Washington County Indiana Government Is A Laughingstock

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.

The Salem Parks Department

It seems that the Salem Parks and Recreation Department needs to get on the ball and start doing their job in cleaning up our local park and recreation facilities. From the vandals and lowlifes that trash our public facilities such as public park bathrooms and the shelter houses, to those who willingly and wantonly throw out their trash at the parks in our town.

Instead of doing something about it and cleaning up our public parks from those who are illegally smoking and leaving their cigarette butts around the parks they have did little to nothing. These  places include the Parkview Baseball Fields and Depauw Park along with the worst park in the area called Lake Salinda.

Some of this mess has been left at these places by campers who are illegally camping there overnight while the City of Salem Police Department is sleeping on the job while these individuals are illegally camping in our public parks. One might also notice the traffic from and to these parks at hours that are prohibited from public use such as at midnight or three or four am or anywhere in between.

Some of that sort of activity going on late at night in our public parks is obviously people up to no good including drug abuse and other criminal activities. Such behavior is being tolerated by the local police force who aren't any longer making rounds to check for people illegally camping in our parks and therefore leave their trash, food wrappers, cups, styrofoam, condoms and other disgusting waste in our parks. Especially Lake Salinda though I have regularly seen needles at both Lake Salinda as well as the Parkview Baseball Complex even around shelterhouse and along the roadside on occasion.

I guess the City of Salem Parks And Recreation Department doesn't really care about doing anything about cleaning up our public parks that we pay taxes on other than mowing grass for 6 months out of the year. While the facilities are beyond disrepair and nasty in many cases and need to be cleaned up. Including teaching a good cross section of people to respect the environment and cleanup after themselves which seems to be a common problem in Washington County.

Furthermore is the trash that one finds on the banks of Lake Salinda and Lake John Hay as well by those who are camping in those areas which are both illegal to camp in yet there is vast evidence that people have been camping and leaving their trash and refuse everywhere for someone else to pick up. That and being washed into the waterways to be inhaled by fish and other wildlife including deer, etc.

Since the director of the Parks and Rec gets paid 41,000 a year plus and has a decent sized staff that they can't get off their duffs and actually make sure these parks are cleaned up and not having trash all over the banks of the lakes. Not to mention the local Salem City Police cracking down on people that are leaving their trash everywhere as well as the drug abuse problem which leads to needles in our parks and along our roadsides.

Would you want your child or family member to step on a dirty disease filled needle that got left by the roadside or in the park because the slugs that use them are too lazy to clean up after themselves? Tbink about it!

So why isn't Salem Mayor Troy Merry and the rest of the City Council getting on the ball and working on fixing the drug problem in Salem along with the Washington County Court system and the two LAW and ORDER judges that allow this sort of travesty to continue.

Not to mention the good old pork rind eating boys at the Washington County Sheriff's Department which are often too chubby to even bother with chasing down criminals judging by the weight that some of them carry around over their protruding belts. Try some professionalism guys and at least try to get in shape. Instead of coddling the criminals that you know and are more than likely related to.

While we are at it, why don't we ask why the Washington County Prosecutor's Office why they are more interested in staging theater activities in our public courtrooms rather than prosecuting hard core criminals and those in society that have bad intent and bad actions towards their fellow people. Let's ask why is it that the good old boy local lawyer network at the Washington County Prosecutor's office is more interested in doing Masterpiece Theater in front of the local judge and juries than putting hardcore criminals and those endangering others into jail.

Would it because if they weren't showing off so much they would actually have to do their jobs and focus on putting drug dealers, thieves, burglars, domestic violence abusers, child molesters and various other people who commit crime behind bars. Wonder when the good old boys and few girls of the Washington County Prosecutor's Department will do their job. That will be covered in a future topic.
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Salem's Increasing Hobo Population

Salem, Indiana is generally a relatively nice community with people who really do care about their neighbors, their community and have a sense of civic pride at least to some extent.

