Mark Rohr: I did not beat my wife

A December 29, 2012, report of a domestic disturbance at former Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr's home appears to be one of the items explored in the nine pages of investigator Tom Loraine's report that not have been revealed to the public.

That call is explored in an article by reporter Debby Woodin posted late last night on the Joplin Globe website:

The domestic disturbance call was made to police at 2:35 p.m. on the Saturday in 2012. The police responded to what an officer described in the report as a “possible physical disturbance.”

One of Rohr’s stepdaughters had called the police, saying Rohr and her mother were arguing and her mother yelled to call 911.

Police reported that Rohr’s wife, Lois, told them that she and Rohr had argued. She is quoted in the report as telling police “It was stupid, we were yelling and I screamed ‘Call 911’ out of anger.” She told the police there was no violence, the report states. Police officers noted that they saw no marks to indicate that she had been hit.

An officer took Rohr aside and spoke with him. Rohr told the officer that one child in the house had hit a younger child, leaving a mark on the younger child’s back. “Mark got onto his stepson, and his wife got mad at Mark. Mark and Lois began verbally arguing,” report reads. It also states that Rohr said he did not hit his wife.

The officers said they then spoke more to Rohr’s wife. She told them “she felt stupid for what she had done due to Mark’s job,” the report reads. “Lois insisted nothing physical happened and no threats were made.”

The officers asked to look at the young son’s back and noted a “small, red mark.” The boy did not seem to be bothered by it, police noted.

“Due to all the statements given it was determined no action was needed to be taken,” noted one of the officers in the report.

The Joplin Globe and the coverage of the Mark Rohr investigation

The firing of Mark Rohr remains the big story on page one of the Joplin Globe on most days, but the Globe seems to be missing the story.

At the top of page one of Thursday's edition, the headline reads "Letter cites advice on firing." The story's lead- "It was special investigator Tom Loraine who advised Joplin officials in the firing of Mark Rohr without cause, a letter written by Loraine shows."

While the headline and lead are accurate, it is once again a case of the newspaper burying the lead and perhaps pushing its own agenda.

The cost of the investigation, which has been the subject of much coverage, comes directly as a result of something serious Tom Loraine discovered about Mark Rohr, something which was more worrisome even than the apparent conflict of interest of City Councilman Mike Woolston or the completely blown out of proportion accusations against Councilman Bill Scearce.

In fact, that is spelled out clearly in reporter Debby Woodin's story:

Loraine, in the Feb. 20 letter, said that as he took depositions in the probe that was to primarily focus on ethical questions regarding Councilmen Bill Scearce and Mike Woolston and an ote from Rohr's desk, "Mr. Rohr's conduct loomed larger than those issues originally outlined concerning Messrs. Scearce and Woolston."

Loraine's contention that Rohr's problems, whatever they were, were far more serious than those alleged against Scearce and Woolston is buried on the page 10A jump, in the eighth paragraph of the story.

That is what is called burying the lead.

The Globe has steered away from whatever it may be that served as a cause for Rohr's firing and instead concentrated on the 10 missing pages and its own "heroic" efforts to make those 10 pages public.

While I, too, think that the pages should be made public and that they will eventually become public, the Globe has spent little time looking into the important revelations that were included in the open session of the report.

Loraine believed the city should dump master developer Wallace-Bajjali. And there is certainly enough in that firm's history, which those read the Turner Report or who have done their own research know, while those who rely on the area's newspaper of record have not heard a thing about it. The firm has been riddled with bankruptcies, been investigated and fined by the SEC, had tor return $1.2 million to investigators, and have been accused in lawsuits of fraud and operating a Ponzi scheme.

Not one word of most of that has ever been in the Joplin Globe.

Woolston's actions were also questionable to say the least. After the Joplin Tornado, public officials should have known better than to get involved in anything involving real estate in the affected area.

Those findings have been almost completely ignored because of the Globe's fixation on Rohr and what appears to be an obvious effort to discredit Tom Loraine.

It also appears to be an obvious effort to affect the outcome of the April 8 election.

The Joplin Globe and those juicy page one rumors

The Joplin Globe spent a considerable amount of space in today's edition exploring whether City Councilwoman Trisha Raney lives in the city limits,

The reason this is a story, the Globe notes, is because of "rumors and Facebook posts."

I am not one of those purists who believe that rumors have no place in the news. Often they play a prime role in the things that happen and therefore, they should be reported and the truth should be discovered.

