Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana

Wabash Township is one of thirteen townships in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 59,279 and it contained 21,448 housing units making it the most populous township in Tippecanoe County.[2]

Wabash Township
Township
Dawn skies over a West Lafayette neighborhood
Location in Tippecanoe County
Coordinates: 40°28′20″N 86°57′15″W
CountryUnited States
StateIndiana
CountyTippecanoe
Government
 • TypeIndiana township
 • TrusteeJennifer Teising
 • Board SecretaryBrendan Betz
 • Board MemberAngel Valentin
 • Board ChairMichelle Wietbrock
Area
 • Total49.1 sq mi (127 km2)
 • Land48.65 sq mi (126.0 km2)
 • Water0.46 sq mi (1.2 km2)  0.94%
Elevation659 ft (201 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total59,279
 • Density1,218.5/sq mi (470.5/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
47906
Area code(s)765
GNIS feature ID453967

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the township has a total area of 49.1 square miles (127 km2), of which 48.65 square miles (126.0 km2) (or 99.08%) is land and 0.46 square miles (1.2 km2) (or 0.94%) is water.[2] Wabash Township encompasses all but a small section of the City of West Lafayette and encompasses all of Purdue University making it one of the most culturally diverse townships in the United States.

Climate data for Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 69
(21)		 73
(23)		 86
(30)		 89
(32)		 94
(34)		 105
(41)		 105
(41)		 100
(38)		 98
(37)		 92
(33)		 78
(26)		 73
(23)		 105
(41)
Average high °F (°C) 34
(1)		 39
(4)		 50
(10)		 63
(17)		 73
(23)		 83
(28)		 85
(29)		 84
(29)		 78
(26)		 65
(18)		 51
(11)		 38
(3)		 62
(17)
Average low °F (°C) 19
(−7)		 23
(−5)		 31
(−1)		 41
(5)		 51
(11)		 61
(16)		 64
(18)		 63
(17)		 55
(13)		 44
(7)		 34
(1)		 23
(−5)		 42
(6)
Record low °F (°C) −23
(−31)		 −20
(−29)		 −3
(−19)		 7
(−14)		 25
(−4)		 35
(2)		 43
(6)		 37
(3)		 29
(−2)		 19
(−7)		 6
(−14)		 −16
(−27)		 −23
(−31)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 1.86
(47)		 1.84
(47)		 2.67
(68)		 3.54
(90)		 4.19
(106)		 4.10
(104)		 3.97
(101)		 3.46
(88)		 2.66
(68)		 2.89
(73)		 2.97
(75)		 2.51
(64)		 36.66
(931)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 6.5
(17)		 4.8
(12)		 2.9
(7.4)		 0.7
(1.8)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0.3
(0.76)		 0.8
(2.0)		 5.2
(13)		 21.2
(54)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 9.6 7.7 10.2 10.9 10.6 10.4 8.9 8.4 7.6 8.3 9.8 10.1 112.5
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 5.3 3.3 1.7 0.3 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 0.9 3.5 15.1
Source 1: The Weather Channel (January record high)[3]
Source 2: NOAA: Lafayette[4]

Cities, towns, villages

Neighborhoods and former and unincorporated communities

(This list is based on USGS data and may include former settlements.)

Adjacent townships
Indiana State Soldiers' Home Cemetery

Cemeteries

The township contains five cemeteries: Grandview, Hebron, Indiana State Soldiers' Home, Sand Ridge and Tippecanoe Memory Gardens.

Major highways

Airports
Purdue University Airport

Lakes

Landmarks

News and Media

School districts

Political districts

Township Officials

Township Trustee
  • Vacant

Township Board
  • Brendan Betz
  • Cinnamon Gallatin
  • Elizabeth Tran

Controversy Surrounding Trustee Teising

Jennifer Teising, running as a Democrat, was elected to a four-year term as township Trustee in the 2018 general election. Her more notable actions as Trustee pertained to reform of the township fire department[7]. Almost immediately upon taking office, she replaced the existing fire chief[8]. She then spearheaded an effort to take emergency loan, funded by increased property taxes, in order to fund fire department improvements including the hiring of additional firefighters[9].