That being said, the quality of life in Salem, Indiana is being brought down by a variety of factors including the local drug use problem that exists in most counties and most communities in America. Salem is now starting to have problems with homelessness which in past times was hardly a problem but since the economic crash of 2008 and 2009 and the illicit drug trade in Salem, Indiana the homelessness problem has skyrocketed.

The point is that the homeless problem that is increasing in Washington County is having bad effects on the community at large along with the local economic situation which could use a definite improvement.

From some of my sources, I've been told that there are now homeless camps in a couple of areas of Salem that have sprung up in out of the way places that are harder for law enforcement to monitor and patrol. Not having seen these two places I would suspect that this is largely due to the drug problem in Salem and with the inability of the local population to hold jobs or at least try to stay clean.

Why isn't Washington County stepping up public safety and security to make sure that in Salem and other communities these people are in some decent level of shelter and housing instead of allowing a hobo encampment to remain in the city limits in one place and at the edge of the city of the City of Salem

One of the places that one finds much in the way of trash and refuse is along the Salem By Pass carrying State Roads 60 and 135. Of which it is alleged that inside of the bypass in the area between SR 160 and the Wal Mart Supercenter these is now a homeless camp somewhere in that area. Why is this allowed if true because obviously there is no law enforcement activities against such camps to encourage those to find shelter.

Instead what this allows is for more petty crime, violence and criminal activities against those in society that are following the law, paying their taxes and without being bothered or harassed by such individuals. Another such encampment was at one time in the center of Salem behind a local shopping center however that area did flood severely in 2017 so its quite possible nothing is any longer at that location.

With our community having problems due to opioids, methamphetamine, cocaine and other serious drug issues, this isn't the type of public policy that we should be allowing or encouraging. Not to mention the trash and waste that is being produced without any oversight by government bodies such as environmental agencies and health departments. This is leading to more problems by tolerating such activities that create more problems and more dependence as well. It's time for Salem City government and the Washington County government to start cracking down on these activities including the rampant drug use in our city and county and finding ways to combat the problem.

Not by encouraging these behaviors because they just want to push the issue out of the way and behind closed doors like they have with political corruption and corrupt police and politicians and lawyers. Active Search Results (ASR) is an independent Internet Search Engine using a proprietary page ranking technology with Millions of popular Web sites indexed.

Judgment Day!!!!!!!! Hypocrisy Much

Interesting that the Court officer in charge of the Circuit Court in Salem, Indiana mentioned about people smoking pot all day. Very interesting that Salem, Indiana and its low law enforcement, judges, legal eagles and the like have turned a blind eye to drug abuse along with heroin, meth and other drugs over the years. 

All the while talking out their rear end about the problems that drug abuse cause in our communities. Meanwhile, court officials, cops and lawyers in Salem, Indiana have spent decades covering up for those who bring drugs into our communities and only arrest those who are lower level users and offenders. Not the drug kingpins that sell drugs to the general population through their street level dealers. Salem, Indiana so called family values and definite hypocrisy. 

All the while higher level offenders and those who know who are bringing drugs into our community turn their head the other way while they know who is bringing in the dope to our community. Hypocrisy much? All the while putting low level offenders in jail while the drug pushers and mid and upper level drug dealers rake in the profits from others misery and ignorance. Meanwhile the local law enforcement and local legal community gets to rake in the profits from the incarcerations, job security by locking people up and covering for their known and well heeled dealer clientele. Hypocrisy in the highest order in Washington County, Indiana.  Active Search Results (ASR) is an independent Internet Search Engine using a proprietary page ranking technology with Millions of popular Web sites indexed.

Salem School Board Misplaced Priorities

Quite interesting that the Salem School Board in Salem, Indiana only decided to fund the project to fix the pool at the Salem Middle School for 3 million or so dollars as we are told. Guess they had too much community opposition for the 13 million dollar wasteful projects that was wanted by the Superintendent in order to spend more community resources including money for an artificial turf football field that was only going to get a few uses a year for football games for the high school and middle school at a cost of 1-2 million dollars.

