HARDIN CO.—As if The Gathering of the Juggalos didn’t cause enough headache in Hardin County, now, bounced checks have caused even more turmoil.
And the allegations are that the bounced checks are issued by the very people who host the annual August event.
Hardin County Sheriff JT Fricker
There are reports of vendors to the event—those who provide generator service to the remote Hog Rock location north of Cave-in-Rock, as well as portapotties and other services—having checks issued by organizers Psychopathic Records, Inc. (PRI), bouncing, and that’s another issue that will be covered in the upcoming print version, as it heavily involves the ever-more-incompetent Tara Wallace, Hardin County State’s Attorney.
But the big thing we discovered when we came to Hardin County today is that there’s been a mischaracterization of a check that was written to the Hardin County Sheriff’s Department.
This is the first year that PRI has written such a check to the department, and it was totally voluntary, not solicited. PRI contacted Sheriff Fricker about two weeks before the event, after PRI had talked to Hog Rock owner Tim York about what the department does as far as their efforts during Gathering week. York asked Fricker to bring out invoices as regards items that the department could use, on a daily basis, to help handle the crowd flowing in and out for the Gathering. Fricker provided invoices showing costs for vests, TASERs, night vision and other miscellaneous items. The “want list” amounted to just under $5,200. No items were ordered at that time.
A check for $5,000 was issued to the department in the midst of the event, about two days before it was over, Fricker said. It was deposited the following Monday, August 12. It was actually run through the bank twice in an effort to get it deposited, but it was no good. Fricker contacted York, who promised he’d stay in touch with PRI in order to make it good.
But as time went on, more checks issued by PRI to others were bouncing too. And when it came to the attention of media this week, the reaction has been pretty phenomenal: Most people in Hardin are against the event anyway, and this has really soured plenty of people on the whole deal.
But worst of all are some intimations on mainstream media social networking sites that are alluding that Fricker is a “crooked cop” and is “taking a bribe” from PRI.
“Really?” Fricker laughed over the insinuation. “A pretty dumb one, then, if I was letting people know—by thanking Psychopathic Records publicly for the donation—that it even happened to begin with. And how do you take a bribe in the form of a check?? Wouldn’t that be ‘cash only’?”
Several in Hardin are appalled more by the implication against Fricker than they are over the situation…and by the fact that while complaints are being made formally, Wallace isn’t taking immediate collection action, as is part of the job she’s sworn to perform for Hardin.
We’ll have more on that in the next print version and e-Edition, on stands October 2, live online here with a membership on Sept. 30!