Caucus slated for Sept. 6
A Republican caucus to fill the vacant Putnam County Sheriff's post has been set for Sept. 6, Putnam County Republican Chairman Larry Sutton said.
The caucus will begin at 9 a.m. in the Commissioner's Room of the Putnam County Courthouse Annex.
The office of sheriff has been vacant since the resignation of Mark Frisbie on Aug. 15. Chief Deputy Virgil Lanning has been acting as interim sheriff since Frisbie's departure.
"When a local office holder resigns, it's mandated by the state that the party the person who resigned was from -- in this case the Republicans -- has 30 days to hold a caucus to appoint someone to fill the remainder of the term," Sutton said.
Interested parties can apply for consideration for the office of sheriff until 72 hours before the primary. So far, four people have thrown their hats in the ring for the appointment -- George Schneider, an officer with the Putnamville Post of the Indiana State Police; Thomas Miller, a former Putnam County Sheriff's Department deputy and the current county coroner; Danny Wallace, a lieutenant and road deputy with the Putnam County Sheriff's Department; and Steve Fenwick who is currently the jail commander at the Putnam County Jail.
"We only have four applicants right now who have completed the application process," Sutton said. "But 12 are supposed to be in the process, so I expect we will have a lot more."
The application process for the caucus consists of two parts. First, interested potential candidates must complete a State CEB-5 form, available at the Putnam County Voter Registration Office, which declares they are a resident of Putman County and have been for at least 12 months. The form must be notarized.
Secondly, the prospective candidate must send Sutton a letter saying he or she is interested in the job. The letter must be sent by certified mail or hand-delivered. It cannot be sent via regular mail, Sutton said.
"That's pretty much it," Sutton said. "Everyone who has completed the application process has made sure all the precinct committee chairs have gotten resumes, but they don't have to do that. They really don't have to do a bloody thing. You really have to trust your precinct people."
Sutton said he was surprised by how many people are interested in the sheriff's job.
"That's the way it is," he said. "Some people will apply that you've never heard of."
The candidates will be voted by Putnam County's 29 precinct committeepersons. The vote will be done by secret ballot.
Putnam County Clerk-Treasurer Marty Watts will swear in the new sheriff immediately, Sutton said.