FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 22, 2008

 Story, Indiana Soon to Designate a "Village Idiot"

Storied Tradition of Electing "Village Idiots" Originated in the

             Story, Indiana, is too small to have a Mayor, Town Counsel, Police Chief, or any other semblance of a government.  Yet democracy is alive and well in this bucolic Brown County backwater: on April 1 of each year, the tavern regulars (a/k/a "town elders") elect a “Village Idiot.”  This year will be no exception. 

            “We have a bumper crop of qualified candidates this year.  I have seen the nomination forms, and I am duly impressed" says Rick Hofstetter, owner of the Story Inn, Indiana’s oldest bed & breakfast.

            The tradition of electing an "Idiot" traces its origins back in the Clinton Administration.  Beginning in January of each year, tavern regulars write up the nominations at the bar, and submit them to the bartender.  “So far, no one from the County Election Board has challenged this procedure, though it effectively disenfranchises adults under 21” notes Hofstetter.  "It’s a tribute to the fermentation process."

            Last year's Village Idiot, Deneb Lea, seems intent upon retaining her crown.  She sustained a compound leg fracture while carrying her sleeping child down a carpeted stairway, while wearing high heels.  She also did something unspeakable to her father’s BMW M-Series Roadster, and made a six-figure error while acting as her father's bookkeeper, much to his consternation. 

Among this year's candidates:

**A contender who made a perfectly innocent call to Joe Bourne while he was doing his show on WFIU--distracting him and causing three minutes of on-air dead silence. 

**A contender who managed to glue her own forehead onto a bar top. 

**A former Village Idiot ('05) who saw a copperhead snake in the woods while "out scrapping".  Instead of moving away from the threat, he picked up the snake by the tail, which then did the predictable thing, and bit him on the thumb.   

**A bartender who rang up a cash sale of $200,000 when a customer handed her a $20 bill.

**A contender who called his father from the car to inquire about the meaning of the "Check Gage" light on the dash board, and promptly thereafter ran out of gas.  

**The mother of '07 Idiot Deneb Lea, who kept the art gallery open for three hours past closing, not noticing that her watch had stopped. 

**A former Village Idiot ('03) who swallowed a piece of soap instead of her vitamin tablet. 

**A contender who popped himself in the head with a hammer while attempting to hang a birdhouse. 

** A contender who took his new bride to the Story Inn as a surprise, failing to consider that she didn’t have a change of clothes or a tooth brush.  She had dinner—and breakfast the next morning—in her wedding dress. 

The list goes on . . .

"Anyone who is a customer in the last calendar year is eligible to both vote and hold this office" says Hofstetter.   "Vote early, and vote often" he says.
                       

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Richard R. Hofstetter
(812) 988-2273
storyinn.com