Debby Woodin, who wrote the page one story, has had a long and solid journalistic career with the Globe. What a shame that the editors are now using her to chase down rumors about Bill Scearce and Trisha Raney.

The story makes it clear that Raney lives in Joplin. The headline does not.

"Council member says she has moved," the headline reads.  If people are not familiar with this story, that headline is certainly not going to make them want to read it. For those who are familiar, it makes it look as if there is still some doubt about where Ms. Raney lives.

The subhead reads, "City Clerk: Council packets delivered to Trisha Raney at Joplin address."

A better use of the time might be doing some research to see where these stories are starting. The rumors, combined with the Globe headline (there are going to be people who will just scan the headlines and say, "Sure, she says she lives in the city" and never bother to read the story) may be enough to make a difference in the April 8 election.

The rumor has already been given credence by the Globe's regular "guest columnist" Anson Burlingame on his blog:

It seems that Trish Raney, very much in my gun sights as a candidate, lived in Joplin when she was last elected. However over the last couple of years she evidently began a relationship and later married a man living in Webb City. Supposedly she now lives in Webb City with her husband but still owns a home in Joplin.

The question of course becomes is she a legal resident of Joplin, which she must be to run for City Council. I make no attempt at a legal judgment on that point. But if someone actually lives “out of town” but still owns property in Joplin, that does not sound like a residence, at least to me. I would think one must actually live in Joplin to qualify as a candidate for city council.

When a writer has someone "very much in my gun sights," (an unfortunate, but telling remark), he had better make absolutely sure he is right. There is a reason, for instance, why I back up what I write with multiple sources and often with supporting documents.

The Globe's role in this election is being carefully scrutinized and it should be. If it wants to explore the Raney story, it needs to find out just who is planting those rumors...and it is time, long past time, that the newspaper cuts any ties to Anson Burlingame. 

Things I'm Thinking About, January 19

Some things that have crossed my mind:

Score One for the Joplin Globe- Today's Joplin Globe features a page one story about a feud between the Wallace-Bajjali firm that is serving as Joplin's master developer for the tornado-stricken area of the city and the owners of the El Paso Diablos, the minor league baseball team that appears to be headed here. The article, written by veteran reporters Andy Ostmeyer and Debby Woodin, is comprehensive and shows some real reporting, something that has been in short supply at the newspaper of record as of late.

It also features a mention of one of the bankruptcies in which Wallace-Bajjali has been involved, something that has not ever been mentioned in the Globe to this point.

I have contended for the past few years that the Globe has excellent veteran reporters, including such people as Ostmeyer, Woodin, Susan Redden, and Wally Kennedy, who have been pushed to the side while investigative reporting has been neglected and the newspaper has been dominated by fluffy feature stories, snarky "entertainment" reporters and columnists whose sole purpose seems to be to prove how much more sophisticated their tastes are than the tastes of their readers.

I seriously doubt that today's report marks a turnaround for the Globe, but I would certainly like to see that happen. I am sure there are some who will read this and not believe that I am sincere about that comment, but it is crucial that we have as many media sources as possible striving to shine a light on things that affect our community.

On The Other Hand, Where is the Coverage of This?-  Just because something is not illegal, does not mean it is not newsworthy and one such occurrence, mentioned only in the Turner Report up to now was the infamous slumber party at the Joplin R-8 Administration Building the night before filing began for three seats on the Joplin R-8 Board of Education.

Using a key provided only because of his status as an incumbent, Board President Jeff Flowers, along with fellow incumbent Randy Steele, and two newcomers Shawn McGrew and Linda Banwart, were invited in to wait out the evening and thus gain the top four spots on the ballot.. Was it illegal? It does not appear so. Was it ethical? Not a chance. If Flowers, Steele, and the other two wanted to wait the opening of the filing period indoors, in comfort, then they should have had it advertised beforehand that the opportunity was there for anyone who intended to file. The only reason these people were there was because of access afforded them either by their position or because they had been anointed as "suitable replacements" for Phil Willcoxon, who chose not to seek re-election.

If you consider this to be a minor point, and there are some who do, consider this. During the past week, one board member whose seat is not up for election this year, has been "educating" teachers at one elementary school (one that I know of) on who they should vote for in April. "Any of the first four candidates on the ballot are all right," the board member has said. This is a board member who appeared with Jeff Flowers at a meeting of principals last year and nodded approvingly as Flowers told principals not to bring their complaints to the school board, but only to C. J. Huff and if Huff was not available, Angie Besendorfer.

