Idaho Falls, ID—A “Save Our Second Amendment” rally in support of Second Amendment gun rights will be held Saturday, February 16th at 11:00 AM in Idaho Falls. Attendees will meet on the steps of the Bonneville County Courthouse on Capital Avenue where the event will begin with an opening prayer, a welcome message, and the Pledge of Allegiance. Participants will then walk the 1 mile to the Shiloh Inn on Lindsay Boulevard where they will listen to patriotic messages, then read and sign petitions encouraging city, county, state and federal elected officials to protect the Second Amendment rights and liberties of the people of the state of Idaho.

Rally organizers wish to make it clear that this is an event for all Idahoans regardless of party affiliation or political philosophy. Elected officials from all levels of government are cordially invited to attend. Gun ownership is not a prerequisite for attendance.

Signs are welcome, but please keep them appropriate and respectful as this is a family event. Those who bring firearms should know and be in compliance with the law and exhibit prudent and safe gun handling practices. For additional information, visit the Facebook event page at: https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/350079495105465/

Contact:

David Lyon

dblyon@hotmail.com

208-351-1585

Chad Christensen

christensen@sheriff-liberty.org

208-206-0544

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Right now, there’s an SUV named Curiosity motoring around Mars frying rocks with a laser. And, there’s a team of NASA scientists studying those fried rocks from data that travels 34 million miles in minutes.

If they find gems on Mars, they can thank the Gem State. Workers at the Idaho National Laboratory assembled and tested the high-powered battery that runs Curiosity. Without Idaho, that hi-tech dune buggy would be bogged down on earth.

In a giant way, Idaho sets the standard for what it means to be modern. Unfortunately, Idaho’s election system hasn’t kept up with Idaho’s scientists.

As science fiction becomes science fact in a desert outside Arco, we run elections for yesterday’s world. Each year, election officials complain about low voter turnout. We fret about democracy’s future when 10 to 20 percent fewer folks under 30 vote than their elders. Do we believe that a strong democracy requires an engaged citizenry? Then let’s do something about it. We didn’t get to Mars by just griping about how long the trip would be.

Idaho Democratic legislators have proposed the Voting Opportunity and Trustworthy Elections, or VOTE Initiative. The five-bill package makes it easier and more likely for people to vote. Voting isn’t exactly a modern idea. But, our nation’s founders hoped it would last awhile and Idaho Democrats agree with their vision.

Of the five bills, the Online Voter Registration Act is likely to catch fire with younger people. Unlike anyone who remembers when a phone call cost a dime, the younger generation lives online—they bank there, socialize there, study, you name it. Being able to register voters online just makes sense.

Two other bills acknowledge that, as Sen. Elliot Werk of Boise says, “the horse and buggy elections of our founders’ day simply do not work in today’s society.” The Motor Voter Act lets folks register to vote when they get their driver’s licenses, and the Voter Convenience Act requires full service polling places for commuters and others who need the option. The fourth bill, the Early Voting Opportunity Act, cuts down on lines and hassle by setting up more early voting places.

The fifth bill doesn’t modernize elections, so much as honor older wisdom—tax payers shouldn’t pay for private events. So, the Private Elections Taxpayer Compensation Act makes a political party pay the tab if they close their primary election to non-party members—like Idaho’s GOP did last year.

Unfortunately, Republicans who control the House State Affairs Committee have already killed the Voter Convenience Act without a full hearing. Still, if Idaho can lead the world in space exploration, our Legislature ought to notice sometime soon that we live in a new world with modern demands and modern limitations. Maybe our work today will mean that someday folks will be voting on Mars and still working hard to keep alive the old-fashioned idea that is democracy.

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As many of you know our President has just announced a plan to further restrict Gun rights and the Second Amendment of the Constitution. Most of you feel like I do, that we must draw a line in the sand if our unalienable liberties are to be maintained and preserved. As I have thought about this the last few weeks as things have been building up, I believe that we need to come together with like minded individuals to protest these latest grievances that have occurred, to create solidarity, and tell our local leaders that we have no desire to surrender our arms and to encourage them to stand against the federal overreach that will be coming to our community and the rest of the states. So in this spirit I am organizing a rally that will accomplish these ends.

