Blunt campaign finance documents subpoenaed

Today's Kansas City Star reports that campaign finance reports for Missouri Governor Matt Blunt have been subpoenaed by the prosecutor in the Tom DeLay case.
The Star took the unusual, but much welcomed step of noting that the story initially broke in the Fired Up Missouri blog run by former Jean Carnahan assistant Roy Temple. It has been rare to see mainstream newspapers or television stations, credit blogs for breaking stories, except in instances where it has been political gossip that the mainstream outlets want to run, but also want to distance themselves from.

Schurman named Grandview police chief

Richard Schurman, formerly with the Joplin Police Department, tendered his resignation as police chief in Colonial Heights, Va., this week, after being named police chief at Grandview, according to an article in the Petersburg, Va. Progress-Index. Schurman had held the Colonial Heights post since 1998.
During his time in that community, according to the article, he served as chairman of the Central Virginia Regional Drug Task Force. His final day in Colonial Heights will be Jan. 9.

Alleged internet pervert pleads not guilty

Alleged internet pervert Gary Reed Blankenship, Neosho, pleaded not guilty in Newton County Circuit Court today to one count of enticing a child and nine counts of possession of child pornography.
Blankenship, 56, formerly an official with O'Sullivan Industries, was arrested as a result of a sting by Diamond police officer Jim Murray.

Liberty Group Publishing buys four newspapers

Liberty Group Publishing, owner of the Carthage Press, Neosho Daily News, the Big Nickel, and the upcoming JoplinDaily.com, bought four publications in Arkansas, according to an Associated Press story.
Liberty bought the Hope Star and the Arkadelphia Daily Siftings Herald, both daily publications, as well as two weeklies, the Gurdon Times and the Nevada County Picayune, according to the article.

