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By Philip Hensley, Master Trooper, Indiana State Police Sellersburg District

Halloween is a fun holiday for children and adults alike, but traffic safety is paramount to ensure that the enjoyment is safe for everyone.

More pedestrian children are struck by motor vehicles on Halloween than any other day of the year. The increase in foot traffic during twilight or dark hours makes it extraordinarily important that extra attention is paid to the roads, especially in populated neighborhoods. Here are a few points to remember while our trick-or-treaters are out and about:

Slow down and be especially alert in residential neighborhoods.
Take the extra time to look for children before proceeding through intersections.
Pull into and out of driveways carefully and slowly.
Do not be distracted by cell phones or other items in the vehicle, devote your attention to your driving.
Turn on headlights earlier than normal to not only help with your vision, but to become more visible to children and pedestrians.

Impeding weather looks to bring rain showers during trick-or-treat hours on Thursday. This will create additional visibility issues not only for motorists, but children as well as they will likely be running from house to house to avoid being wet. Utilize windshield wipers and headlights, slow down, and increase following distances while driving as should be done in any weather situation.

Many communities have adjusted their trick-or-treat hours to Friday, November 1 to adapt to the incoming weather on Halloween. Be mindful if your community or neighborhood has changed their trick-or-treat hours. For areas that you are unfamiliar with, plan to expect that they may have changed their times as well, just to be safe.

Parents are encouraged to send their children out in light-colored costumes or clothing, and place something reflective on them to assist in making the children more visible. Face make-up is always preferable over masks, as masks can limit the field of vision for a child.

Have fun and be safe during your Halloween holiday!

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By Jerry Curry, Staff Writer

It’s that time of year when we mess around with the clocks and set time back for Eastern Standard Time.

Set your clock back before you go to bed Saturday, November 2. Daylight Savings Time starts Monday, Nov. 3.

Daylight Savings Time was widely used during World War 1 and World War 2 to save energy.

According to the Smithsonian, it was George Vernon Hudson, a New Zealand artist and amateur bug collector, who first proposed the idea in a 1895 paper.

However, 100 years earlier, Benjamin Franklin, inventor extraordinaire, pondered a similar question in a letter to the editor of the Journal of Paris. Using his watch, Franklin monitored the changing times when the sun would rise. Adjusting to this new system of sleeping and waking, based not on clocks but the sun itself, Franklin argued, would be simple.

Franklin claimed, the people of France would save hundreds of francs a year on candles if the slept when it was dark and woke when it was light. Artificial illumination would no longer be necessary. Franklin offered this without a reward, but claimed, “I expect only the honor of it.”

Well, Ben, it’s not that easy. Daylight Savings Time creates a misalignment with our bodies’ natural rhythms. This effects the sleep pattern of over 300 million people. It has been reported that insufficient sleep includes decrease in cardiovascular health, increase in diabetes and obesity, poor mental health, lower cognitive performance and an increase in the risk of motor vehicle accidents. Basically, in is a detriment to our health.

Daylight Savings Time is practiced in the United States and Canada.

Mo matter which time is current, Franklin is often quoted as saying, “Early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy, wealth, and wise.”

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Dec. 1 deadline to sign up for collection

A successful program to collect and properly dispose of PFAS chemicals stored by Indiana fire departments will discontinue operations at the end of the year.

The Indiana Class B PFAS Foam Collection Initiative has gathered nearly 41,000 gallons of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) foam since it first launched more than a year ago as a collaborative project between the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). Fire departments across Indiana can sign up online and then schedule a pickup on site of the dangerous, cancer-causing foam material that was once used widely to combat hazardous materials fires.

Any department hoping to take advantage of this free service must complete the online survey form by December 1 to begin the process. The month of December will be used to complete any backlog, and no pickups will occur after December 30.

Also referred to as “forever chemicals,” PFAS has been proven in many studies to be cancer causing for firefighters, who are at an exponentially higher risk of several kinds of cancers. The PFAS chemicals can adhere to clothing and enter the bloodstream through continued exposure. In 2020, Indiana passed a law to restrict the use of PFAS foams for any training purposes, with a very defined exception for facilities that have implemented “appropriate measures” to prevent the chemicals from reaching the environment. Groundwater sources are very susceptible to PFAS contamination.

