Facebook Page's Callout Leads to Questions of Backgrounds & Policies

Columbia City-A Facebook page called “Whitley County Adventures in Shitposting” has made waves in the community again recently. 

With more than 2,000 followers, the page began in March of 2023, using memes to express frustration at the perceived failings of local government. From anger about the lack of the promised rural high-speed internet, to the rising costs of the $40,000,000 new jail, “Adventures” delivers free speech in a blatant manner.

Photo byMelany Love, compiled from Facebook images

When Whitley County Farmers Market announced their new president on Facebook on January 2, it didn’t take long for the memes about his 2007 conviction in Pennsylvania for sexual assault and his lifelong status as a registered sex offender to circulate. By January 12, Whitley County Farmers Market had announced the man’s unexpected resignation, and as of today, the former posts appear to have been taken down.

While some in the community celebrate the power of social media, many are asking if background checks were done at all and are voicing their outrage that someone with this kind of criminal record could so easily run a weekly booth in the “family-friendly venue," and even more problematic is how easily he earned a position of power there. As a place where many allow their children to explore independently, trusting the collection of other “safe adults,” and the downtown location surrounded (and often attended) by local law enforcement, it certainly comes as a shock and reminder to always be dilligent in investigating employees, members, and leaders.