The school where cheating does not exist

I am always amused when I read the annual surveys of National Merit Scholars and others and their responses when they are asked if they have ever cheated in school. Usually, more than 50 percent say they have and editorial writers and columnists begin decrying the decline of morals in America.
However, if they had surveyed scholars 10, 20, 30, or even 100 years ago, odds are the percentages would not have been much different.
I am not what I would call a scholar, but about 15 years ago I was asked to be the speaker at the Academic Assembly at Lamar Middle School. I decided to tell the tale of the two times I cheated when I was attending East Newton High School, both times during my freshman year.
I was never good at algebra or science, so those were the classes in which I made my efforts at cheating. In Joe Brown's algebra class, I sat behind a sophomore cheerleader. Naturally, I assumed she was a sophomore, she must know more about algebra than I did, so I copied off her paper, cleverly changing a couple of answers so I would not be caught. I wish someone would have told me that the reason this sophomore cheerleader was in the class was because she had failed it so miserably the previous year.
That was the last time I cheated in algebra. I struggled to a C and felt much better about myself afterward.
One of my favorite classes during my freshman year was Mr. Bill Keith's physical science class. I loved the class because he was a tremendous teacher, but I did not do well in it because I just never have been good at science.
Fortunately, I had a study hall sixth hour and physical science seventh hour, so with a major test looming before me, I decided to make another effort at cheating. I detailed to the students at Lamar Middle School how I decided to write possible answers to test questions on the bottom of my shoes. First, I wrote a few words to test my plan, then walked across the study hall to make sure the words could withstand normal walking. The next step was to see how quickly the evidence could be erased if Mr. Keith caught on to my plan. Happily, I discovered that a quick, vigorous rubbing of my shoes across the floor wiped out the writing. I was ready to begin my insidious plan.
I wrote all the possible answers I could think of on the shoe, then I remembered that we were going to have to draw a diagram of a steam engine. Unfortunately, I had no room remaining on the bottom of my shoes. Then inspiration struck. I told the middle schoolers about how I pulled up my pants leg, and drew a steam engine, based on the diagram in the textbook, on my leg. I was ready for the test.
Things did not work out quite as well as I planned. Mr. Keith somehow did not pick a single question for which I had an answer on my shoe. Then he double-crossed me and had us draw a turbine engine instead of a steam engine. I flunked the test.
The moral of the story, I told the Lamar middle schoolers, was that cheaters do not win, and that the reason the students were being honored was because they had not given in to that temptation.
I thought it was a great speech and two days later, as I was taking photos at a high school track meet, one of the eighth graders to whom I had spoken approached me and said, "Mr. Turner, I want to thank you for that speech. It was great."
Naturally, my head was swollen. "You're welcome," I responded.
The boy continued, "I put the answers to a test today on the bottom of my shoes and I got an A. That's a great idea."
I was at a loss for a response.
***
Every year, my classes do an essay on cheating after a class discussion. I rarely have more than two or three out of my 120-plus students who say they have not tried cheating. I don't get the idea, however, that there is any cheating epidemic going on.
One year when I was teaching at Diamond Middle School, there was a brief flurry of cheating activity and the hard-working students on our school newspaper, "The Diamond Daily," (it came out every couple of weeks, but we updated it daily on the Wildcat Central website) decided to do a story on it. In that same issue, one eighth grade girl wrote a column about a subject on which she felt passionately, sexual harassment. This young girl had been a victim of that insidious form of behavior and wanted to write about it. I told her I would definitely need to go over her column when she was finished. I did, and I was impressed. It was insightful and not preachy, and I saw nothing controversial about it...which shows how much I know.
It was late in the year and this was the first time we had ever put anything in the "Diamond Daily" about so-called negative topics. We had previously written story after story about the many positive things that students and faculty members were doing. Even that edition was overwhelmingly positive.
The staff was proud of the paper and we were hearing good things about it from both the student body and the teachers. However, our new superintendent at the time, was shocked by the content. I was teaching a class in my trailer when he knocked at the door and asked me to step outside.
He very quickly let me know that there is no cheating problem at Diamond because no cheating takes place there. Then he really lowered the boom on the subject of sexual harassment, letting me know the eighth grade girl's article should never have appeared in the newspaper. "We do not have sexual harassment in my schools," he said emphatically. "I will not allow it."
As you can imagine, since the students inside the classroom heard his every word, it didn't take much time for the word to spread around the school that there was no cheating and no sexual harassment.
The superintendent's tirade put a damper on the newspaper staff. It was never the same that year, though the kids did their best.
***
Thoughts of the Utopian school where cheating and sexual harassment do not exist came flowing back to me today as the Journalism Club at South Middle School prepares to publish the first issue of "South Spotlight." The newspaper, which will be published monthly for the remainder of the school year (we also have regular updates on our website, Room 210) features no articles on cheating or sexual harassment, but it does have some great article and photos, courtesy of a hard-working group of seventh and eighth graders. I am proud of their efforts.
And I am happy to be in a school district where we are able to meet the challenges of cheating and sexual harassment because we acknowledge that they do exist, and we do our best to keep either from happening. No, we are not 100 percent successful, but when you face a problem head-on, more often than not, you are able to handle that problem.

Jetton explains 'plagiarized' representative columns

Thanks to Missouri Speaker of the House Rod Jetton for taking time out of his busy schedule to explain the capitol reports, which are available to every state representative.
As you may recall, I took Joplin Republicans Ron Richard and Marilyn Ruestman to task Tuesday for writing columns which were nearly word for word duplicates of a Capitol Report issued a month earlier by Rep. Jetton.
I will let Rep. Jetton explain how the system works:

"I remember being in school and the rules for copying. In the House, it
is a bit different. We openly share our reports with each other. If a Rep
feels like I wrote something that they agree with they are free to use it in
he districts at the same time if I like what they are saying and a agree
with it I may use it in mine.
"Of course, we may change it slightly to better reflect our exact
thoughts. I can assure you all the Reps have a mind of their own but many
times we vote with each other on key issues and when we find a rep who is
communicating the same thoughts and feelings on a issue we will use that
report.
"We have given each other full authority to copy, change or do whatever
the other rep wants to do with the different reports folks write. Another
point is with over 2,000 different bills introduced each year on all
different kinds of subjects there is no way one person can be an expert and
write about each one. This way if one rep who is an expert in a certain
subject writes about it and a Rep agrees or likes it can save them valuable
time. We do the same when it comes to getting advice on voting on issues.
I trust a fellow rep or constitute before I trust a lobbyist.
"Just thought I might try to clear this up. Each Rep only has one
assistant who usually works on taking care of constituent problems and
doesn't have time to write capitol reports for the Rep."
***
I remember about eight years ago, former Rep. Bubs Hohulin, R-Lamar, wrote about this topic in his weekly column that ran in several area newspapers. When Hohulin was first elected to the House in 1990, he discovered that these capitol reports were being prepared and, if I recall his column, he tried it one time and was not pleased with it because it did not reflect his thoughts the way in which he wanted them reflected.
It should be noted that the speaker of the house at that time was the notorious Democrat and friend of any lobbyist in sight Bob Griffin (and if you think I have been rough on our local state representatives, go back in the archives at the Lamar Democrat and check on some of the stuff I wrote about Griffin the late 1980s) so naturally, the reports were skewed in favor of the majority party at that time.
But Hohulin had the right idea.
Yes, our elected representatives are busy, but that has not kept Kevin Wilson, R-Neosho, or Ed Emery, R-Lamar, from regularly keeping their constituents informed with well-written articles that are clearly from their viewpoints.
I would suggest that if Rep. Richard, Rep. Ruestman, or any other representative wants to use articles written by someone else, they should feel free to do so...as long as they clearly specify that the articles were written by someone else. When I see the words "I" or "my" in a column I should be able to know that I am actually reading something that was written by the representative himself or herself.
To extend the analogy I used Tuesday about giving zeroes to anyone in my eighth grade communication arts classes who plagiarized- What would happen if I followed the same approach with my students? My students are busy, they have numerous activities, homework in other classes, and family concerns, as well as outside interests, including church. What would happen if I were to tell them that if someone else in the class writes something with which they agree, they can use it, and they can make a few changes if they wish? It would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for me to be able to tell what thoughts belonged to which students. The same thing applies to these capitol reports. If they must be used, let's please give credit where credit is due.

What's the deal with local skydiver coverage?

The saga of Joplin skydiver Shayna Richardson, whose most recent attempt resulted in a collision with pavement after her parachutes failed to work, appears to be the latest media phenomenon.
Ms. Richardson's tale, which concluded with two intriguing hooks, her survival and the discovery that she was pregnant, has spread like wildfire, with newspapers and television stations across the country carrying the story and the footage of her unsuccessful jump.
I have been interested in the statement made on KOAM's local reports that it was the only local station that interviewed Ms. Richardson, something I heard on the 6 p.m. news Tuesday and on the morning news today. KOAM's piece obviously featured Lisa Olliges interviewing Ms. Richardson.
If this is the case, it brings into question, the coverage on KODE and KSNF. On the 10 p.m. news last night, KODE used the skydiving story as its lead. with anchor Brian Hamman doing the voiceover on footage of the dive and of Ms. Richardson talking about it.
KSNF aired the story a little later in its newscast, where it appeared to be based on reporting by Lauren Hieger, combined with the skydiving footage. The piece included an interview with Ms. Richardson.
This raises some questions of journalistic ethics. Did KSNF deliberately try to make it appear as if Ms. Hieger had interviewed Ms. Richardson when footage from another source was used, or was KOAM inaccurately claiming that is was the only local station which had interviewed Ms. Richardson.
I await your responses.