Not to mention the other massive waste of resources by a school system that complained in 2016 about not having enough computers and resources for the elementary school at Bradie Shrum. Of course the system couldn't be bothered with getting enough computers that actually work for the students instead of spending a couple million on a football field and some new band quarters at the high school.

You have to wonder about the priorities of these community do gooders and the good old buddy system that exists in the school corporation and among the school board members that are always patting each other on the back for a job not so well done. Active Search Results (ASR) is an independent Internet Search Engine using a proprietary page ranking technology with Millions of popular Web sites indexed.

The Nincompoops of the Salem School Board and Salem Community Schools

Interesting that the Salem School Board in Salem, Indiana along with the Superintendent in 2016/2017 were wringing their hands about what to do in regard to the computer problems that were facing Salem Community Schools students during the ISTEP test. Of which these computers crashed and were unavailable for usage during those tests therefore having to reschedule the tests.

However, they all of a sudden came out of the woodwork in March and April 2018 and started pushing for 13 million dollars in upgrades to the existing schools including a new band room and auditorium at the high school, new artificial turf football field and repairs to the middle school swimming pool.

However, they couldn't be bothered with promoting the actual educational goals of our students and children and instead of more wasteful projects that won't result in a better educated workforce and development of everyone's potential.

Instead, they like the tax and spend set in government want to throw money at a problem and thinking it will go away without any accountability for results.

Interestingly they wanted to spend between 1 and 2 million for new artificial turf for the football field

However, that same 2 million dollars that would have been wastefully spent on a football field that only gets 4 high school varsity games, 4 JV games and 4 middle school games a year should have been proposed for computers. How?

2 million dollars would buy every classroom at Salem enough computers for all 2000 students or so in the system provided only about $1000 was spent on each computer. However, it seems our superintendent and the school board isn't too good at math. Especially considering that at our local big box store a desktop computer runs about 450 to 800 dollars.

Of course, they'll make some excuse why they can't get George or Susie a computer for their classroom but they can spend 13 million on a bunch of pet projects.

MAYBE the school board and the school administration needs to take remedial math.

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Washington County Transparency: A Laughable Proposition

Transparency is the ability to see through things that are behind something including what might perceived. In Washington County, there is a lack of government transparency in that government including the local law enforcement, local judges and local politicians in the City Council, County Council and County Commissioners often act behind the scenes.

The same occurred recently with the Salem School Board of the Salem Community Schools having a public meeting which was announced at the last minute by the school corporation and board and in the Wheezer newspaper.

Interestingly, they of course waited until Thursday to actually announce that there would be an important vote on the school's request to spend 13 million taxpayer dollars on pet projects proposed by the Superintendent and others in the school corporation.

The entire debacle strikes this writer as having no transparency and no public input until the people found out about what was in the proposed tax increase that they would end up paying for. All for some artificial turf, an auditorium, a band room and swimming pool repairs. All the while they do things behind closed doors and in closed meetings.

Much like mob bosses and big city political machines do things behind closed doors in smoke filled rooms with all of the cronies and good old boys making the decisions without public input and public investigation of what kind of personal economic screwing that they have been receiving.

All the while the community do gooders continue to wail about how we need to spend more money on the schools and more money to support pet projects that end up being a waste of taxpayer dollars in a county that is economically lacking in many respects.

All the while, the community do gooders have spent 50 years keeping the community backwards and economically challenged to the point that people are living paycheck to paycheck because their jobs if they have any ore not giving out raises and benefit increases.

Meanwhile the corrupt county officials and good old boy network continues to complain that they don't have enough money to pave roads, provide snow removal, clean roadways, cut and mow grass along the roads and other essential government work. However, they did have money for a 9 million dollar jail and a couple of million to spend on the Circuit and Superior Court chambers for the judges that make in excess of $130,000 a year along with the prosecuting attorney, sheriff and those employed by those agencies of local government.

