Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Opinion & Editorial

by James Olsen, Hamilton

I was concerned several weeks ago when I read about an assault that put someone in the hospital. I looked into the matter. I read all of the correspondence, listened to the recording of the meeting June 19 where a crowd of people criticized the Hamilton Police Department.

While there were some comments from the public that represented honest questions about specific incidences, much of the commentary and correspondence is patently unjustified. Serious accusations were made with zero facts. Everyone who used words like "corruption," "on the take" and analogies with Rodney King were speaking and writing without a single fact to back up such talk. Baloney.

I've lived in a place and time when I saw real live illegal police violence against unarmed, nonviolent people. No arrest, simply beaten until they could not move.

Come on. That's not what we have here. In fact, it seems the opposite is true. The facts indicate a police department that is honestly doing the best they can with the tools at hand.

Everyone who accused the police of corruption and the like or jumped to unwarranted conclusions without the facts owes Police Chief Oster a personal apology.

As to the police behavior in the Corner Bar incident, everyone was interviewed almost immediately. No immediate arrests were made due to a state law that protects the public from unnecessary arrests without warrants. The case was in the hands of the City Attorney within a few days, and is now in the hands of the County Attorney. I found all this out by asking.

As to the balance of rights, we certainly want some barriers and protocols that discourage arbitrary arrests without a warrant. It turns out the Montana Law has such protection:

Montana Code Annotated 46-6-311. Basis for arrest without warrant -- arrest of predominant aggressor -- no contact order. (1) A peace officer may arrest a person when a warrant has not been issued if the officer has probable cause to believe that the person is committing an offense or that the person has committed an offense and existing circumstances require immediate arrest.

It goes on to provide a preferred response of arrest to certain Family Assault calls.

We do need to work to reduce the level of violence in our City and County. Accountability is important. But, there is the other side of the coin, which is to give the justice system the tools, and to give the victims support. I served on the Board of Directors for Supporters of Abuse Free Environments (SAFE) and developed Emma's House for the Ravalli County Victim Assistance program where child victims of crime can be interviewed in a safe, homelike environment.

I ask each person that owes the Chief an apology to make it. I ask that any person who has a question have a civil discussion with the Chief about it. I ask that we then move on to ask what law enforcement needs. How about pay and an improved retirement system for Hamilton Police to improve retention? How about the state legislators expanding the Police Academy so that the waiting time for an officer to get in is not a year plus?

By the way, the Ravalli Republic article on July 19 left the impression that the Mayor was advocating a committee to investigate the police. This is not consistent with the record or what was said at the meeting.

Justice not served

Dear Editor,

This letter is in regard to my granddaughter that was killed by a 22-year-old drunk driver with a blood alcohol level of 0.18. My granddaughter was 15 years old in March 2007. He gave her alcohol; also half a bag of marijuana and a pipe was found in the car.

It is unbelievable to me that our court system would let someone responsible for the death of a 15-year-old, who gave her alcohol and drugs, go on their own without a bail or a mechanical device or put in jail. They didn't even check to see if he had a record.

It stated in the paper, "He is presumed innocent until proven guilty." How much more guilty could he be, with marijuana, alcohol and my granddaughter dead next to him in his car?

As for his injuries, and not being able to be in jail, put him in a cell alone. He can sit there as well as at home; there's been worse in jail. He doesn't deserve special treatment. At least he can sit, his parents can see him, he can talk, walk, he can breathe.

We have to visit Kayla at the cemetery because of his stupidity. I believe he killed her. I believe he should be in jail. He is 22. He's old enough to know not to pick up 15-year-olds or give alcohol and drugs to a minor. As for a curfew from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., she died at 7:21 p.m. For someone to have a BAC of 0.18 at that time of day in the middle of the week, he's got a problem. Sitting at home while his mother's at work is not going to stop him. He lived at home before.

People with only DUI get put in jail, bonds on them, and most stay in jail. but he gets out with nothing. What's wrong with our court system? Someone please tell me. There's a man in jail and has been for two or three months with asthma and he has to use an inhaler.

Some of you parents in Stevensville need to find out what's wrong, because it could be your child next, with the drug problem in Stevensville.

Also the judge that let him walk - what if he was responsible for the death of your only child or grandchild? Look at your children tonight; would you let this go? And if you still could, then you shouldn't be a judge.

