Letters to the Editor

 

Last updated 11/4/2021 at 8:37am



Regarding lawsuit claiming Johnston is negligent

I was gobsmacked when I read a newspaper article that reported that a lawsuit has been filed against Lincoln County based on election supervision duties performed by former Auditor Shelley Johnston in the last election(s). The suit apparently alleges “vote flipping, ballot box stuffing, lax signature verification, etc.”

I worked in the courthouse as a prosecutor and judge from 1989 until 2015. I have extensive involvement with Shelley as a fellow dept. head and as an attorney who records documents at the auditor’s office. In my experience, we are served by competent elected officials.

Shelley is one of the most careful, intelligent, competent and hardworking public servants I have ever worked with, meticulous and careful in all areas, including as elections supervisor. No one should ever be concerned about the accuracy of election results under her supervision. She is a stickler for the rules.


Now our Superior Court will spend time dealing with a frivolous lawsuit. I’m comforted that Civil Rule 11 requires that “every pleading, motion and legal memorandum… is well grounded in fact;... is warranted by existing law… is not interposed for improper purposes… When a pleading, motion, or legal memorandum is signed in violation of this rule the court, … may impose upon the person who signed it… an appropriate sanction, which may include an order to pay to the other party… the amount of reasonable expenses incurred because of the filing of the pleading… including a reasonable attorney fee.”


Joshua F. Grant,

Lincoln County District Court Judge, Retired

– Wilbur

Reasons for resignation

I turned in my resignation for the clinic. But here is my side of the story. I was called into the office a few days afterward and told my contract was terminated, effective immediately, then escorted out of the building. I turned in my resignation because the work culture felt toxic and hostile. Ruby (Ayres) left with 90-days notice and no issues. I gave 90-days notice and was terminated.

Ruby, James (DeDeaux), Daniel (Glaze) and I were in a meeting with CEO John Serle. We asked for HR to also come to the meeting, but John refused. We had previously talked with John about how we felt we were being treated and John’s attitude toward us. Ruby was not allowed to meet with the new temporary provider. John said Ruby was leaving, her input didn’t matter. She said since she was still here at that point, she should have been able to ask questions.

Ruby left the meeting, because she felt John was not being honest. Afterward, I was berated when I explained that I needed to leave. I felt frustrated and upset with what was being said, and I didn’t want to do or say anything inappropriate. John said, “We are just talking,” and that it was “inappropriate for me to leave.” He then demanded that I set up a time to talk with him. I told him I would after I calmed down. This did not happen. I chose not to.

I would consider returning to the clinic, but not under current management.

Kyle Anderson, FNP-C

– Odessa

How will we learn respect?

Who would have thought that school board members would be accosted by parents? Who would have imagined flight attendants taking self-defense classes? Who would have considered people would vote for a presidential candidate who mocked someone disabled? Who could believe that patriotic volunteer election officials and Secretaries of State would receive death threats?

Who would have thought that law enforcement officials would say the quiet part out loud, that they would not enforce the laws. And who would have considered that our competent doctors would be threatened for testifying at school boards meetings?

In some of my psychology classes at SFCC, a discussion about how to teach children respect was held each quarter. Most American students supported a strategy of teaching children respect by their parents respecting them, but then an international student mentioned that children in her culture learn respect by example – that if the parents respect their elderly relatives, teachers, police officers, doctors and others, their children would learn respect for others. That suggestion challenged many American students to consider her perspective.

So, how will our children learn respect? What are the examples of adult behavior that they see or hear in the news, on the Internet or even closer to home, like in their houses? What are these out-of-control moms and dads teaching their children, and what do they model for civility in the future? Our children, including teenagers, and the world are watching.

Nancy Street

– Cheney

 

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