Some departments have been hesitant to turn over PFAS foam stored at their locations, and the program does not replace the PFAS foam with a healthier and more effective option. However, the program eliminates significant disposal costs for departments that rarely need or use this type of material to fight routine fires. Keeping the material on hand only prolongs potential exposure to the firefighting community.

For more information, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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The Washington County Sheriff’s Department held their quarterly Drive-Thru Drug Drop this past Saturday and collected a total of 51 pounds of expired or unwanted prescription medications.

Sheriff Brent Miller said he and his deputies are happy to continue their program to give citizens a place where they can properly dispose of expired or unwanted prescription medications. Sheriff Miller said they partner with the City of Salem to incinerate the collected medications.

Sgt. Matt Hein helps run the program for the Sheriff’s Department. Sgt. Hein said the Sheriff's Department has collected and incinerated a total of 1,199 pounds of prescription medications since the program began, in October of 2019.

Sgt. Matt Hein, Sgt. Tory Hildreth, Deputy Hailee Lopotosky, Trenton Miller and Sheriff Miller assisted in the Drive-Thru Drug Drop.

Drug1

Photos by Washington County Sheriff's Department.

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Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita urges all Hoosiers to check the state’s Unclaimed Property Division to see if unclaimed funds are waiting for them.

SEARCH ONLINE
Check the website www.IndianaUnclaimed.gov to see if you are entitled to reclaim funds. This is the most effective way to search for unclaimed property, including 25 years-worth of unclaimed property assigned to a person’s name.

Unclaimed property is any financial asset with no activity by its owner for an extended period of time. This can include unclaimed wages or commissions, money orders, safety deposit box contents, savings and checking accounts, refunds and overpayments.

Attorney General Rokita’s office conducts outreach efforts to locate the rightful owners or heirs. Individuals and/or businesses have 25 years to claim money once it is reported to the state. 

Under Attorney General Rokita’s leadership, the office’s Unclaimed Property Division returned a record-breaking $81 million to hardworking Hoosiers in 2023. Hundreds of millions remain to be claimed.

Please contact the Attorney General’s Unclaimed Property Division at 1-866-462-5246 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any questions.

SEARCH BY TEXT
This Halloween season, Indiana icon Sammy Terry—the longest-running TV horror host in the world—is again partnering with Rokita’s office to remind Hoosiers to search for unclaimed funds.

Hoosiers can text SAMMY to 46220 and search by their name for unclaimed property.

“Go, my minions, to Indianaunclaimed.gov and hunt for any unclaimed pleasant nightmares just waiting to be claimed by you,” Sammy Terry said. “Indiana Unclaimed returns well over $1 million every week to Hoosiers across the state. It’s easy, quick and free to search!”

Searches may also be performed by texting FIND to 46220.

SEARCH CLAIMS DISCOVERED IN 2023
A complete listing of unclaimed property discovered in 2023 is available on SalemLeader.com.

Hover over the “GOVERNMENT” navigation button on the website. A submenu will appear for “Indiana Unclaimed.” Click on this to be redirected to a flipbook that lists 2024 unclaimed property for Bartholomew, Brown, Jackson, Jennings and Washington counties.

Pages can be enlarged by clicking on the on the middle icon at the upper right corner of the screen. There is also a magnifying glass icon to further enlarge the image.

Notice from the office of the Indiana Attorney General Unclaimed Property Division:
Pursuant to IC 32-34-1.5-25(a) legal notice is hereby given to the people and entities listed below who appear to be owners of unclaimed property, which is presumed to be abandoned and has been recently reported to Indiana for the year of 2023 only. Please visit www.IndianaUnclaimed.gov for complete list of all properties currently held in the protective custody of the Attorney General’s Office.

Unclaimed Property is not physical real estate or vehicles. It is money or safekeeping property from accounts that have registered inactive. Common examples include lost or forgotten bank balances, unpaid wages, insurance proceeds, safe deposit box contents, stocks and dividends and utility deposits.

Safe Deposit box contents can be purchased through public auction at www.IndianaUnclaimed.gov.

A person or entity having a legal interest in these properties may obtain more information by visiting www.IndianaUnclaimed.com or calling the Attorney General’s Unclaimed Property Division at 1-866-462-5246. All claims must be supported by proof of rightful ownership or legitimate representation and state-approved identification. Searching for and claiming property is a free public service.