Meanwhile, the drug busts keep on happening at a time when no one actually sources those who have been bringing in the drugs to Washington County for decades. Could it be that the local law enforcement and local legal community is covering up for the locally based drug kingpins that have spent 30 years plus bringing in their trash to our community and they know who these people are and who they are paid to protect.

Interesting, isn't it how Washington County government works at least for the judges, prosecutors, law enforcement and legal eagles. For the rest of us, its no snow removal, lousy roads, higher taxes, jails filled to the brim, low wage jobs and lack of decent employment options for much of the community.

However, the do gooders keep on patting each other on the back of what a great job they are doing. All the while really doing nothing of consequence that actually improves life in the community.

Such as new higher paying jobs, increased employment options, more business, more real economic development. Just more of the same of them talking about what they are doing but accomplishing absolutely nothing

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Are You Tired Of Political Corruption in Salem, Indiana and Washington County

Here is where the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Indiana steps in. If you're tired of the local prosecutor's office refusing to fairly assess and prosecute the law? If you're tired of corrupt and criminal law enforcement and judges not doing their job? If you're tired of the good old boys and corrupt politicians and career coffee drinkers in Salem, Indiana protecting their own kinfolk at the expense of the taxpayers, its time to contact these folks. 

If you're tired of nepotism, corruption, and family dealings in Salem, Indiana with the same people holding sway over the community for decades including a whole clan of them working at the Washington County Courthouse and subsequent county offices this is one place you might want to contact. Tired of general government corruption and the local Washington County syndicate treated different people differently even though the laws and legal statutes must be done in accordance with the Indiana Code?

Under previous US Attorney For Southern Indiana Joseph Hogsett (now Indianapolis mayor) his office and the subsequent holder of the office has been pursuing political corruption cases, corrupt financial dealings, and criminal actions by local government officials in Indiana and wants you to inform his office of such. 

Contact Here

Contact Us

Email:   usains.webmaster@usdoj.gov (link sends e-mail)

Main Office

United States Attorney's Office

10 W Market St, Suite 2100

Indianapolis, IN 46204

Voice: (317) 226-6333

Toll-Free: (888) 368-5067

TTY: (317) 226-5438

Fax: (317) 226-6125

Branch Office

United States Attorney's Office

101 NW MLK Blvd, Suite 250

Evansville, IN 47708

Voice: (812) 465-6475

TTY: (812) 465-6441

Fax: (812) 465-6444

Washington County Drug Crackdown

Interesting how Washington County Indiana police and public officials all of a sudden in December started cracking making huge drug busts in Salem and surrounding communities. As if all of a sudden after the Hambel trial the powers that be in Salem decided to start cracking down on the drug dealers.

Salem officials and county officials must have found out that Salem has a publicity problem when it comes to having people in power turning a blind eye to the drug problem. Probably because for many of the last 25 years the local cartel in Salem and the good old boy politicians and a couple of lawyers have been making sure that they were all protected.

It will be interesting to note how the corrupt court system will handle these cases from now on that one of the judges proclaimed himself as the Voice of Justice in Washington County. All the while they have spent years covering up for the criminal class and crooks running the community.

All of a sudden they've got more drug busts in the Salem birdcage liner but they never target the trash that is bringing in the major amount of drugs and paraphernalia that is troubling small towns like Salem, Indiana. Who are they covering up for in higher places in Salem, Indiana?

While I am at it, why aren't they correctly going after real criminals in Washington County, Indiana that are threatening public safety and compromising the safety of area families? Just like recent stories of someone having their home shot up and nothing was done about it?

Who are the people who are being covered up for and why is the local law enforcement and sheriffs department complicit in not following the laws applicable to the situation? 

Something also that needs to be asked, is what is the orientation politically and family wise that allows certain people in Washington County, Indiana to continue to get by with crimes against others and crimes against society, yet they continue to get off time and time again for said crimes. 