Richard, Ruestman, receive failing grades

During the third quarter of each school year, I assign a research project to the eighth graders in my communication arts classes at South Middle School. They are required to write a 1,000 word essay, which this year will center around whichever aspect of the civil rights movement the students choose to examine.
Before the project gets underway, each student is made to understand that plagiarism will bring an automatic zero. It is really not something I feel the need to explain, since my students are intelligent and Joplin R-8 schoolteachers do an excellent job of teaching students why cheating is wrong and what the consequences will be if they try it.
That is why it is such a shame when I discover that plagiarism is being blatantly practiced by some of the people whose decisions in the state legislature make a big difference in my students' lives. I wrote recently about how Rep. Ron Richard, R-Joplin, sent out a capitol report which was almost word for word the one sent out by his legislative leader, Speaker of the House Rod Jetton. At the time, I wrote that I recalled another Joplin legislator had used the same Medicaid report, also claiming authorship. At the time, I could find no evidence in print about which legislator it was, I was relying solely on my memory. I have since uncovered the same column, with Joplin Republican Marilyn Ruestman's byline on it.
Quite frankly, we elect our state legislators because we expect them to be our voices in government. We do not put them in Jefferson City to parrot the voice of Rod Jetton or anyone else.
Apparently, Rep. Richard did not get the word that his plagiarism was out in the open. I have received his most recent Capitol Report, in which the second part of the two-part Medicaid series is featured. Once again, the message is almost word for word the same thing Rep. Jetton wrote in part two of his Medicaid report.
And Rep. Ruestman did exactly the same thing.
This paragraph opens Rep. Jetton's column:
"Last week, I wrote about the past changes to our Medicaid program. I talked about the fast rising, uncontrollable costs and explained that we had over 1 million people on the program. I also critized (sic) those who have made unfounded claims, trying to scare everyone on Medicaid."

Compare that to this paragraph in Rep. Ruestman's column:
"Last week, I wrote about the past changes to our Medicaid program. I talked about the fast-rising, uncontrollable costs and explained that we had over one million people on the program. I also criticized those who have made unfounded claims, trying to scare everyone on Medicaid."
The only changes were the correction on the spelling of criticized plus putting a dash in fast-rising and changing the numeral 1 to the word one.

And now the same paragraph in Rep. Richard's column:
Recently, I wrote about the past changes to our Medicaid program. I talked about the fast-rising, uncontrollable costs and explained that we had over 1 million people on the program. I also criticized those who have made unfounded claims, trying to scare everyone on Medicaid."

The same process is followed through each paragraph of the columns, which I will try to post later today, to allow Turner Report readers to make complete comparisons.

Remember the words in Rep. Ruestman's column, "Last week, I wrote," and the opening words in Rep. Richard's column, "Recently, I wrote."

No, Rep. Ruestman, you did not write anything. You took someone else's work and you claimed it as your own. The same holds true for Rep. Richard. Southwest Missourians should expect more from their elected officials. No offense to Rep. Jetton, but we didn't elect him to represent the Joplin area, we elected Ron Richard and Marilyn Ruestman. If they are fully in favor of the Medicaid reforms, then please let them have the courage...and the decency...to put it in their own words.

Whirlpool puts positive spin on eliminating Arkansas jobs

If there is any question about why newspapers and television stations should think twice before printing or airing news releases verbatim, all you have to do is consider the release issued Monday by the Whirlpool Corporation from its Benton Harbor, Mich., headquarters.
The suggested headline read, "New Refrigerated Factory in Mexico to Become Operational in 2006." The release notes that Whirlpool invested $250 million in the facility, which is not Mexican, but North American.
In the third paragraph, Whirlpool officials begin touting some of the good things that have happened to the company in the past year, including updating at its plants in Clyde, Ohio, Marion, Ohio, Fort Smith, Ark., Monterrey, Mexico, and Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. In fact, this new refrigerator factory that the company is touting will hire 1,000 workers when it is fully operational.
Nowhere in the news release does Whirlpool mention anything about hiring new workers in the United States. In fact, buried deep within the release is the information about how this change will affect the Fort Smith, Ark. plant. "Once the Ramos Arizpe facility is operational, approximately 730 employees at Whirlpool's Fort Smith, Ark., plant would be part of a layoff, currently planned for October 2006, as some models currently manufactured in Fort Smith would be shifted to the new plant in Mexico. Whirlpool currently anticipates that the vast majority of the layoffs will be voluntary and many of those would be recalled within 18 months, as part of the normal attrition rate at the Fort Smith facility. Since 2003, the Fort Smith facility has hired nearly 800 new employees."
It then continues by noting that the Fort Smith facility has about 4,600 workers, producing exactly the same type of machinery that will be manufactured at Whirlpool's new plant in Mexico.
And almost certainly, Whirlpool's stock will rise in value as more Fort Smith workers are pushed toward the unemployment line, voluntarily, of course.

Joplin skydiver's adventures go national

Joplin skydiver, Shayla Richardson, who survived after her chute failed to open (see the post on Monday's Turner Report) was featured on the national CBS news this morning.