Since my last article on this web site, I have received a tremendous amount of response and support for those comments and have been frequently asked if and when I was going to post another article. It wasn’t really my intent initially to do a column or post regular stories and or comments but in light of the fact that Jerri Voss and the U.D., as you may or may not have noticed, has seen fit to make me a regular guest on the front page of their newspaper, I thought this would be an appropriate time to show to you, so that you may better understand why this is happening. It has been said many times that you should never get into a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel and while those who know me know that I am somewhat of a technological neanderthal, even I must admit thank god for the internet and this web site because at least now, buying ink by the barrel doesn’t seem to have as great an impact on society as it once did. I think that is evident in the number of long standing newspapers across the country that have folded or are in serious financial trouble due to, not only the internet, but because of their slanted, biased and irresponsible reporting practices.
For example, I would like to share with you a communication I received several months ago, when all of this began, hand delivered to me by Ralph Voss in my office. In it you will see two photographs, allegedly taken by a member of the U.D. staff, of an accident scene, to which one of my deputies responded, along with a “commentary”regarding my deputy’s conduct at that scene. The commentary, I believe, you will find speaks for itself so it needs no explanation from me, but after receiving this from Mr. Voss, I spoke to the paramedics and EMS workers on the scene that day. All of whom assured me that Deputy Storey responded timely, assisted and conducted himself in a professional manner throughout the entire incident. Without exception, everyone that I have shown these photographs and this communication to since has told me the same thing. This is very clearly a threat, that I either conform to the wishes of Jerri Voss and the Unterrified Democrat or I suffer the consequences. I think you would agree, and I think it is very evident at this point, that I chose the consequences. Please click on the links below to view the pictures.
I think most of you who know Jerri Voss, and the history of her reporting in the Unterrified Democrat, are probably not surprised by this tactic. I am surprised that they have become this blatant about it. A further example of this would this past week’s article in reference to the pending matter involving Dale Helmig. What you don’t know is that the individual who wrote the story for the Unterrified Democrat is a man by the name of Terry Ganey.
A man, who I repeatedly heard Jerri Voss refer to as a left wing liberal and the list goes on and on. To put it mildly she showed nothing but disdain for Mr. Ganey’s work, especially in his coverage of the Dale Helmig appeals process, which has been going on for 15 years and it is only now that she chooses to print works written by Terry Ganey, who, having read his coverage of this particular case over the last fifteen years, can only be described as second to Jerri Voss in his ability to twist, spin and omit pertinent facts in furtherance of their own agenda. What is forgotten and left unmentioned is that Ralph Voss was the associate circuit judge who heard the preliminary hearing in this matter and bound Mr. Helmig over for trial.
Fortunately or unfortunately, depending upon how you look at it, there has been, over the past year, a series or sequence of events that has brought me, both personally and professionally, along with a number of other elected officials and county employees to now suffer the wrath of Jerri Voss. In this article, I will describe for you one such event. In subsequent articles, I will explain to you and show you evidence of how you have been mislead and how you have been denied complete and accurate information in an effort to both advance her agenda and influence your thoughts and your decisions.
As you know, both the Prosecutor and I were asked to become involved in some allegations of misconduct at the Osage County Road and Bridge Department. I will provide you with a detailed account of that incident, and our involvement, at a later time. However, it bears on this particular story because as most you know, a long time employee of road and bridge lost his job, I believe, in retaliation of our involvement. His alleged offense, resulting in his termination, was that he operated the county brush whipper on private property. Ironically, about that same time, there was an incident across from my residence on Osage County 810, where I observed a county road grader blading the creek running along Ralph and Jerri Voss’ hayfield, clearly on the Voss property.
For those of you who do not know, I live right across the road from Ralph and Jerri Voss’ farm, where I have resided for 21 years. I was very much aware that both the county road and the field across the road, owned by Ralph and Jerri Voss, was susceptible to flooding due to a lake spillway on the north side of the road and a small creek on the south side of the county road running adjacent to said field. In fact, during heavy rain, the county road washes out and the lower end of that hayfield retained a considerable amount of water.
I was a bit surprised, due to the fact that having lived there over 20 years I had never seen a county road grader in that field. I obtained my camera and took a series of photographs of the county road grader cleaning out the field side of the creek bed. A number of those photos can be seen below.
A short time later, the road grader operator, came out of the hayfield, stopped on the county road and came up my driveway to speak with me. Without any questioning or solicitation on my part, he attempted to assure me that no one had asked him to do that but that he had decided to do that on his own in an attempt to keep water from washing out the road as he had seen me taking photographs of him.
I am not a hydrologist, I am, however, smart enough to know that if you wish to prevent water from washing out the road, the place to start is the side of the road from which the water comes, not from where it goes, after the water has crossed the road. As the pictures clearly show my theory is apparently correct because during every substantial rain since that day, the water has again washed out the county road, however, Ralph and Jerri’s field has not retained water since. I should further add that the county employee operating the road grader on that day is still employed by the Osage County Road and Bridge Department.
