Why don’t you do your part Mr. or Ms. Anonymous?
There is a new comment posted to my blog below, Knox Blues, Part 1: Nepotism 101. It inspires 2 comments in reply to Anonymous from KnoxIndiana.
Comment # 1 from Anonymous:
“It's your blog. You can choose to print or not print our comments. But your credibility diminishes when you refuse to publish com-plaints about your friends and fellow Democrats....r.e. our for-mer mayor, former police chief and newly-elected sheriff.”
KnoxIndiana replies:
It is my hope that this blog will be less than a complaint board. Perhaps some of our public officials drink too much, eat too much, or don’t work hard enough to satisfy some people. Perhaps they have secret sexual liaisons. I am not very interested in these sort of complaints. My interest is not in exposing the weaknesses of the flesh. I live in a glass house and don’t want to throw those stones there.
If I am going into political muckraking my interest is in the abuse of power:
1.Hiring relatives and cronies for public jobs.
2.Protecting those same relatives and cronies when they screw up.
3.Self-dealing and self-enrichment.
This is the essence of the Harold Welter story. So. Give me some complaints I can work with. For example: Has the Mayor or Police Chief hired any family members? Taken any bribes or kickbacks? Cut any deals to keep friends and family out of jail?
Comment # 2 from Anonymous:
“For years, both WKVI and the Leader have refused to step on the toes of those (advertisers) who pay their salaries. Advertising is a necessary evil to journalism.
It shouldn't be that journalism is the necessary evil to advertising.”
KnoxIndiana replies:
I agree. For example we all know that Harold Welter is an employee of the WKVI. He has used prestigious role as sport’s announcer to great advantage. It helped him get elected to the School Board and now he may be using the role to enhance his son’s career at the school. WKVI, The Leader, and The NewsHawk have been silent about this issues. They can easily ask the very same questions that I pose in my blog, “Questions Harold Welter Might Answer”. I really have handed them this story on a platter. It would be a simple matter to stick a microphone in Harold’s face while he’s at the WKVI recording Coaches’ Corner and ask away. It is a legitimate new story, I think.
But Mr. or Ms. Anonymous, why don’t you do your part? How about writing a letter to the editor? Perhaps copy my questions and ask them why they aren’t covering this story? Please mention this blog, I need the publicity. Blogs ARE news in most places, but not yet in Knox. Blogs keep the press honest. So demand that they they cover and report legitimate Blog reporting.
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7 comments:
You say you are interested in cases
of "abuse of power", yet you refused to print comments I sent you before the election. I ask you
again: What about the criminal past of our former mayor and the conflict of interest concerning our former chief of police?
You like to ask questions. Here are some you should ask our next sheriff:
1. Have you used illegal drugs in the past 12 months?
2. Did you, at any time during your campaign, promise special treatment to potential drunk drivers? (or can you even remember? These promises were said to have been made while you were bar-hopping, excuse me, campaigning).
3. Did you have an argument with the current sheriff following the arrest of one of your buddies from Bass Lake? Others have said why you were so upset. Let's hear it from you.
I truly believe that our current sheriff is a decent man. But if he has knowingly allowed some of the antics we hear about around town, then maybe there was no such
thing as a "bad choice" in the recent sheriff's race.
Guess What? The election is over. But I’ll rise to the bait anyhow.
1. I have no knowledge of illegal drug use, nor have I ever heard even a rumor of drug abuse by the sheriff-elect, except from you, Anonymous. That simply doesn’t add up to anything at all.
2. The sheriff-elect “promise(d) special treatment to potential drunk drivers”. I don’t think that statement, even if true, adds up to an ethics violation. In any case I have no knowledge of this nor have I heard even a rumor of this.
3. ‘Did (the sheriff-elect) have an argument with the current sheriff”. I have heard rumors regarding this incident. The rumors were about a serious matter. But it was just prior to Election Day and I thought the allegations concerning the sheriff-elect were quite fantastic. They seemed most likely a fabrication, a desperate election stunt. In any case, as you say, the current sheriff knew all the facts and perhaps even discussed the thing with the Prosecutor. It would have been irresponsible for me to report this matter as I thought it was pure manipulation and fabrication. Evidently the current sheriff, whom I also think is a good man, must have felt the same way.
Your excuse for avoiding this serious issue is: "I thought it would be irresponsible" and "It was just prior to Election Day". Wasn't it just prior to Election Day when your questions were posted for Bret Hansen? You didn't hesitate to place concern in the minds of the voters with your questions to Bret. You should have done the same for Oscar.
I must, therefore, agree with a previous comment: you are doing a poor job disguising the fact that you are a Democrat.
You people have provided some entertainment the past few weeks, but your dwelling on the same topics and going back and forth without accomplishing anything is really starting to bore me.
Let's pick a topic that, I would wager, would find 99.9% of our people in agreement....
An extremely dangerous situation exists just south of Knox on U.S. 35. C&C Salvage, I fear, is going to be the location of a horrific traffic accident if something isn't done. Traffic flow is obstructed on a daily basis by semis pulling in and out of the facility. I have personally witnessed close calls on numerous occasions. Semis pull into the property across the road from C&C and back across U.S. 35, taking several minutes at times to enter the salvage yard.
It's bad enough that we have such an eyesore for ourselves and our visitors to see as one of the first views approaching our town from the south, but much, much more important is the daily danger inflicted by this business.
I know firsthand that the Starke County Shereiff's Department is aware of the situation and has received numerous complaints.
Questions seem to be popular on this blog, so here's one for all those in law enforcement: Who's obituary are we going to have to read before something is done?
anyone interested in the rest of starke county opinnions or ideas check out: www.forallstarkecountywatchers.blogspot.com
Make any comments you wish within limits and i will be sure to post. and again it is FAIRGAME !
I wonder if Fairgame realizes that his blog will not accept comments. If he (or she) ever figures it out, and ends up being fair to his readers, then maybe we'll pay more attention to that blog and ignore yours.
Sure, it's your blog. You can print what you want. But if your interests are the same as those of a small percentage of the population then you are going to get a small percentage of readers. Just because a newspaper editor is interested in basket weaving (and there's nothing wrong with basket weaving) doesn't mean he should devote 75% of his newspaper to that subject. ENOUGH of the library and bicycle trails.
My, my, Anonymous. This blog is about Knox Indiana. Knox has good and bad points galore. I intend to explore many of the "nooks and crannies" of our little city. I intend to think and write about the many things that make our city both good and bad, things like schools, parks, libraries, government, bicycle trails, ecology, ignorance, wisdom, taverns, churches, trees, and people (especially their works).
Libraries have books, books have ideas, ideas can help guide out thoughts and actions. So the books in (or not in) the library happen to be quite important. Perhaps one of my gentle readers may see a book and read it. I am of the opinion that the ideas contained in books are valuable to both the reader and our community that gains a more educated voice.
Bicycle paths and hiking trails are among the recreational opportunities that our community lacks. Improving those opportunities makes our community better. These recreational resources don’t come out of thin air. They need to be presented and discussed and argued in a democratic society. Who else is bringing forth these ideas? The Leader? No. The NewsHawk? No. WKVI? No. The Commissioners? No. Fairgame? No. The Mayor? No.
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