The Ron Doerge controversy made it to page three of today's Joplin Globe, which insures that it will be on the tv stations later today.
As anyone who watches local television news knows, the TV stations have no problem taking the lead on positive fluff-type stories whether anyone else has covered them or not, but when it comes to investigative pieces or stories that have no feel good element to them, KODE, KSNF, and KOAM wait until they have been featured in The Joplin Globe.
The Globe article also guarantees the Doerge story will be featured on various radio telecasts across the area, since some of them get their news from the TV stations and others just read it out of the Globe, some without even rewording it.
If you have not been following, Neoshoforums.com , an independently operated message board, on Sunday printed a copy of a complaint to the Missouri Ethics Commission against Newton County Sheriff Ron Doerge, claiming Doerge created a fictional group to seek information against Republican sheriff candidates that could be used to support Doerge's personally-anointed candidate Kenneth Copeland.
The website also featured an excerpt from an audiotape in which Doerge used profane language and vowed to take action against traitors in his department.
Doerge, in his response to the Neosho Daily News, the first traditional media outlet to run the story, and The Globe insists the ethics complaint is an action by a "disgruntled former employee" and the sheriff insists that he never uses profanity.
Further developments are expected in the next few days.
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Another testimonial for Newton Learning, the summer school arm of Edison Schools, came at last Thursday night's meeting of the East Newton R-6 Board of Education, according to this morning's Globe. The board voted to authorize Superintendent Jeff Kyle to enter into a contract with Newton Learning to provide East Newton's summer school for a second year.
Kyle, the former superintendent at Jasper, said the program was successful in terms of attendance and learning, according to the Globe.
Apparently, the only school that has not done well with Newton Learning has been Diamond, which is suing the company for approximately $87,000. Superintendent Mark Mayo has claimed that several other schools in the district have had problems with Edison, but as far as I can determine, none of these schools have ever entered into a contract with the company.
I have talked with educators in the Sarcoxie R-2 School District, which has used Edison for several years and they are very happy with it. Edison, during its one year running the Diamond summer school program, provided the curriculum, a wealth of educational materials which it allowed the district to keep, paid the teachers, and made money.
Educators I have spoken to from other school districts cannot understand what Diamond's problem with Edison is or why the school district is taking the expensive option of hiring lawyers to take a company which made money for Diamond to court.
The last filing in the lawsuit, which was moved from Newton County Circuit Court to U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, took place Sept. 8. No court dates or hearings have been set.