“SOS” stands for Save Our Second Amendment. Here is a link to a Facebook event page http://www.facebook.com/events/130579077108445/?notif_t=plan_user_joined

The event will include the following:

11am Assemble at the steps of the Madison County Court House in Rexburg (there will be a welcome and opening prayer and pledge of allegiance)

11:15 begin a march to Porter Park–make home made signs and bring flags to engage others in cars and on the street and voice your concerns

11:30 arrive at Porter Park for reading of the petitions to our County Commissioners, City Council, Sheriff, State Legislature, Governor, Congressmen and Senators and President of the United States and a short patriotic speech.

12:30 Conclusion and Benediction

This goes without saying but I will say it anyway. If very few people show up for this it will be no the less important, but anti-climatic! Please invite, email, call and generally encourage everyone you can to attend, we will have petitions there for Madison County, Jefferson County, Fremont County, Bonneville County and any other counties that would like to be involved. I hope to see you and all your friends there.

–

In Liberty,

Dan Roberts

390-0812

“Liberty is only ever one generation from extinction”

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After voters on November 6 rejected the process, pace and policies for improving Idaho’s education system enacted in 2011, it became the task of everyone who cares about the quality of Idaho public schools to constructively continue that conversation.

My staff and I spent the next several weeks reaching out to educators, business leaders and Idaho citizens about staying engaged. Now that I’m optimistic we have a critical mass of interest, I’ve asked the State Board of Education to shepherd a statewide discussion about school improvement.

I’m asking the Board to guide the work of a broadly representative group of concerned Idahoans in studying best practices in school districts around the state and using data and experience to drive sound decision making. The group is likely to be large, but only large enough to include the diversity of opinion needed to properly study such a complex issue.

I’m not going to direct the discussion or the issues covered in any way. There must be no “third rail” in this conversation. But I am asking participants to come to the table ready to speak openly and candidly, and to bring ideas. I will not be prescriptive other than to say I remain committed to equal access to opportunity for our children and to increasing support for our educators.

The goal is to move education in Idaho forward for our students, our educators, and the businesses, colleges and universities that receive the product of our K-12 system. I do not expect this to be entirely about producing a legislative product. If participants find that best practices can be shared and schools improved without statutory changes, so be it.

Should legislation be necessary for school improvement efforts I expect this group to build consensus around those ideas by the 2014 legislative session. It is imperative that our partners in the Legislature engage in this process and I am pleased to have the support of House Speaker Bedke and the Senate President Pro Tem Hill in balancing this fragile dynamic.

I expect this group to have meaningful discussions and reach out to communities all across our state. For those groups representing educators, I am asking that they not only bring people to the table, but that they also serve as a conduit to their memberships in school districts throughout Idaho. Everyone involved will be responsible for the tone and substance of this conversation.

I’m asking that the Idaho Education Association, the Idaho Association of School Administrators, and the Idaho School Boards Association in particular reach out to a diverse cross-section of their members to join this process. I would hope they select members balancing urban and rural, small and large districts, but I also emphasize that the choices are theirs to make, and I trust them to make the right ones.

I am encouraged by the positive response to this initiative from education leaders.

“IEA members believe it is our moral imperative, as professionals, to be the voice for our students and for our profession. Research shows – and we believe – the one factor that can make the most difference in improving a student’s achievement is a ‘knowledgeable, skillful teacher’ in front of the classroom,” IEA President Penni Cyr said. “On behalf of the members of the IEA, we look forward to working with other stakeholders, including parents, business leaders and elected officials, to identify policy recommendations that will assure our state’s students have access to a world-class education system.”

“I have already met with representatives of each stakeholder group individually and am anxious to move beyond discussion through an open, transparent, accountable process so we can all take the steps necessary to move our education system forward,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna said.

