Trustee Jennifer Teising reacts while holding up her phone during a meeting of the Wabash Township board, Friday, June 25, 2021 in West Lafayette. Staff photo by Nikos Frazier
LAFAYETTE — Eight donors contributed enough in less than 48 hours for the burial expenses of an indigent 62-year-old Wabash Township man.
Technically, Wabash Township Trustee Jennifer Teising is required by law to pay the final expenses for a pauper's burial, but she didn't return the family's calls when they tried to get assistance and didn't return Tippecanoe County Coroner Carrie Costello's calls, either, Costello said.
It wasn't until Tuesday that Teising responded to Costello's many emails, according to copies of the emails provided to the Journal & Courier, which are open to public inspection, per Indiana open record laws.
In an email Tuesday — a day after the Journal & Courier published a story that Teising was not responding to the man's distant family members or the coroner — Teising responded that the family should reach out to her.
In a 3:17 p.m. reply to Costello, Teising wrote, "I don't see that the family has reached out to the township. The first time I received communication from your office was after hours on Friday and I responded to you after our office opened today. Have you contacted us prior to Friday? We had a change in office staff but I went through her notes and didn't see that your office had reached out to us. Not sure what the miscommunication is."
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