Meanwhile, honest people get framed by the political system and corrupt law enforcement of Washington County, Indiana in this writers honest opinion. All the while a farcical justice system is allowed to permeate the rest of the community allowing for criminal government actors to be able to do whatever they want without no repercussions for their illegal and immoral activities. 

Washington County Crime Issues

When one reads the weekly dispatches from police in the local bird cage liner of a newspaper, one has to wonder what is going on in Salem, Indiana these days in regards to crime. Now maybe its not violent crime like what would be happening in most larger US cities and communities of 50,000 or more. Yet, its still quite a significant phenomena for a small town with only a few thousand residents and a county with less than 30,000 residents at last count.

The Salem that existed 25 or 30 years ago was a much quieter and calmer place still with the good old boy political hacks their network of crooked lawyers and crooked small town politicos. Yet we also still had problems with drugs back at that point but more small time drug usage such as marijuana instead of heroin needles on West Market Street at the bridge over Brock Creek. In 1980s Salem and even well into the main problem in Salem was the drug issues caused by marijuana and maybe some fool dropping LSD or some other foreign substance.

Today Salem, has a much larger problem than those times, in that the town is being overrun with meth users and the ever present problem of heroin addiction because of the opioid crisis which is gripping the nation. Yet for years, Salem City officials as well as the county prosecutors and good old boy police department, both city and county, turned their heads away from the problem while someone in high places allowed this problem to fester.

This didn't just happen because some small time drug dealer from Salem decided to get into the action and started importing meth from Mexico or starting up a pill mill locally and then making drugs. Its been well known by people locally for years that there were people in connection with the drug industry including ties with a couple of prominent people who just happened to get busted in Florida.

As usual though, nothing was ever done about their Washington County, Indiana operations and smuggling that was brought back to Salem. Of which was known all the way up in Indianapolis at the Indiana State House by some legislators but it was brushed aside as most things in small towns are especially if you have the money and the connections. If you're the poor criminal schmuck from Washington County that doesn't have the money or the criminal defense because you didn't have the money to pay to the syndicate to keep you out of jail, then tough luck you're going to the slammer.

Washington County has a major drug problem but its not just the everyday citizen that this problem exists under but rather its the culture that exists where there's nothing to do and there is no accountability in public office and public places. More than a few people in public positions more than likely are habitual drug users including all walks of life including at least one former school official that had a drug problem. Many people know this and of course like most things in a small town it was pushed under the rug.

How can you hold people in the community accountable when you have public officials and people in the community in higher places who are doing the very same thing they are condemning. Same goes for having a crooked pastor or preacher that is saying one thing but then acting as a hypocrite in another way. The same standard to hold for public officials, judges, school administrators, law enforcement, and all of those in the community at large. Drug and alcohol abuse is bad for you and it not only affects yourself but also your family and all those around you. Just my two cents on that issue.

That being said, why is it that Washington County officials, judges, cops, and prosecution spent years hiding the fact that the county has a major issue with abuse of illicit substances including all forms of drugs as well as prescription drugs. Yet nothing was done about it for years until it became a full blown epidemic with needles in our public places, in parks, along roadsides, at Lake Salinda and various apartment complex areas and even in local restaurants.

Was it because there was too much money changing hands between powerful people that no one wanted to step on any toes? Were people being paid off to look the other or know that if they did crack down on the drug trade they would have lost their jobs or been sent packing out of the community? Was it because of inter-family relations and because so many people involved were related and no one would say a thing about it? Interesting questions that need to be posed and answered and people held accountable. Not the usual attempt of brushing it under the rug or trying to frame someone with planted evidence.

As if they'll tell you that doesn't happen in Washington County, Indiana where someone was once buried in concrete while their murderers walked free.

Or where if you're a young black male shot to death alongside a local roadway nothing more is heard about it in the local birdcage liners or local media. Wonder why all that gets covered up and hushed up? Because someone is trying to cover something up or maybe the person shot was the wrong color? As if Washington County doesn't have some element of a racial animosity issue that isn't discussed openly.