Apparently, this board member wants his fellow board members to join him and Flowers in keeping the principals and teachers (and judging from the lawsuits I wrote about yesterday, the support personnel) from creating an uprising on the plantation.

The ethics of this school board election should be a major concern for the media- so far, not one word has been written in the Globe, not one word has been uttered on our local television and radio stations.

Things I'm Thinking About, January 7

My Favorite Mayor- I have always had a great deal of respect for Joplin Mayor Melodee Colbert-Kean, but she ranks right up at the top of my list after her statement at tonight's City Council meeting. "I never read the Globe," she said after someone mentioned a Joplin Globe article. Of course, I don't jknow if she is a Turner Report reader, but you would think someone with that much intelligence would have to be.

Minor League Baseball- The idea of a low cost, family-friendly activity, which is exactly what minor league baseball is, coming to Joplin is an appealing one. After listening to the presentations at tonight's hearing on the proposal to bring the El Paso Diablos to Joplin and checking on the team owner's background, I would say this is a good thing for Joplin. But the $4 million investment the city will have to make on Joe Becker Stadium is a concern. I would like to know more about that. While this certainly seems more promising, it is hard to forget the minor league hockey fiasco of a few years back.

Don't Take the Business Community For Granted- Concern about some of the actions taken by the Joplin R-8 Board of Education, primarily out-of-control spending, appears to be having an effect on some Joplin business leaders when it comes to this year's board race. I will be writing more about it tomorrow, but I have talked to a few business leaders who said C. J. Huff and the incumbents on the ballot should not take them for granted. One said, "A lot of the things you are writing about are things that were already known by some of us. We support the school district, but that does not mean we are going to go along with everything that the current leaders want."

Debby Woodin and Downton Abbey- People are still commenting to me about how strange it is for the Joplin Globe to have one of its top reporters, one of the few left who have established solid reputations as journalists write a page one story about Joplin area fans preparing for the return of the PBS series Downton Abbey. Wake up, Globe. It brings credence to that old saying- If it happened in Joplin, it's news to the Globe.

Things I'm Thnking About Today- January 4

-Playoffs Over for Chiefs- After watching wins by Oklahoma and MU the last two night, I was hoping the Chiefs would make it three in a row today. Great game- lousy result. Joe Montana and Marcus Allen are getting further and further in the rear view mirror.

-Marty Schottenheimer Got a Raw Deal- Speaking of the Montana/Allen Chiefs, over the past few days after Washington fired head coach Mike Shanahan, the pundits have talked about all of Redskins owner Dan Snyder's poor coaching hires, one of whom was former Chiefs Coach Marty Schottenheimer. Setting the record straight, Schottenheimer did not do a bad coaching job for Washington. He took a team that did not have much ability and after losing the first five or six games of the year, guided it to an 8-8 record and got fired for his efforts. Schottenheimer also got a raw deal in San Diego where he posted a 14-2 record, lost in the first round of the playoffs and got fired. He was replaced by Norv Turner, who came nowhere near that kind of record but hung around for years. Schottenheimer never received the credit he deserves.

-Why is Debby Woodin Writing About Downton Abbey?-I thought there was nothing the Joplin Globe could do that would shock me any more, but today's page one is a head scratcher. One of the few remaining journalistic assets the Globe has is veteran reporter Debby Woodin. Her reporting on former Jasper County Public Administrator Rita Hunter is the last solid investigative reporting that has graced the Globe's page. So why in the world do the Globe editors have her doing a story on local people who watch the PBS show Downton Abbey? When you have a whole group of smug, self-important people who write about entertainment, why waste one of the newspaper's real assets?

-Missing the Civil Rights Research Project- I am going to miss teaching for the next few weeks more than I have at any time since I was removed from the classroom nine months ago. Monday would have marked the beginning of the annual third quarter research project on the Civil Rights Movement. That was always my favorite part of the school year.

- Sale Set for Small Town News E-Books- A couple of advertisements to end today's musings. Beginning Jan. 7 for two days, the e-book version of my first novel, Small Town News, will be available for 99 cents. It normally sells for $2.99. That book, fiction based on a real-life occurrence, the 2001 disappearance of Diamond Superintendent Greg Smith and the robbery of the Bank of Diamond, was originally published in 2005.

-No Child Left Alive- If you would like to see what can happen when a superintendent is willing to cut any corners to bring up a high school's graduation rate, including gift grades, ignoring criminal activity, and undercutting teachers, you might check my novel No Child Left Alive, available in both paperback and e-book.