The Platteville Journal Etc. "First Sunshine"

4A
The First Amendment
The Platteville Journal

MARCH 16, 2016
ETC.
First sunshine
s you may be able to tell

from the right side of this
page, this is Sunshine
Week, a national initiative to
promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and
freedom of information.
Usually this week and National Newspaper Week in October seem to come
around during events that show disreSteve Prestegard
gard for open government and freedom
plattevillejournaleditor@
of expression. The latest example of the
gmail.com
former is the state Senates apparent refusal to vote on a bill that would subject
the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association the organization that sponsors high school athletic events that are
played in taxpayer-funded facilities and coached and staffed
by taxpayer-funded personnel to the state Open Meetings
and Open Records laws.
That comes nine months after the ham-handed effort by
Republican leadership in the state Legislature to exempt
legislators communications with constituents from the
Open Records Law an effort perhaps ironically thwarted
on Independence Day by old-style media (newspaper reporting and opinions) and new-style media (social media). The
effort to gut open government was, as you know, the result
of a Democratic senators losing an effort to keep emails
from government employees about Act 10 away from conservative groups that filed an Open Records Law request to
see them in Grant County Circuit Court. The Open Records
Law also allowed Republicans to find out how many government employees signed petitions to recall Gov. Scott Walker
and Republican senators during the aftermath of the Act 10
debate.
Open government means the public not just the news
media can see what government does with its tax dollars.
(Similar to the First Amendment, Wisconsins Open Meetings and Open Records laws and the federal Freedom of Information Act apply to everyone, not just journalists.) That
includes such news as finalists for other government positions, public employee pay, and what our area law enforcement agencies do.
There was a recent local example of open government, or
lack thereof, when an investigator from the state Department
of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation told the editor
of your favorite weekly newspaper to not take photos of the
evidence inside the house where a search warrant was being executed. The evidence was clearly visible from anyone
across the street, as you can see from the photo on page 2A.
Someone should inform DCI that its boss, Attorney General
Brad Schimel, wrote a guest opinion for Wisconsin media this
week, concluding, I am proud of the steps the Wisconsin Department of Justice has taken over the last year to make government more transparent and I will continue to fulfill my
promise to let the sun shine on state government.
Members of the Town of Platteville board were fined for
violating the Open Meetings Law by discussing items that
werent listed on the agenda and were therefore not permitted to be discussed. The Town of Kendall board reached a
settlement with two town residents who accused the town of
violating the Open Records Law, and though the settlement
included no admission of wrongdoing, you can read between
the lines based on what the town was required to do in the
settlement. And of course readers of this newspaper found
out that the bishop of the Madison Catholic Diocese doesnt
seem to realize that UW System buildings hosting public
events are also open to the news media.
Sunshine Week is occurring at the same time that, for the
first time in the history of this nation, a presidential candidate is openly touting his hatred of the news media (as opposed to the politicians who hated and hate the news media
but at least had enough sense to not say that) and wants to
change the libel laws because he doesnt like what the media writes about him, while simultaneously encouraging his
supporters to assault protesters at his rallies. Friday must
have marked a new low in this nations history by having a
political rally shut down by protesters (whose belief in the
First Amendment only extends to their own rights) while a
news reporter was arrested for resisting arrest. (But given
what happened during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, perhaps we shouldnt be surprised.)
In an era in which distrust of government (rightly) increases every day, open government is needed more than
ever. Not because it helps those of us in the media do our
jobs, but because it helps all of us do our jobs as citizens.
And by the way The final issue for political letters-tothe-editor to be published prior to the April 5 general election will be the March 23 Journal which means letters must
be in the editors hands by first thing Monday morning. Depending on available space, not all letters will be printed.
The Platteville
journal
www.swnews4u.com
Serving the Platteville Area Since 1899

USPS 435-560
John Ingebritsen, Publisher
Editor
Steve Prestegard
journaleditor@centurytel.net
Sports Editor
Jason Nihles
journalsports@centurytel.net
Advertising
Ann Rupp
journalads@centurytel.net
Ad Design
Carol Tyson
journaldesign@centurytel.net
Bookkeeper/Receptionist
Shirley Thalmann
journalaccount@centurytel.net
Periodicals postage paid at Platteville, WI 53818. Owned and

published by the Morris Newspaper Corporation of Wisconsin,
P.O. Box 266, Platteville, WI. Published once weekly on Wednesday for 4,300 subscribers. Telephone (608) 348-3006. FAX
(608) 348-7979. Subscriptions are $19.50 for 6 months, $36
yearly in Grant, Iowa, and Lafayette counties. Other Wisconsin
counties: $22.50 for 6 months, $42 yearly. Out of state: $28
for 6 months, $53 yearly. POSTMASTER: Send address changes
to Circulation Department, Platteville Journal, P.O. Box 266,
Platteville, WI 53818.
ONE MONTH FREE! If we receive payment for your subscription
renewal before a notice is sent a month before your paper comes
due you will receive the paper for 13 months for the price of
12 months.
Sending in your renewal before the notice is sent saves both
time and money.
LETTERS
The Platteville Journal, P.O. Box 266, Platteville, WI 53818-0266 plattevillejournaleditor@gmail.com
On the DNR DNR list