Strangely enough, things aren't always what they seem especially when there has been such a concerted attempt over the years at hiding dirty little secrets you're not supposed to know.

Washington County: A Culture of Corruption

The leaders and community elites have failed the people of Washington County, Indiana and the people of the general community. They have done this through their arrogance, greed, and corrupt practices. For a little background information, perhaps see how many ethics violations have occurred in county government over the past few years. That is just the reported ethics violations that have been pursued.

Isn't nepotism a case of corruption and ethics violations? Isn't it a patronage system where the good old boy mantra of ripping off the public to get a few backs scratched a ethics violation?

How about the fact that for years the public officials in concert with local low wage businesses have conspired to keep wages low, employment opportunities scarce, and the REAL prospect of ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT away for the average taxpayer and citizen. All to protect their small business buddies sitting in their smoke filled rooms not unlike the political bosses of yesteryear. Think it doesn't happen? Then why does Washington County, Indiana have some of the highest rates of POVERTY and CHILD POVERTY in the whole state of Indiana? Gee, does one think that all of the employers and their low wage service jobs are a part of the issue. Or the lack of business that actually pays its workers a wage on which they can truly live.

Do the commissioners, council, and political prostitutes ever visit their constituency or do they instead live in their Life of Riley world where everything is fine and all is good just for them and their cronies.

Why is it that the average family income in Salem, Indiana in Washington County at least 14,000 dollars below the state level of income across the entire state of Indiana. Because of a lousy local job market where there are few paying jobs because the local small business often finds ways to screw their employees.

To top this all off, the state grants tax incentives to these low wage corporations for worker training. Which is a job of the corporation, not the STATE. Why is it that our elected officials haven't caught onto this scam? One manufacturer if not more in Salem receives grants from the State of Indiana so they can pay their low wage slaves something on the order of 7 to 8 dollars an hour. Now why does a multi million dollar corporation need a tax incentive to create low wage jobs. If they are going to create them anyway, then why should this parts manufacturer get one cent from the public treasury.

To hear these factory managers around Salem, many of whom are ill-educated fools despite their alleged schooling, its totally preposterous that the AMERICAN PEOPLE. should allow their PUBLIC TREASURY to be robbed all for multinational corporations and their ilk. These are the same people that are using SLAVE LABOR in Communist China at a quarter an hour while they mark up the prices here in America.

One local outfit has the audacity to tell the women in their plant of how good they are being treated and how good their employer is despite the average wage being 8 dollars an hour. Meanwhile, these morally corrupt and debased corporate clowns are trying to tell these women, oh how great it is while the owner of the company not only owns two local manufacturing plants but also involved in a accounting firm in the Louisville Metro area.

These local business leaders and their cronies will not stop their systematic destruction of the American workforce until We THE People step up and by force of law make these people do right. They won't do right because they want to be nice or considerate. They won't do right because they are Christians who actually live as they are supposed to. They won't do right because they believe in liberty, human rights, and basic decency. The only time they will do right is when WE THE PEOPLE force these corrupt purveyors of corporate corruption to abide by our laws and our standards.

Which brings us back to the fact that OUR local government and officials are largely bought off and in bed with those that do what they want whenever they want. Exactly where do these small town bosses think that they get their tax monies from, and from whom? Well, it appears to me that WE THE PEOPLE give them a job in order to enforce the laws and perform public service.

We do not and should not allow these political cronies and their business establishment to continue to bring our country down to THIRD WORLD status just to kowtow to the wishes of the corporate masters. If American and Multinational Corporations have their way, then all Americans will face a lowering of their standard of living and the destruction of our REPUBLIC.

Our nation is a Constitutional Republic with the democratic right to vote for our elected representatives. It is not a pure democracy or in any way shape or form affiliated with the Democratic party or any other political party. Our leaders are elected by WE THE PEOPLE and for them to do the jobs we elect them to do. Not only are the beholden to uphold the United States Constitution but also what laws we have as Americans to maintain domestic order and tranquility. Not to be the political puppets of some corporate entity.