“With money being tight, we must find ways to most efficiently spend those dollars for the benefit of our children,” Senate Education Chairman John Goedde of Coeur d’Alene said. “I look forward to serving and will come to the table with an open mind. I sincerely hope other stakeholders approach the meetings with a similar attitude.”

“For more than a decade, Idaho has been engaged in school improvement efforts including the statewide development of education standards, student achievement assessments, teacher quality and professional development, and measures to increase rigor in high school to better prepare students for postsecondary education,” State Board of Education President Ken Edmunds of Twin Falls said. “The Board appreciates the Governor’s leadership as we take the next step in designing quality improvement efforts, and we look forward to a positive and inclusive process.”

Men and women of good will can sometimes disagree passionately about the specifics of public policy, especially when it involves our children. But I’m confident we can broadly agree on the need for improving how we educate Idaho students, and I’m equally confident that the people of Idaho will rise to the occasion of this renewed opportunity for taking positive steps toward achieving our shared goals.

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“This is not a battle of my choosing, but no one has fought harder against the mandates and overreaching federal authority of the Affordable Care Act. No one has more consistently and clearly demanded that Idaho retain the authority and flexibility to chart our own path forward. There was a judicial process for challenging Obamacare, and the presidential election was at least in part a referendum on its enactment. But despite our best efforts, the law remains in place, and almost certainly will for the foreseeable future. There will be a health insurance exchange in Idaho. The only question is who will build it.

Our options have come down to this: Do nothing and be at the federal government’s mercy in how that exchange is designed and run, or take a seat at the table and play the cards we’ve been dealt. I cannot willingly surrender a role for Idaho in determining the impact on our own citizens and businesses.

“This decision does not signal support for the law or how it is being implemented. However, it does reflect my continued determination for Idaho to be actively engaged in making the best possible choices – to the degree we are allowed – in the interest of more accessible and affordable health care for our citizens.

“Obamacare is not the answer. In fact, it very likely will do little or nothing to reduce costs while force-feeding us coverage and increasing the size and scope of government. But it is an unfortunate and unwelcome reality, and it would be irresponsible of me to simply abandon the field to federal bureaucrats. In the face of uncertainty we must assert our independence and our commitment to self-determination while fulfilling our responsibility to the rule of law.

“The working group I assembled to study our options recommended this response. I greatly appreciate and respect the members of that panel their analysis, both the majority and those in dissent. I also consulted with national experts, many of my fellow governors and our own legislative leaders. I understand and empathize with those who would reject a role in this process, as some other states have done. I know that for many this is not a matter of consensus but rather of individual conscience, and I know the earnest and well-intentioned debate will continue.

“I take some comfort in the fact that even those disagreeing with this decision strongly believe as I do in Idaho’s ability to be more responsive and do a better job than the federal government alone of ensuring our citizens can make informed choices about their health care.

“All the criticisms of the exchange mandate that I and many others have expressed remain valid and troubling. The law is governed by an evolving set of increasingly complex rules and requirements. It is onerous, unwieldy and fraught with unknowns. That makes it all the more important to remember that my decision today can be rescinded if the Legislature disagrees or withdrawn by me if circumstances warrant – a real possibility on such a constantly moving target. But with what we know today, this is our best option.”

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“Anybody who knows me, and who knows Idaho, knows that this is not a decision for me to make on my own,” he told a lunch audience gathered at the Boise Centre for the annual gathering of the Associated Taxpayers of Idaho.

At issue for Idaho is how to respond to federal mandates in the Obamacare law that require a health insurance exchange to be created in each state. The individual states are required to establish an exchange on its own, leave it to the federal government to set it up, or pursue a “hybrid” approach. . .

Read the full story from IdahoReporter.com

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Toy commercials!

I’m telling you, that was the highlight of my week. I can still hear Slinky and Spirograph music swimming through my brain. Barbie and Ken, Dig’Em the Dog, and Rock’Em Sock’Em Robots—I spent time getting to know every one of them.

