to start the town and build it up. For most of my several decades of existence this community of Salem and other parts of Washington County was largely a fine place to live and generally family and community oriented. I can no longer say that when I see the refuse and trash and garbage all over the City of Salem. Recent mayors and city council members have forgotten who they work for and who they serve in the public to make this community the best that it can be. When you can get in your car and rive all over Salem and start video of the trash problem from people not cleaning up after themselves and leaving garbage in the streets, parking lots, businesses, on roadways, along roadways, etc. Supposedly the town/city has littering ordinances and local laws that should be enforced to encourage proper behavior. Same with needing to enforce animal ordinances and curb disruptive things like barking animals, stray dogs, garbage disposal and trash pickup. People who do these things rarely get a helping hand from the myriad of city employees that sit around on their asses and collect a paycheck while the town looks like a DUMP. This isn't just a few people causing this problem, its a community wide problem. No different than a bunch of drunks, druggies or clowns hanging around town causing problems. In other words what we used to call small town hoods. Salem can do a lot better. Maybe someone needs to start asking Justin Green why Salem isn't cleaning up its act so the town doesn't look like a DAMN ASHTRAY. As well as fining people that throw plastic and garbage and fast food bags out of their vehicle windows of the SH*TBOXES they drive through town without a care in the world. Stupid behavior shouldn't be rewarded in any way shape or form.

An Interesting Take on Salem, Indiana and it Corruption Issues

That's the main problem that Salem has is that they want to be a retirement community with poverty level jobs with the people that live there. It might be more quiet crime wise than other places in the country or even where I live (Jeffersonville) but that doesn't make it that great of a place. I've lived there and lived there 25 years growing up and seen how things were conducted and if you like good old boy cops, relatives in politics all over the place, the government run by only a few small families that want to keep it that way then Salem is for you. If you like a town where the cops know who the drug dealers are and refuse to do anything about it, then that's Salem. Or that the legal eagles around town are some of the biggest drug dealers, that's Salem. Or that the judicial branch of government knows who these people are and no one ever goes to jail except nobodies, then that's some more Salem. Add in the fact that Washington County has tons of low wage retail/service jobs and not much in the way of higher paying professional or technical jobs much less many factory jobs left, then that is more of the problem. Which is why people get hooked on drugs and hang with bad elements. Add in a poor educational system where the Salem Schools get C and D rankings at the Elementary School and Middle Schools, etc. Not my type of environment for sure where these problems are known and no one raises a finger to do anything about it. Why? Because the local yokels like it that way and choose to keep the same corrupt politicians and family members in the same offices for years. Washington County had the same sheriff for the better part of 20 years and he was once replaced after his son was boinking an inmate while working at the jail. What happened? They turned around the next election after he was thrown out because they didn't like the new sheriff cleaning house and not allowing all the crap that had been going on. So all of the morons and inbreeds turned around and voted the same corrupt one back in. So now you perhaps understand why some people have such an antipathy towards their own home town which is where they were born and raised. Add in the fact, that the same people have ran the courthouse and county offices in Salem for years and most of them have the same family names around town same as the previous sheriff whose jail was staffed with his relatives. I had a friend that worked for the Washington County Sheriffs Office until 2010 and he had to leave because the stench was so bad that he went back into the military because he was tired of the corruption and family butt kissing that was going on. Same goes with the judicial system where the same judge keeps getting voted in because he has the right name and no one has the fortitude to run against him or probably even paid off. The same judge has been in office almost 25 years now and his own father was a prior mayor for about 12 years. That's the kind of crap that goes on in Salem and Washington County. Its not what your qualifications are, your education, your public decency, its all about who you are related to. That's why about half or more of my graduating class in the 90s left Salem and have never returned there to live. Even the ones that wanted too found it to be too economically limiting and not enough to do. The town doesn't really care about bringing in new businesses that would threaten to take employees and workers away from the businesses around town that want to keep paying substandard wages. The only thing that they've actually did in the last 10 years was finally get a WalMart in November 2016 and Dollar Tree, Goodys and a few other smaller stores in 2009 or so. That's their idea of economic development to keep wages low, people where they can't better the community, and things in control of the old cronies and the criminal syndicate that keeps running Salem. You would have had to lived in Salem to understand the level of political, law enforcement, and judicial corruption and nepotism to understand. If you lived in some state like Kentucky, West Virginia, or some other backwards state you would understand Salem completely. Just as this write this, I've been reading about Salem having a flood and its about 30 miles away now as I live near Louisville. This kind of flooding has happened a couple times in the past but the city fathers and city council/political syndicate members along with the county doesn't bother to get flood protection and proper drainage for the town/city of Salem which might as well be a town. That's the thing is that they've had years to assess ways to prevent these types of storms, rebuild infrastructure and develop roads and new development. Outside of a bypass around the town and some stores that's all they've did. Anyone that wants to make a good living has to drive elsewhere including 40 miles to Kentucky in Louisville or other parts of Southern Indiana that have economically exploded over the years and grew jobs and sustainable economics where people can live, thrive, and achieve. Salem doesn't believe in that and will not adjust to modern thinking. For some reason, change is not in the DNA of these people both running the town and even most of the people in the community. They are impervious to economic progress, jobs, development, etc. It was so hard to try to get people to figure out that a Wal Mart wouldn't be such a bad thing for the town as they were paying twice as much for products at the local stores or having to drive to Scottsburg, Paoli, Bedford, Seymour, Corydon or Clarksville/New Albany just to shop at Wal Mart. While Paoli, IN population 3500 has had a Wal Mart for 20 years and Salem has twice the population of Paoli, etc. Same with other towns in the region that they have had other shopping for years while Salem had nothing and the town almost blew away in the years of 2000 to 2012 or so when they finally started figuring out they couldn't totally be cut off from the rest of the world. That's why Salem has been the way it is and that's also why drugs have been ignored as a problem because the local syndicate didn't want anyone taking over their business. That made for a profitable business for the lawyer class types that have been busted in Florida trying to bring their stashes back to Salem all the while the local cops and prosecutors ignored the problem along with the local judges. There's plenty more to be said/written but there's only so long to discuss these problems. Just giving people a heads up. Read more: https://www.city-data.com/forum/indiana/8351-salem-indiana-4.html