Thanks for your reading and more comments coming soon.

Clueless Local Government

When our local officials and managers talk, it sounds as if one is passing gas and in fact that is what they are doing. Have these people ever had the intelligence to give a candid and honest assessment of what this community and its local organizations have going for it. Have these people ever spent time outside of this community and wondered what assets can be used for community wide improvement?

Or is it a case of small minds leading everyone else down the wrong path? So instead of perpetuating the economic vibrancy of a community it is better to create low wage jobs and lack economic improvement? Why is it that 20 percent of the youth in Washington County, Indiana live under the poverty level? Why is it that for a family of four the poverty level is slightly below 20,000 dollars per year when that is a very low figure? Why hasn't the city produced more in the way of tangible economic and educational opportunities for its citizens. Is this all that we can do as a community to impove the lives and well-being of the citizenry?

Or is it another symptom of 30 years of failure and a lack of vision in this area? 30 years of industrial decline and increasing debt obligations. 30 years of lacking proper planning and development procedures. Lacking results and concrete plans to improve the community through education and jobs. Yet, when we hear these education advocates we never seem to hear how we are going to improve the education system and the curriculum. Instead, it is focused on generating a new building and constructing new facilitiies. Which hardly improves the school but rather puts ill-educated students in a new building. Why has the educational hierarchy failed in this where so many kids have to take remedial classes in a wide variety of subjects. Where is our local officials in producing substantial economic gains and improvement in incomes, job stability, and the like.

Creating low wage burger flipping and retail jobs is not the way to the future but a return to leaner times. Not an Army inspired saying of "Be All you can be" but rather a return to economic slavery and despondency. Instead of promoting self sufficiency and hard work, it promotes economic dependency and a lack of ambition and constructing the conditions that promote economic empowerment. Why is it that our local officials lack understand and education to see where these trends are going?

Washington County Economics (Where Math Isn't Important and 2 plus 2 equals 5 with county government)

,head>No, I didn't forget to take math class since we all should know that two plus two equals four in the vast majority of the civilized world. However, in Washington County Indiana with public officials running and mismanaging the county and what it has to offer that its obvious that some of these public officials failed math.

One instance is that vast amount of money that was spent back in 2008 to 2010 regarding the roof of the Washington County Courthouse and how they didn't bother to get guarantees and repairs in writing and make sure the repairs were done correctly before forking out hundreds of thousands of dollars on the 1888 constructed structure. Which now needs a totally new roof and various repairs due to water damage, age, stress, and other environmental issues with the building.

All the while the county spent millions on a new jail that had cracks in the floor at the time that it was opened to put in the multitudes of criminals flooding the community and mostly because of theft or drug issues. All the while they spent a couple million more on a new judicial center and judges chambers because we all know that the two judges just couldn't bother doing their job in such horrid conditions that they have where they sit in air conditioning and heating all day during the winter. All the while the good people of Washington County end up getting jobs slaving away in one of the local factories for barely enough money to just get by but not save an real amount that would provide a quality retirement.

While the county sheriff, county prosecutor, county judges all make in excess of 130,000 dollars a year and the average taxpayer makes a fraction of those salaries. Most families make in the 30k to 60k range county wide at their increasingly unstable jobs while the judges, sheriff, prosecutor, and other public hirelings are able to screw off on public time while making salaries much more than the median family income of approximately 45k a year. While these public officials in the higher reaches of county government are making 3 times that of the average family in Washington County, Indiana.

A county which has consistently over the last 30 years or so been in the bottom 10 counties in the state of Indiana regarding per capita income, job creation, family income, median family income, and various other measures of wealth and creative enterprise.

