The October meeting concluded successfully. Who attended it is a separate and ongoing question.

HARLAN’S CREEK, WV — Publication of the October Neighbourhood Watch meeting minutes has been postponed indefinitely after two members submitted conflicting written accounts of who was present, with a third member noting in a follow-up email that at least one of the named attendees had not been there at the start of the meeting but had been there at the end. The minutes coordinator, Nancy Whitfield, confirmed the postponement on Tuesday. She described the situation as procedural and asked that the word ‘incident’ not be used.

According to Mrs. Whitfield, the October meeting was attended by between nine and eleven members, depending on which account is treated as accurate. The two conflicting sign-in sheets — both handwritten, both submitted within twenty minutes of the meeting’s conclusion — agree on seven names. They diverge on the remainder. One sheet includes a name that no current member of the Watch recognises. That name has not been released pending confirmation of whether it belongs to a person.

Community Notice

The sign-in sheet is considered a courtesy, not a legal document. We are nonetheless taking it seriously.

— Nancy Whitfield, Harlan’s Creek Neighbourhood Watch Minutes Coordinator

The Third Account

The observation that one attendee was absent at the start of the meeting but present at the end was submitted by Watch member Barry Hutchins, 67, retired, who noted the discrepancy in a follow-up email sent at 11:48 p.m. the same evening. Mr. Hutchins described the individual in question as having sat in the fourth chair from the left along the west wall, participated in the discussion regarding motion-sensor lighting on Alderman Street, and consumed what appeared to be a coffee from the refreshments table before departing quietly during any other business. He further noted that the individual’s gait on departure was, in his words, ‘not entirely consistent.’ Mr. Hutchins has previously submitted thirty-one formal reports to the DCA. All thirty-one have been received. A spokesperson confirmed they have been filed.

Sheriff Linda Calhoun confirmed that her office was made aware of the situation on Wednesday morning and that the matter is being handled through appropriate channels. She was asked whether ‘appropriate channels’ included a skinwalker assessment protocol. She confirmed that her office had responded to an incident at that location and that the matter is being handled through appropriate channels. The response took eleven seconds and was delivered without change of expression.

I’m not saying it was a skinwalker. I’m saying the coffee was gone and nobody saw him take it.

— Barry Hutchins, Watch member, 67, retired

The Question of the Fourth Chair

Principal Carol Dreher, whose school provides the community centre space for Watch meetings on the second Thursday of each month, confirmed that the building was locked by 9:30 p.m. and that all chairs had been returned to their correct positions. She noted that one chair was found facing the window rather than the table when the caretaker opened the room the following morning. She described this as consistent with normal use. She was asked whether it had happened before. She said the school valued its role as a community resource and wished the Watch well with its minutes. The interview concluded.

Mrs. Whitfield has advised Watch members to submit any further recollections of the October meeting in writing by the end of the month, to be reviewed alongside the two existing accounts before a consolidated version of the minutes is prepared. She has also noted that the November meeting will proceed as scheduled and that attendance will be taken at both the start and the end of the session. She did not explain why this had not previously been considered necessary. Authorities continue to urge caution.