byterian Church. He was a son of the late Charles and Rose Houchins Meredith and husband of the late Dorothy Bryant Meredith.

Photo by Joe Imel

MORGANTOWN A counterfeit $20 bill made its way into the hands of the law recently, taking an unusual path. Butler County emergency dispatcher Jerry Shack Cannon discovered the fake bill last week after cashing his paycheck at Morgantown Bank and Trust, he said. Of six $20 bills Cannon received from the bank, one was a little too green and resembled a counterfeit $20 bill a police officer had shown him at work the night before, he said. I was lucky, Cannon said. After seeing one, you know what they look like. But other Morgantown residents and businesses including the bank were duped by the fakes and Butler County Sheriffs Department and Morgantown Police Department are unsure how many bad bills remain in circulation. By Wednesday, the two agencies had made six arrests in the case, Morgantown police Chief Ronald Burden said. Arrested and charged with possession of a forged instrument were Timothy D. Adkins, a.k.a. Timothy D. Costello, 22, of Roundhill and Morgantown residents Philip E. Lacefield, 21, Sherri L. Webster, 23, Lucian D. Hudson, 22, and Ronnie Shepard, 25. Jesse D. Hudson, 22, of Morgantown, was arrested and charged with manufacturing the bills. Webster was lodged in Ohio County Jail, though bond information wasnt available Friday. Each of the others was free from Butler County Jail on a $3,500 bond. So far, between 15 to 20 fake bills have surfaced, and investigators have found the original $20 bill, which apparently was copied using a color printer, Butler County Sheriff Kenneth Morris said. Apparently, they werent using regular paper, Morris said. Some of the bills were passed at a service station, and the $20 bill that passed through Morgantown Bank and Trust most likely arrived during a late-night deposit from a business, bank President Kenneth E. Cox said. We look for that stuff, our tellers are trained … but sometimes one will slip past us, Cox said. Just a quick glance from somebody who doesnt know how to recognize these things, then boom, youre not going to notice it. Bank employees are trained to detect the bills minute symbols, watermark or plastic strip, which easily can be overlooked by most people during a quick glance, Cox said. Many businesses and banks use a special felt-tipped marker to separate fake bills from the real ones, Cox said. If bank tellers or business employees are working and approached by someone attempting to pass phony money, they should try to alert police immediately, he said. Youre supposed to delay them if you can, but not at any risk, Cox said. Your supposed to telephone police. But definitely do not put yourself in danger. Counterfeit money surfaces occasionally in Bowling Green, city police crime analyst Barry Pruitt said. If businesses are concerned that money could be counterfeit, they should examine the bill and compare it with others in the cash drawer, he said. Many who try to unload phony bills exhibit similar behavior, Pruitt said. They take it to retail markets and retail businesses, he said. They usually try to catch them when the clerk is busy and not paying as much attention. The main thing is how it feels and how it looks.