Winchester Independent News

10/27/2023

PRESS RELEASE- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY CHAIR FILES SUIT TO REMOVE CANDIDATE FROM BALLOT IN WI******ER CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 4 RACE
On October 23, 2023, Kate Thornburg, the chairperson of the Libertarian Party of Randolph County in her capacity as county chair and as a registered voter in District 4 in the City of Wi******er, filed suit seeking injunctive relief and the removal of candidate Leesa Friend Teale (R) from the ballot in the upcoming election.

It is the assertion of the Libertarian Party of Randolph County that Ms. Teale is ineligible to be a candidate on the ballot for Wi******er City Council District 4. Ms. Teale was first elected to the city council in Wi******er in 2015 and again in 2019. Ms. Teale took a position with the Cut Bank Pioneer News in early 2023 and wrote in that paper on March 29, 2023, “Moving away from your hometown is a big decision for many, but for me it is much, much more than that. Born and raised in the east central town of Wi******er, Indiana, I literally lived on the same block my entire life. So packing up and moving across the country was a huge decision.”

Since this move to Montana, Ms. Teale has not attended a single council meeting. Since May 2023 when the Libertarian Party of Randolph County discovered the article she wrote and published for the Cut Bank Pioneer News, members of the Libertarian Party have addressed the city council with their concerns that the citizens of District 4 are underrepresented due to her absence and have pleaded with the council to make the appropriate moves for her removal. Members of the party have been vocal in requesting that Ms. Teale resign her position and withdraw from the ballot. The general concession from the city council and the Republican Party seemed to be that this matter could be handled after the election as neither the council nor the Party took action to rectify the situation.

When Ms. Teale visited family in town during the Mardi Gras celebration and campaign postcards were distributed, the Libertarian Party were again vocal in their protestations. The final blow came when Ms. Teale attended the October 16 Wi******er City Council meeting and voted on matters before the council. At that point, Kate Thornburg, acting in her capacity as chair of Libertarian Party of Randolph County, filed suit against Ms. Teale, Melinda Peed in her capacity as the Randolph County Clerk, and Ben Wells as the Republican County Party chair to remove Ms. Teale from the ballot. The case is scheduled to be heard on November 2, 2023 at 10am in Randolph County Superior Court, the Honorable Judge Dale Arnett presiding.

10/08/2023

If anyone doubts that Leesa Friend-Teale is an illegal candidate for District 4, read her article for the newspaper job in Cut Bank, Montana, about her move from Wi******er to there - in MARCH 2023! Ask her to see her Montana driver's license. If you vote a "straight party" Republican ticket, you will be complicit in electing a candidate who cannot legally take office or even continue on the ballot per Indiana Code 3-8-1. She's trying to get re-elected only to take public tax money and insurance benefits out of YOUR taxes to supplement her new job. This is the definition of taxation without representation, and is about as un-American and an example of filth and dishonesty in politics as it gets. City of Wi******er, Indiana administration and City Council, why have you not turned her in to the the State Election Commission for felony election fraud? Here's her own article in her own words: https://www.cutbankpioneerpress.com/cut_bank_pioneer_press/article_e0df8e94-cd91-11ed-84b0-9396732a0be4.html

10/07/2023

Our fist edition of Wi******er Independent News is in print and out on the street! Unfortunately, not a single incumbent responded to our Candidate Questionnaire. At least everyone will get to know their challengers! Here's the link

Providing ethical, family-friendly local news in Wi******er, Indiana.

09/18/2023

Welcome aboard! It has taken a great deal of time to get everything in order, but the Wi******er Independent News is now a bona fide, live, in-print registered news agency! That's right; the 1st Edition is currently at the print shop and will be given out for free at the Wi******er Mardi Gras Festival in October. The first run is a limited-edition print copy concentrating on the Candidates Questionnaires that were provided to all political candidates on the ballet for the upcoming November 2023 city elections. We hope this will help you get to know your candidates better. Stop by the Libertarian and Democrat booth to get a copy while they last! The first edition will be full color including the advertising, with follow-up copies in standard black and white newsprint. An online link to the paper will also be posted after the festival. The intent of my newspaper is to report in an honest, family-friendly manner with journalistic integrity. It is not intended to compete with the current Wi******er, IN, newspaper. Rather, it is intended to supplement with positive local stories, details of local government happenings to help keep our community informed of issues facing our city council, some investigative journalism, and providing a means of access to local resources for the city of Wi******er. If you have stories you’d like discussed or investigated inside Wi******er, please contact us at 765-305-1433 or [email protected].

