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Wednesday, October 15, 2014
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Forum on tax levy next Wednesday The Greater Harrison Chamber of Commerce will host a Community Forum Wednesday, jawad@registerpublications.com Oct. 22, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on the public service tax levy appearing on the Harrison ballot Tuesday, Nov. 4. The city’s Public Safety Services Committee first sought an endorsement from the chamber, but after several conversations and meetings, the chamber’s executive board and political action committee decided the fledgling organization was not ready to make a call on the proposed levy. The city wants voters to pass 4.8 mills to raise $1 million a year for five years to help fund the fire and police departments. The levy proposal unanimously was approved by city council. Nevertheless, the chamber is in an ideal position to host the forum at the Harrison High School Activity Center, 9860 West Road, said chairman Gary Ellerhorst. City and Public Safety leaders will lead a discussion regarding the tax levy. Mayor Joel McGuire, Police Chief Charles Joe Awad Harrison Press Editor
Graphs & Charts Provided by the city on Pages 6 & 7
photos by Patricia Huelseman/Harrison Press
Many Harrison residents have spotted a strange looking vehicle roaming the streets. One wheel in back, two in front, the green, one-person “bike” somewhat resembles a large Easter egg as it glides down the road. The explanation is simple: Barbara Mohr bought herself an ELF.
See Tax Forum, Page 5
Postal service investigates missing mail A Harrison mail carrier has been identified as the suspect of an investigation connected phuelseman@registerpublications.com to mail theft from the Harrison Post Office. The employee, whose name federal authorities would not release, was suspended from his position as the investigation continues. No charges have been filed, according to Special Agent Scott Balfour, Public Information Officer of the United States Postal Service. “Special agents with the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General have been conducting an investigation into mail theft complaints at the Harrison, Ohio, post office,” said Balfour Wednesday, Oct. 8. “Today, USPS OIG special agents identified the individual they believe to be responsible for those complaints.” The young carrier was confronted Oct. 8, according to a credible source. The carrier allegedly had been stealing cards and other parcels likely to contain money. On Oct. 8, three letters were planted in his delivery to bait him. When he was confronted in his truck at about 10 a.m., three letters had been opened and an open can of beer was found. His mail from the previous day had not yet been delivered. Meanwhile on social media, complaints about lost or stolen mail have surfaced. Ruth Bernhard posted to Harrison Happenings Facebook page on Tuesday, Oct. 7, saying: “Has anyone in the Harrison area experienced problems with the Post Office/mail delivery? Several people I know have had checks missing, and I wonder if these are isolated incidents. Most of these have occurred when sending/receiving envelopes that look like greeting cards.” Her post started a flurry of comments about mail delivery. If anyone in the 45030 zip code believes they have been a victim of mail theft, they should contact USPS OIG special agents at www.uspsoig.cov or 888-USPS-OIG, said Balfour. The Postal Service condemns, in “the strongest possible sense, behavior that jeopardizes the security and sanctity of the U.S mail or threatens to tarnish the reputation and high level of trust that the vast majority of our employees work so hard to uphold,” said David Van Allen, USPS Corporate Communications. The investigation continues and the suspect has not yet been charged. Patricia Huelseman Harrison Press Staff Writer
on the inside Terry Viel On Erstwhile Mail Service, Page 3 Girls Soccer Takes First Title, Page 10 Homecoming Photos, Page 5 Outdoors Section, Pages 12-14 Copyright Register Publications, 2014
89th Year, No. 42
It’s a car, it’s a bike, it’s an ELF Patricia Huelseman Harrison Press Staff Writer phuelseman@registerpublications.com
Many Harrison residents have spotted a strange looking vehicle roaming the streets. One wheel in back, two in front, the green, one-person “bike” somewhat resembles a large Easter egg as it glides down the road. The explanation is simple: Barbara Mohr, Lawrenceburg, bought herself an ELF.
All about freedom
Meaning Electric Light Fun, an ELF is a tricycle equipped with a solarfueled motor that can be easily initiated for pedal-free riding. The bike/car/egg-on-wheels weighs 150 pounds, and has a small trunk for storage space, headlights, taillights, turn signals, a particularly loud horn, and a handlebar bell. The rider sits in the vehicle with pedals in front of her. A small lever on the handlebar initiates the solar powered motor. “If you ride down the hill, peddle
Big savings
“It doesn’t cost anything to run it. You don’t need gas, you don’t need anything, it rejuvenates itself with that solar panel in the roof.”
Though it cost her $5,495, she’s satisfied knowing that it’s a one-time cost. “I think that’s pretty good, you can ride it forever, it’s no upkeep.” Recovering from surgery, 86-yearold Mohr hasn’t been riding her ELF much lately but that doesn’t mean it sits dormant in the garage. Her grandchildren love the bike and it draws attention wherever it goes. Considered a bike in every state, the ELF can go wherever bikes are permitted. In early October, the ELF made its first appearance in Harrison. “My grandson,” Rick Mohr, “threw it in the back of a pickup truck and he was going down that way,” explained Mohr.
Hit at first sight
She was giving a luncheon for a former co-worker who was retiring and everyone was meeting at Market Street Grille in Harrison. Rick parked the ELF in the back
See Elf, Page 5
Downtown celebrates October Patricia Huelseman Harrison Press Staff Writer phuelseman@registerpublications.com
Shakerfarms Garden Club has initiated an event in downtown Harrison that members are hoping will flourish into an annual, community-lifting, fall festival. The Downtown Scarecrow Festival, as it’s been named, is underway with many downtown businesses involved. Participating businesses must display a scarecrow in the window or some place where customers
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down the hill, and start to pedal up the next hill and you don’t have enough power in your legs to do that you just push that little button and you’ve got an electric car,” said Mohr. In the clutches of last winter’s polar vortex, Mohr discovered the ELF. “I was snowed in last winter for three weeks and I couldn’t get out, nobody could get in, so I’d go through magazines,” said Mohr. “I’m going through this magazine, and I see this picture of that and I thought what is that?” The more she read the more interested she became. “I thought oh that’s really unique,” she remembers. So she called and ordered one from Organic Transit in Durham North Carolina. Her ELF was the 19th made and she believes it’s the first one in Indiana.
can easily view him/her. The scarecrows will be on display from Saturday, Oct. 11, to Saturday, Oct. 25. Ballots will be set up at each shop for customers to vote for their favorite feather frightener. The scarecrows can be decorated however the business wants with one exception, all scarecrows must have some sort of fall foliage. As Mary Lou Smith, club presi- Dan and Linda Losekamp’s Wurlitzer military band organ will be playing all day at the HarSee Scarecrow, rison Sidewalk Sale, probably near the fire staPage 5 tion, on Oct. 25, weather permitting.
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