Karen Walker
Stevensville

Justice system not working

Dear Editor,

This letter is in regards to the 22-year-old man who I believe basically got away with murder. There is something wrong with the justice system when someone kills someone else and they walk out of the courtroom with no bond, no ankle bracelet, nothing. Just a slap on the wrist and a curfew. Now if he would have been pulled over with the blood alcohol level of .18, like he had, he would have gotten arrested right there, and spent a few days in jail, whether or not he had asthma or physical therapy three days a week. My brother is sitting in jail and he has asthma and it's not a problem.

I think it's time Stevensville gets underage drinking and the drug problem under control. With the court systems the way they are, this is becoming an unsafe environment to raise our chidlren. How would you feel if this were your child, grandchild, friend or neighbor? Would you feel safe or happy for their killer to be set free? I don't think so.

I think it's time we as a community put this guy in jail. In the courtroom his lawyer reminded the judge that he was "innocent until proven guilty." How much more guilty could he be? Half a bottle of vodka, half a bag of marijuana, him sitting behind the wheel, and a 15-year-old dead girl next to him in the passenger seat. It's time to face reality.

Tiffany Davis
Stevensville

Where are the Supertankers?

Dear Editor,

Where are the Russian Supertanker firefighting aircraft that can stop, in days instead of months, the major wildfires devastating over ten of our states? Media reports show that the Russian air tanker fleet at Global Emergency Response (on internet), also at waterbomber.com and 1-804-240-4065, have always offered to come in to stop our fires on a promotional cost-only basis but the U.S. Forest Service always refuses to allow them in, thus facilitating our ongoing holocausts. As they have six of these supertanker water bombers at 12,000 gallons capacity each, the fires would be out in a matter of days instead of the weeks and months our so-called fire officials are now predicting. We should see: www.JBS.org (search for wildfire) and learn how our paper-pushing Forest Service bureaucratic mugwumps are "managing" our forests to actually encourage wildfire.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California recently ordered the 12,000-gallon DC-10 Supertanker into firefighting service in California with great success in and out of state. We should demand that other governors do the same. As the Russian supertankers are the only game in town, so to speak, we must demand our public officials call them in immediately, and then build our own Supertankers.

We must demand it, for if we don't we'll remain at the mercy of the wildfires our phony fire officials are encouraging by refusing the Supertankers! Call your representatives now!

Kevin Homotoff
Landers, CA

Subversive military action?

Dear Editor,

According to a National Education Association article of April 2007, the U.S. Marines are hoping to recruit 80 teachers each from Louisville, Kentucky and Richmond, Virginia for an all-expenses-paid workshop at Parris Island, South Carolina to learn strategies on how to influence their students into joining the military. Each group will cost approximately $57,000. The Marines plan to have 12 groups which would add up to $640,000. The Army, Navy and Air Force plan to host similar programs.

We feel that this is a sinister plan to subvert our public education system into preying upon our innocent youth and an inappropriate use of taxpayers' money. Call Felomina at 443-3359 for information at "Just Don't Go Montana," a group dedicated to educating our youth on alternatives to Military Service.

Jo Anne Thun, Felomina Genilla-Garvin, Cindy Holcomb and Steve Bowers
Helena

Pheasants and blue grouse

Dear Editor,

Back in the late 1940's there came on the market a pink powder for treating seed grain. No one questioned what was in the powder. It was just assumed, I suppose, that it was safe. The same with DDT. Anyway, we treated our grain with the powder which turned out to be mercury.

In a couple of years the pheasants and partridges began dying off in droves, as did the hordes of migrating crows that migrated through every spring. They all ate the treated grain. The crows didn't start coming back for 30 years; the pheasants never did.

The Fish and Game never let on if they were aware of what killed off these birds, but they didn't even bother to stop killing them. They still sell licenses and allow the hunter to kill several everyday of the season.

Blue Grouse started going into a slump at least 10 years ago, to the point that it is rare to see one. I haven't seen a blue grouse in 4 years and rarely a ruffle neck grouse or a franklin grouse. The Fish and Game will not admit that the grouse are in trouble, let alone stop the hunting season to see if killing is the problem. They don't want to make waves. It looks too good on all the brochures they send to other states, listing all the things you can kill in Montana, to say nothing of the license money they rake in.

So if you folks agree with me about the scarcity of the blue grouse, let's do something about it.

Floyd Wood
Corvallis

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