Television news reports bear out that officials in sandy twp have asked that merger plans with the city of Dubois be put on hold. The request stems from the criminal investigation ongoing into the alleged theft of more than $600,00 from Dubois city funds by former city manager John Suplizio. Sandy twp officials say that while a forensic account of all financial records of Dubois is underway, they do not wan to move ahead with a proposed merger. And add to this that Dubois voters went the unconventional way and chose several write in candidates for ballot positions in November. And the third fact is that the city of Dubois may well have paid more than $270,000 of Suplizio’s legal fees to date.