Walker, Douglas. 2022. Journal & courier files suit in pursuit of trustee’s records. Journal & Courier, Mar 18, 2022. (accessed April 24, 2022).

LAFAYETTE — The Journal & Courier on Thursday filed suit against Fairfield Township Trustee Taletha Coles in pursuit of public records that include the township’s credit card receipts and statements.

In the Tippecanoe Circuit Court complaint, the newspaper and reporter Ron Wilkins accuse Coles, and Fairfield Township, of “unlawfully denying access to public records.”

The newspaper, in a written request, asked to inspect the township’s financial records last September.

Also that month, Wilkins reported Coles had run up more than $72,000 on the township’s credit cards during her first two years in office.

That article noted an earlier trustee had charged less than $35,000 on township credit cards over an eight-year period beginning in 2011.

Coles did not respond to the newspaper’s request for financial records in the allotted time, prompting a complaint with Indiana’s public access counselor, Luke Britt.

You can read the full article here: https://www.thestarpress.com/story/news/local/2022/03/17/journal-courier-taletha-coles-lawsuit-fairland-township-trustee/7078672001/