Yet, the people continue to be run into the ground by excessive taxes, government waste, too many sheriffs deputies sitting around packing on the pounds, etc. While the judges and the law enforcement community continues to get fatter and fatter both figuratively in income and literally by the spread of their rear end. The ordinary people are losing their homes and properties and sustenance by the lack of income from their jobs, no pay raises, and no real economic prospects. Unless you consider working at a mom and pop store, big box store, or fast food to be an economic future. I don't however.

All the while these fat cats sit up there and pass judgment on the community and those in the community who they are eating out their substance while putting family members in jail and creating a new criminal class. While turning their heads to the massive drug problems and problems with methamphetamines that has racked Salem in recent years. Along with the massive increase in theft, petty crimes, and other issues that end up tying up the court system.

Yet Salem has always had a criminal underclass running the town now supposedly a city for many years. Back to the 80s when well known local businessmen eagerly supplied pot and dope to the young people in Washington County. This increased in the 90s where their ill gotten gains weren't enough for them so other drugs were moved into the county while the public officials and good old boy county government electors were put in office.

Those good old boys had the nerve to talk about making Washington County a place to be proud of and to a great place for their kids and grandkids to grow up in. Yet more empty talk from these incoherent and often imbecilic goobers that call themselves council members or commissioners.
Instead of getting good jobs in the community other than a couple of the local sweatshop factories invested in by their good friends in the local business community, they were more eager to attain the goals of a certain group of so called community busybodies whose ideology was that of big government Republicanism just as long as they were running things.

So they could continue to run the community into the ground while corrupt cops held sway, drug dealers and their financial backers flourished and made out like bandits. While certain professionals in the legal profession helped those drug dealers stay out of jail or made sure they got leniency.

While this Roman style fiddling and burning was going on that would have made Nero proud, they county continued to lose businesses and jobs that had held families here and people for generations. One of the biggest was the loss of Smith Cabinet Company aka Child Craft which finally ended up relocating south of the border in the paradise called Mexico because of low wages and lax labor standards.

While they were fiddling and burning Salem to the ground economically while covering up for the local politicians and good old boys, the community continued to lose jobs and lose ground. Maybe it wasn't 75,000 dollar unionized jobs working at Ford or GM but it was still 30k to 45k a year jobs that were going away somewhere else and nothing was really ever done to do anything about.

So henceforth a true Washington County solution along with other small towns was to become a retirement community where people could get jobs wiping rear ends and taking care of the retirement age folks who obviously need the help but not everyone wants to be a burger flipper, gas station attendant or work in low wage retail and jobs without good pay and benefits. The good old boys of Salem and their subsequent mayors and public officials touted all of the development which really consisted of a couple of small box stores and garden variety dollar stores.

Add in the local new big box store which does provide a bit more shopping convenience but isn't going to employ everyone that wants a job. Not that it wasn't needed because it was due to the good old boys local friends charging 2 or 3 times for products and merchandise that could be bought at the big box store for a fraction of the cost.

It reminds me of the whining that was incessantly heard in the community when the big box store was plotting to move to Salem. The locals some of whom should be called yokels were adamant that the town would dry up and blow away as soon as the local big box moved in. All the nondescript and crappy businesses would just fly off to never never land and never be seen again because of all the horror stories that existed from other small towns that never were and never would be in some dumpy state where the poverty level is 30 percent and half the population gets government checks on a monthly basis and we're not talking about age 65 and over seniors either. We're talking about 18 to 65 year old people who are physically and mostly mentally capable who wouldn't work. Not disabled people with real and legitimate disabilities but the usual societal deadbeat types.

Salem wasn't worried back in the 80s and 90s about factory losses that happened only in other communities in Indiana and the Rust Belt states of the North. They thought they were insulated until Smiths left down for south of the border.

The good old boys though now are getting up in their years and finally being pushed to the side and they should be because its time for the people to take charge and make these people are thrown out of office on election day and never to see the inside of a government building ever again for their workday pleasure. Instead they should end up working the fine assembly lines of one of our local factories such as a wood manufacturing company or an auto parts making in 100 degree plus heat that would make a billygoat puke. That might teach them the value of work and being productive.