And of course, there was the Easy Bake Oven. I never got one when I was a kid, but I always wanted one. I mean, hey, a toy that makes cake with the magic of a light bulb—how can a kid go wrong with that? And those cute little packets of mixes and frostings—forget lemonade stands, I wanted to open a bakery!

Now there’s a big brouhaha about whether or not toys like the Easy Bake Oven are marketed with too much gender specificity. Too pink. Too girly. Not gender neutral.

If Hasbro decides they want to make changes to more accurately reflect their target market, well goody for them. But if they don’t, then what?

This is what I think (I know, you were just dying to know what I thought, right?): I think that we’re doing our kids a disservice by trying to make everything neutral and safe. I think we have to be careful not to raise children who believe they are entitled to never be offended. We have to be careful to avoid raising embryonic adults to believe that everything they do must not only be embraced (we’ve moved far past “tolerate”), approved of, reinforced or condoned.

We’re raising kids who believe everyone must love and support everything they do.

This is not real life. Reality is going to bite them in the backside someday.

Reality is what it is. People will never be perfect. There will always be bullies, some of them well-meaning, but bullies none the less. There will always be hurt, embarrassment, and misunderstanding. There will always be people who disagree with your choices and say so—and they have every right to their opinion.

We need to teach our children three things:

1) They are going to be hurt and misunderstood, and probably made fun of—and definitely offended. This is life and it isn’t personal. Everyone gets picked on or feels insecure at some point. Everyone has to develop tools to overcome those feelings and get back on his or her feet again after a good dusting off.

2) Because we’ve all experienced that pain firsthand (or will) we need to remember what that feels like and do our best to be kind and respectfully disagree with other people while allowing them to make the choices they feel good about. We do not need to always understand their reasons—just understand that they have reasons.

3) They need to learn to trust themselves and their own feelings, consciences, opinions, and reasoning ability. They need to know themselves and not be ashamed of who they are. They need to be strong enough people that they can hold on to their own identity no matter what society says.

In other words if your son wants a toy with a girl’s picture on it, then you have two choices:

1) You can petition the company to change its marketing so your son will feel better about himself—at least until the next offense occurs and you have to step in and fight that battle for him, too. Or…

2) You can tell your son. “You know what, if you don’t care that it’s supposedly a girl’s toy, then I don’t care either. We don’t have to care what anyone else thinks about it. Other people don’t get to make our decisions for us.”

Yes, he might be made fun of. That’s when he learns how to stand up for himself—not defend himself, because there’s nothing to defend—but how to take a stand and say, “This is who I am. I accept it even if nobody else does.”

Becoming a strong individual isn’t exactly a piece of cake, not even an Easy Bake Oven piece of cake. The only way we develop skills is by being in a situation where we’re going to need them, putting them into practice, figuring out where we messed up, and doing better the next time. It’s called “learning” and developing firsthand knowledge is the most powerful kind of learning.

You don’t grow muscles by having other people do the workout for you. It’s going to cost you. Even if you’re just a kid.

I mean, we don’t take those first baby steps in their behalf, do we? No. We let them toddle and fall and hit their heads on the coffee table sometimes, even though we worry someone might think we’re abusing our children because of all the bruises on their foreheads. I know of parents who have placed padding on sharp corners to avoid the more serious damage, which is wise, but I have yet to meet a parent who went so far as to remove all the furniture, pad the walls, and strap a helmet to their child’s head.

The strength of self develops the same way. There will be bruises. We might sometimes worry that someone might think we’re bad parents, but we have to have enough of our own sense of self to do what we believe is best for our children without letting our own fears and insecurities get in the way.

Example is everything.

It’s time to allow our children to take ownership, and responsibility for who they are. They have no right to expect that the rest of the world will approve of them—but more importantly, they shouldn’t have unrealistic expectations that they will get it—because reality will always disappoint. We are doing them a disservice by teaching them that everyone else should cater to their choices and their identities.

And, ironically, by teaching our children about how they are entitled to the world’s approval and acceptance, we’re raising intolerant children who have no empathy for those who think differently than they do.

We’re raising narcissists.

We can do better than that.

They can be better than that.