09/18/2023

Welcome aboard! It has taken a great deal of time to get everything in order, but the Wi******er Independent News is now a bona fide, live, in-print registered news agency! That's right; the 1st Edition is currently at the print shop and will be given out for free at the Wi******er Mardi Gras Festival in October. The first run is a limited-edition print copy concentrating on the Candidates Questionnaires that were provided to all political candidates on the ballet for the upcoming November 2023 city elections. We hope this will help you get to know your candidates better. Stop by the Libertarian and Democrat booth to get a copy while they last! The first edition will be full color including the advertising, with follow-up copies in standard black and white newsprint. An online link to the paper will also be posted after the festival. The intent of my newspaper is to report in an honest, family-friendly manner with journalistic integrity. It is not intended to compete with the current Wi******er, IN, newspaper. Rather, it is intended to supplement with positive local stories, details of local government happenings to help keep our community informed of issues facing our city council, some investigative journalism, and providing a means of access to local resources for the city of Wi******er. If you have stories you’d like discussed or investigated inside Wi******er, please contact us at 765-305-1433 or [email protected] .

06/13/2023

News tip? Email [email protected] or call 765-305-1433! You can also send a PM to this page.

03/28/2023

The US Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a case concerning whether a self-appointed "tester" of the Americans with Disabilities Act has the right to sue hotels over alleged violations of the civil rights law.

03/27/2023

This is a very important case in supporting those of us who are disabled. I hope the SCOTUS upholds a right of anyone to sue over a lack of access for the disabled. I use a wheelchair and have identified 8 businesses in my town in which the building inspector did not require accessibility when the businesses remodeled. We need backing. We need community support.

The US Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a case concerning whether a self-appointed "tester" of the Americans with Disabilities Act has the right to sue hotels over alleged violations of the civil rights law.

03/21/2023

"A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right. A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true."

- Martin Luther King Jr.

01/27/2023

BREAKING NEWS: Notice of Executive Session

On Monday, January 30, 2023 at 5:00 PM, the Wi******er City Council will be meeting in a closed Executive Session to discuss the initiation of litigation or litigation that has been threatened specifically in writing. They will meet in the Council room at the City Building located at 113 E. Washington St., Wi******er, IN 47394 pursuant to IC 5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(2)(B). While I don't yet know who is suing who, a search of Indiana's court system shows no new filings either against or on behalf of the City of Wi******er. Mayor Bob McCoy often says, "So sue me," during Common Council (City Council) meetings when a citizen complains or otherwise brings a redress about the mayor's or city council's actions. This makes me wonder if someone has finally taken him up on his offer. The law cited for the purpose of the Executive Session, Indiana Code 5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(2)(B) allows an Executive Session to take place when the city is initiating a lawsuit, is involved in a lawsuit, or when a lawsuit has been threatened specifically in writing. That would include when someone successfully delivers an Intent to Sue letter to a city official. However, legally there is no other business that can be discussed. Once the meeting is concluded, if a decision is needed, part (c) of this law goes into effect: (c) A final action must be taken at a meeting open to the public. Eventually, hopefully at the next Common Council meeting in a couple of weeks, we will find out what's going on.

01/13/2023

Starting today, I will be posting questionnaires received from candidates in the upcoming City of Wi******er, Indiana, elections. The questionnaires will be identical and provided to each candidate as they publicly register their candidacy. They will be provided to you completely unaltered and unedited. To keep this as neutral as possible, Kate Thornburg is acting as a special correspondent to provide and gather the questionnaires from candidates who choose to participate. If a candidate provides a picture or campaign poster, I will include it with their questionnaire. I will provide everything to you as Kate receives them. If you don't see a questionnaire posted for a particular candidate, please know in advance that this means they did not provide one. A special thanks to Kate for helping in this extremely important process, and for spending her valuable time enhancing the Wi******er Independent News logo! Check it out. She did an AMAZING job with my amateur sketching. 🙂

01/05/2023

My name is Eric Lewis. I am the owner and chief editor of Wi******er Independent News. I am announcing my intention to run for District 2 City Councilman in Wi******er, IN. I will request the Libertarian nomination at the county convention. My decision does not come lightly. I've been considering it for quite some time.

12/10/2022

WIN BREAKING NEWS... Mayor Bob McCoy confirms through an email with Wi******er Independent News (WIN) that the Public Access Counselor (PAC), Mr. Britt, did NOT review and approve the details of the new City of Wi******er policy on behavior during public meetings, like Mr. McCoy had previously stated to city council and the community. Mr. McCoy spoke with Mr. Britt about having a policy and Mr. Britt declined weighing in on any policy details. That comes as no surprise to me, as it would be highly irregular and a potential ethics issue for a PAC to sit in judgement on such a policy's legality or constitutionality. That is the prerogative of city council and the city attorney. Mr. McCoy provided a quote to WIN, "Britt acknowledges at the outset "the public access counselor is not the behavior sheriff." Mr. McCoy explains, "The top state official for advising Hoosiers about Indiana's open meeting and public access laws is recommending a bit more civility be employed by all sides to minimize disturbances and disruptions at school board and other local government meetings."