Public records showed that in early 2020, Teising sold her home and updated her voter registration to reflect a primary residency at an address elsewhere within the township[10]. In late 2020, the township board jointly requested Teising's resignation, citing a lack of participation in township meetings, a failure to disperse the budgeted township assistance funds in the midst of a pandemic, and an alleged failure to maintain residency within the township as required under state law. In a statement to local media, Teising denied the allegations and dismissed the calls for her resignation as a “coup.”[11]

A subsequent investigative report by the local newspaper dug into the allegations regarding Teising’s residency[12]. The homeowner at the address to which Teising had registered to vote stated that Teising was renting a room, but declined to provide additional details. Neighbors of the address were unable to corroborate those claims, but when shown pictures of the trustee noted that she appeared to be the same person who had briefly stayed at the location and parked her camper trailer there. Township records showed that Teising had request that documents requiring her signature be sent to an address outside the township in Anderson, IN. Cell phone data showed that she had spent some time at a different address outside the township; the homeowner at that address confirmed that Teising had stayed there, but did not provide any information on why Teising stayed there instead of her rented room within the township. Cell phone data also demonstrated that during the newspaper’s investigation, Teising was at an RV park in Florida, which was confirmed by local media.

Teising consistently denied allegations that she no longer resided in the township, noting that such a residency requirement does not preclude the Trustee from spending time outside the township and asserting the working remotely is permitted. Soon after the investigative report, Teising departed the RV park and returned to Wabash Township.

At their January 2021 meeting, the township board unanimously voted no confidence in the Trustee[13].

In the midst of the of residency controversy, Teising terminated the employment of the township fire chief[14]. Opponents, including the deputy fire chief and the volunteer firefighters, charged that unilateral firing of the fire chief was not within her legal powers, and the entire volunteer corp briefly walked off the job in protest[15]. Teising stated that her legal counsel had advised her that she was within her power to fire the chief[16], and that she had further been advised not to comment further as it was a personnel matter[17]. She declined to identify the legal counsel, or to provide information on whether such counsel was paid from personal funds or taxpayer funds[18].

On January 29, 2021, Indiana State Police served a search warrant on the Trustee’s office[19]. Witness report being told only that the warrant was part of a criminal investigation, and that four detectives took part in the search and removed items from the scene. The township board secretary stated that investigators had requested minutes of the board meetings, which he had provided them as they are publicly available. No information was provided on whether the investigation could have related to either the residency controversy or the fire chief firing controversy.

References
  1. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved 2017-05-09.
  2. "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County -- County Subdivision and Place -- 2010 Census Summary File 1". United States Census. Archived from the original on 2020-02-12. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
  3. "Monthly Averages for Lafayette, IN (47905)". The Weather Channel. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  4. "Climatology of the United States No. 20: LAFAYETTE 8 S, IN 1971–2000" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
  5. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  6. "National Register of Historic Places Listings". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 12/17/12 through 12/21/12. National Park Service. 2012-12-28.
  7. https://www.wlfi.com/content/news/2018-Election-Results-499903452.html
  8. https://www.wlfi.com/content/news/Wabash-Township-Fire-loses-chief-507517221.html
  9. https://www.wlfi.com/content/news/Wabash-Township--567432141.html
  10. https://www.jconline.com/story/news/local/lafayette/2020/12/22/wabash-township-trustee-jennifer-teising-west-lafayette-residency-questioned-neighbors/3938611001/
  11. https://www.jconline.com/story/news/local/lafayette/2020/12/21/west-lafayette-township-indiana-calls-resignation-trustee/3991805001/
  12. https://www.jconline.com/story/news/local/lafayette/2020/12/22/wabash-township-trustee-jennifer-teising-west-lafayette-residency-questioned-neighbors/3938611001/
  13. https://www.jconline.com/story/news/local/lafayette/2020/12/28/west-lafayette-township-board-votes-no-confidence-trustee-teising/4067940001/
  14. https://www.jconline.com/story/news/local/lafayette/2020/12/21/west-lafayette-township-trustee-terminates-fire-chief/3999946001/
  15. https://www.jconline.com/story/news/local/lafayette/2020/12/22/west-lafayette-volunteer-firefighters-protest-stop-working-after-chief-ed-ward-fired/4001770001/
  16. https://www.wlfi.com/content/news/Wabash-Township-trustee-denies-allegations-she-lives-in-Florida-573459681.html
  17. https://wabashtrustee.com/december-28-2020/
  18. https://www.jconline.com/story/news/local/lafayette/2020/12/21/west-lafayette-township-trustee-terminates-fire-chief/3999946001/
  19. https://www.jconline.com/story/news/local/lafayette/2020/12/28/west-lafayette-township-board-votes-no-confidence-trustee-teising/4067940001/
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.