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That’s okay, I guess. I imagine that feathers are warm.

We had a huge feast for a mere six people. I think I cooked enough food to last a month. My two older boys came home to join our current family of four. It was nothing but laidback family time—and food, food, food. We missed our daughter and her husband who are stationed in Germany and who cooked up a little feast of their own, but she’s happy, so we’re happy.

Our family has been greatly blessed. We have much to be thankful for. Our family might not look like your family. My life might not look like your life. But this I know—as much as I have to be grateful for, as blessed as I feel that I am, I am no more blessed than you are, whoever you are, whatever your circumstances.

You might have more wealth—or less. You might have more family—or none at all. You might have feasted on lobster and shrimp—or picked up a chicken burrito from your local convenience store. It doesn’t matter.

Life is good for all of us. It’s good in spite of all the pain. It’s good in spite of all the loneliness. It’s good in spite of all the stress and worry and sadness.

It’s not about our circumstances—it’s about hope. It’s not about a cornucopia of physical blessings, it’s about the appreciation for every little thing—especially for every little thing.

Happiness is a choice we make. Our circumstances really have much less to do with it than our attitude does. Thanksgiving is our annual reminder to stop and count our blessings. The thing is, in reality, none of us can count that high.

The thing that gets us, that trips us up in this gratitude business, is that we’re all blessed in different ways, and sometimes, all we can see is how other folks are blessed. We count the wrong blessings. They don’t belong to us. They’re not for us to envy.

It’s like the sighted guy in the wheel chair complaining that the blind man can walk. We’ve all got our gifts. They’re just different gifts.

Now we’re entering the start of another season. For many of us, Christmas is quickly approaching. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got the decorations up and the music playing. I made chocolate chip cookies today when I still have pumpkin pie left in the refrigerator. Immediately following the holiday of thanks, we’re full bore into the season to give.

That’s fine. Giving is a noble action. Only thing is we tend to forget what’s behind that giving. We start thinking about what we don’t have—time and money, two necessary ingredients for a good Christmas, right?—instead of being grateful for every good thing we’ve already got. We get stressed and harried. We’re under pressure to give as good as we get.

As adults we often wonder where that delightful memory of good Christmas Spirit disappeared to. We work so hard to bring it back, that I think we sometimes chase it away.

I think the secret lies in what we’ve come to consider the preliminary holiday. Thanksgiving isn’t a preliminary. It’s the main event.

I’ve learned that the Christmas Spirit is right there where it needs to be. It’s easy. It’s simple.

It’s gratitude.

It’s appreciating the wonder of Christmas lights and the joy of family and friends. It’s the sound of jingle bells ringing in your ears and reminding you of when you were a kid and you were at a party waiting for Santa to appear. It’s the smell of homecooking and pine needles. It’s music that you know the words to by heart. You don’t need much to make music. That’s something that can float right through your head even if your lips won’t make the right sounds. And my lips never seem to make the right sounds.

Christmas is the thanks we give for a lifetime of good memories. It’s the opportunity to help somebody else out. It’s a warm room after a cold day in the snow.

It’s a little baby who was sent here to give the rest of us something to be grateful for—hope. Hope is something we can all grab onto. It’s something we all desperately need.

We’re just getting started with “the busiest time of the year.” It can be a time full of headaches and obligations, or it can be a time to reflect and enjoy. Our choice.

As for me, I plan on baking—as much as time will allow, but also, only as much as I can accomplish without losing the spirit of the thing. I love to bring goodies to my neighbors, but I won’t let that overwhelm me. I plan on getting the Christmas cards out, but if necessary, that can wait until January—or maybe February. I plan on giving gifts, but only the gifts I really want to give—and only what my realistic budget of time and money will allow.

In other words, I’ll do what I can, and I’ll be grateful for every minute of it. I won’t regret the minutes and money that I don’t have. I want to cherish these moments. I can’t do that under duress.

This is my Christmas season vow: I am going to be grateful.

