By Jean Israel, Hamilton
I read the letter from Tamara Hall of Bozeman who was our keynote speaker for the Bitterroot Veterans Night Celebration and Concert on November 11 at Hamilton High School.
Unlike Ms. Hall, I met with Jack Barry many times to plan this event. Yes, I too was shocked and dismayed to read in the paper of Mr. Barry’s arrest. I had no clue that he was a fugitive from justice from the State of California. I was also greatly saddened and angry to learn of the charges against him. After working for Ravalli County Youth Court for more than 15 years as the Court Administrator and Restitution Officer, I have been witness to many heinous crimes and offenses that this county’s youths have been involved in, including sex offenses.
There is no room in my heart for a sex offender. I put those folks on the same level as murderers. Unlike a murderer, they leave their victims still alive. The victims of sexual abuse then must continue to be strong in order to have a life that has now been permanently and forever damaged. Sex offender victims never get over it. The abuse they have gone through never leaves them. Only the passing of time and lots of therapy can help.
Like Ms. Hall, I too am angry. If I had known about Mr. Barry’s past I would have called Sheriff Chris Hoffman and would have been the first to turn him in.
The veterans of this valley turned out by the hundreds for the Veterans Night Celebration and the concert at the Performing Arts Center.
All of us, the dedicated group who helped put this event on, worked so hard to make this event special and wonderful. I was one of the co-sponsors of the event, but I was only one of dozens of volunteers to help. There were local merchants who stepped up to the plate and donated money or raffle prizes. Many of our local merchants in Hamilton, Corvallis and Victor donated money to pay for dinner for those veterans who could not afford the price of the dinner.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you to Dave Hunkapiller and Youth Connections for spreading the posters all over the towns of the valley and the length and breadth of Hwy 93. This got the word out, and the interview with myself and Jack Barry by Perry Backus. I am surprised that Mr. Barry agreed to that interview because ultimately it was his undoing. For that I am glad!
Thank you to the Hamilton and Corvallis High School Choirs, the Montana A Cappella Society, the Celtic Pipe & Drums and all the other wonderful entertainers who volunteered to do the program. All of you pt on a marvelous event.
Thank you to the more than 40 volunteers, who were listed in the program that night. We pulled together and pulled it off. We did a wonderful thing for the community. I especially want to thank Dan Kimzey, Hamilton High School Principal, his staff and all of the high school students who helped to set up tables and chairs and to serve dinner and whatever else was needed. We could not have done this without their support. Dan Kimzey, thank you for marshalling the troops and pulling us together to carry on.
Next year, Mr. Kimzey and Hamilton High School will put on the Veterans Day Celebration. In 2016, without Mr. Barry, this celebration will continue. I do not want this to be the last one. We will regroup and step forward. We will be looking for volunteers and donations of money to fund the evening’s events. I am hoping that I can bring the Vietnam Veterans of America #938, the Valley Veterans Center and American Legion Post #91 together to plan the 2016 event, as well as all the volunteers who threw their hearts into this wonderful evening, and if anyone else wants to help, call me at 363-5399.
Last, but not least, I want to thank Caffe Firenze for being prepared to serve far more people then the advance dinner ticket sales indicated; 60 more dinners were accommodated than the 356 dinners we had pre-sold. Thank you for your wonderful foresight and efforts to feed the unexpected overflow, and thank you to the volunteers who helped set up quickly the additional tables we needed.
I don’t want Mr. Barry’s evil deeds to paint broad brush stokes over the wonderful evening that we put together as a community. As Ms. Tamara Hall so eloquently stated in her letter, “the evil of one person cannot diminish the goodness of good people.”
Amen to that thought.