May your season, whatever holiday you observe, be a happy one. May your smile be brighter than any Yule log and your time be worth every minute. May your heart be filled with happy memories and your head with sugarplum dreams.

But most of all, may your Thanksgiving last longer than your leftovers.

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Today I was listening to a talk radio program. They were discussing the Presidential election. More specifically why the Republicans lost, and what needs to change. Many are saying that conservatism is dead. Is it?

Well, let’s look at the facts. We lost this election, but it was very close. The country is split almost half and half. The movement in this election was not toward Democrats. Yes, Obama won, but with much fewer votes than last time. Let’s also look at the 2010 election. This was a huge victory for the Republicans in large part due to conservative movements and organizations like the Tea Party, The 9/12 Project, and Freedom Works. Conservatism appears to be growing and organizing. Then why did the Republicans lose? Here is my answer. Republican does not equal conservative.

Republicans were a political party that in the beginning stood for conservative values, the Constitution, the family and the abolition of slavery. They were the party of high moral principles. The name Republican was perfect because it stood for our Republic that was designed by our founding fathers. It stood for all that our founders had envisioned. Sad to say, but this is no longer the case. The leadership of the Republican Party today stands for nothing. Their goals are to win, hold on to, or steal back power. This is why we hear them saying we need to move to the center; we need to be more like the Democrats. They believe that if they just become more like the party that won they will be able to win next time. In other words, sell out your principles and then you can have power. This will never work. They will lose their conservative base and gain nothing. People do not trust those who sell out their principles. So if the Republican Party does not define us as Conservatives, what does?

I have found several different definitions of conservatism. Here is the first: “The inclination, especially in politics, to maintain the existing or traditional order.” I dislike this definition. We as Conservatives of course want to uphold the constitution, so in that way, the definition fits.

My problem with this definition comes from a book I have been reading called, “The Coming of the Third Reich.” In this book they constantly refer to people in the Nazi party as conservatives. The Nazis were fighting for the more traditional Germany while the communists had a world view. So if conservatism means keeping the status quo no matter what that status quo may be, then what is conservatism really? Here is a definition for conservative that I prefer: A political or theological orientation advocating the preservation of the best in society and opposing radical change. This I feel defines me as a conservative very well, but I also think back to our founding. Our founding fathers were not fighting for the status quo. They were fighting for the best in society, but more to form the best rather than to preserve anything. The changes they wanted were quite radical. Our founders really could not under any definition be called conservative.

On this radio program they were discussing the Soviet Union, and how they looked at their plans in one hundred year blocks. They were visionaries. When they had a setback they didn’t say our movement is over. They may have lost a battle, but they never conceded the war. They kept moving “Forward.” The progressive movement of the American left has done the same. They have been very patient. They push forward, but when they have a setback they pull back and bide their time. They take smaller steps forward. Little by little they have chipped away at our Constitution. They have a vision of what they want America to be and they will keep moving forward inch by inch till they achieve it.

Progressives are also masters at presenting their arguments in a very palatable way. For example they are not pro-abortion they are pro-choice. They are not for illegal immigration, they are just pro-minority. They just want to help out the poor unfortunate souls, but Republicans hate immigration. They don’t say they are for Marxist redistribution of wealth, they are for Social Justice. They are experts at this. They have been honing their skills for over one hundred years.

So what can we learn from them. First, that a movement doesn’t die because of one election. Second, maybe that we need to be for something instead of against something. We not only need to be pro-life, but pro-life of children. We need to be pro-adoption. We need to be for the mental health of the women and discuss the damaging affects abortion can have on them. We need to be for personal responsibility. We need to push for legal immigration. We need to work toward simplifying the immigration process and attracting good people to our country to strengthen us. We need to be for cutting down on crime and death caused by a weak border. We need to be for high moral principles and we need to stand by those no matter the cost. I don’t believe it is so much a matter of the label we place on ourselves as it is what we stand for.

We must be for freedom, first and foremost. The principles of freedom never change. These are God’s principles and if we are to preserve freedom we cannot waiver, and we cannot bend. We cannot move in our principles or we will not deserve freedom, therefore we will not have it.

So back to the question. Is conservatism dead? I believe this is a false question. The question should be is the American experiment over? Is freedom over? Is God done with our country? The answer is a resounding NO! This country has a great purpose yet to perform in the world. We as freedom loving Americans must do our part to spread the cause of freedom. First we must educate ourselves. We must know how to defend freedom, and know what freedom is, so that our children can go on to do the same. Once we have educated ourselves we must then educate our families, then our friends, and our communities. We must find men and women of high moral principle to serve in our cities, our counties, and our states, and when none are to be found we must be willing to serve ourselves. We need to start locally in spreading the cause of freedom. We need to look within ourselves and find the role we must play.

One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from Thomas Paine. It says “THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated. “

Freedom has a price. Are we willing to pay it?

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What started out as vague rumors, denied or ignored by the Jefferson County Commissioners, now appear to be almost universally true. Most of it could have easily been dismissed or verified early on. Oppressive tactics by elected officials who’ve chosen obfuscation over transparency have proven themselves part of the problem, not the solution.

Calls for transparency and investigations have been heard from many quarters. But it took an arrogant and condescending Board of County Commissioners who in July unanimously denied a legitimate taxpayer petition to perform a forensic audit of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department to begin to jell a disorganized bunch of truth seekers. Those paying attention no longer believe it’s just Sheriff Blair Olsen but a coordinated effort to keep the lid on many things. We are now proceeding jointly in an attempt to not only cast the light of day on local government activities but ultimately drain the entire swamp of suspected public corruption. Freedom of Information Requests are ongoing and cause us to conclude that a county paid cell phone for Sheriff Olsen’s wife, credit card expenditures that can’t be justified and missing reimbursements to the county are the tip of the iceberg. No wonder duplicity and coverup are two words heard on the street.

Bill Phillips, a retired automotive repair shop owner and major participant in the effort, was absolutely dismayed by the treatment he received at the hands of Jefferson County’s commissioners. “I did what I thought was right”, says Bill, “got on a commissioners meeting agenda to not only voice my concerns but inform them of the local chatter regarding the Sheriff’s fuel credit card expenditures, I expected to be warmly received. Next thing I know, they call it an executive session that doesn’t allow anyone but them, their secretary and me in the room. Not only did they show no interest but started yelling and attempted to humiliate me by calling me a fool!” Bill can take a measure of solace, a few weeks ago the Jefferson Star reported discrepancies with Olsen’s gas credit card expenditures.

The sentiment for a unified effort has been building for some time. Those following local reporting, especially letters to the editor, realize full well this volcano has been rumbling for some time and the longer it rumbles, the bigger the anticipated eruption and political consequences. Kathy Baxter, a Virginia transplant and Grant resident notes, “I’ve rarely paid much attention to local politics and trusted those in office to truly serve the people, serving themselves seems more like it.” She is now one of the area’s most prolific letter to the editor writers, and she’s not alone. Shelly Allred, another frequent letter writer and originally a Sheriff Olsen supporter, was shocked to learn that after much fanfare by the commissioners, their internal investigation claiming no improprieties didn’t include contacting the Sheriff’s bookkeeper. Her reaction, “what kind of a whitewash was that?”

The true heroes in the matter are county courthouse employees, both past and present. Without their willingness to share what to them probably lifts loads off their conscience, we’d be dealing with a bunch of unsubstantiated rumors. It goes without saying, they fear retaliation and don’t want to lose their livelihoods or acceptance in the community. Kathy’s husband, Bruce, has been amazed by both the number and continuing frequency of those coming forward. The key he says, “is to listen and allow them to unburden themselves, after you get past that point in the conversation it’s alright to ask some questions”. “The reason they approach you”, Bruce asserts, “is because they trust you to never use their information inappropriately or reveal their names because much of it can be independently verified and their identities aren’t important.”

Mark Carpenter, another Jefferson County resident probably sums it up best when asked why we formally organized our group, “RIP is about right, we are tired of getting ripped off.”

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