I am one of the pests on the Department of Natural resources blacklist (the DNRs Do Not Respond list).
I spent much of my adult life managing and improving trout resources in
Grant, Richland and Lafayette counties as a DNR fish manager. The number of trout streams and miles of trout
water roughly doubled during the 20
years I worked in these counties and
the trout population in the 150 trout
streams in these counties is 20 times
greater now than it was in 1972 when
I began working in this area.
What has been the DNR regulatory
response to this remarkable transformation? There has been no response.
This was very unprofessional. I and
others have complained for years about
this bad management but nothing has
changed.
In 1990, the DNR created 1,000 special trout rules to (supposedly) improve
trout populations. No comprehensive
research program was created to determine whether these rules worked
or failed. This too was very unprofessional. The only major impact these
rules had was they pushed tens of
thousands of bait fishing keep and eat
anglers out of trout fishing.
After the 2002 season the DNR terminated 546 of these rules. Again, I
and others have spent years complaining that the remaining special rules
are excessive and unnecessary. The
fact that new Fisheries Director Justine Hasz has as one of her goals to
simplify trout rules shows that she too
understands that most of these rules
are unnecessary.
I welcome any DNR or private response.
Roger Kerr
Boscobel
Hazen for Hillary
To the people who said Hillary Clinton

is dishonest and gave a list of reasons
that included her husbands affair, I say
she is a strong woman who stood by her
husband. Many other presidents had affairs, including Thomas Jefferson, Grover Cleavland, Franklin D. Roosevelt,
Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. Many of our Congressmen and
senators have had affairs also. It just
wasnt talked about as publicly then.
All they want is to sling mud because they know that Hillary is the
most qualified candidate for the presidency. She has been investigated and
questioned for 11 hours for the Benghazi tragedy, which cost taxpayers
$349,000. She has also been investigated for using her phone while she
was secretary of state for texting and
emails. It has been determined that
Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell

also used their phones in the same capacity when they were secretary of
state. In both cases nothing was found
to be wrong. These incidents were
brought to everyones attention to damage her reputation and character. They
want to put doubt in the minds of voters who do not know the truth.
Republicans are spreading these
lies because they want to stay in office
and control Congress. They also want
a Republican president so they can cut
Social Security and Medicare. These
programs are vital to the elderly middle class. We have paid in to these programs based on what we make, so why
dont the wealthy have to do the same?
Hillary wants to help our economy
by raising the minimum wage, womens rights, equal pay for equal work,
education and the climate by protecting our water and air quality. We cannot let big money run American democracy. It belongs to everyone.
Patricia Hazen
Bagley
Vote to Amend
It seems that during every election

cycle our talk turns to the money in
politics. But just as in our conversations about the weather, everyone complains about it, but no one does anything about it. Well, although we still
cant change the weather, this April we
have a chance to do something about
the money in politics.
In 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled that corporations have the same
rights as people, allowing them to contribute unlimited funds to political
campaigns in a decision referred to as
Citizens United. The result has been
that billions of dollars (yes, billions)
are being spent on a presidential election. Ive not met a single individual
who thinks this is a good idea.
On April 5 the citizens of Platteville
will have an opportunity to vote on a local referendum which, if passed, will put
our city on record to support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to overturn Citizens United. The amendment
basically says that corporations are not
people and money is not speech. The
referendum also directs our city council to tell our state and federal legislative representatives to pursue the passage of such amendment. Sixty city and
town governments in Wisconsin have
already done so, and across the country,
sixteen state legislatures have called for
a constitutional amendment to overturn
Citizens United. If we want to preserve
some semblance of a democracy, we simply cant allow a handful of CEOs and
multi-billionaires to run our campaigns.
I hope you agree with me that
we must put an end to this obscene
spending in political campaigns. Although we still wont be able to change

the weather, we can help get the ball
rolling on this important Constitutional amendment.
Fritz Domann
Platteville
The cost of justice
Town of Kendall officials appear to

be dominated by miserliness when it
comes to justice. Ray McDonald served
as town clerk for 38 years. In the current circuit court controversy, the
board, after five long years, refuses to
pay him $265 in postal expenses. That
$265 figures out to approximately $7 a
year. Compare this with the thousands
of dollars the town is spending on legal
fees as an outgrowth of this dispute.
Digging their heels in, officials continued to refuse to pay Mr. McDonald,
even after a warning from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. The matter was referred to the
Lafayette County district attorney, who
issued a summons to town chairman
Micah Bahr to appear in court March 7.
The issue is now being fought by
Kendall officials with a date of March
21 for the next go round. One of the
townships attorneys, Holly Wilson,
who charges $170 per hour, represented Mr. Bahr last week.
According to the minutes from the
April 23, 2013 meeting, the amount of
Mr. McDonalds postal claim was subtracted from his paycheck. Wisconsin
statutes say its illegal to withhold payment from an elected employees pay.
The amount owed to Mr. McDonald is
now doubled to $530 by the WDWD.
There is far too much money being
spent on legal fees. In 2015, the imbroglio with the Darlington Fire Department cost more than $6,000 and
will keep growing once the lawsuit is
filed. The lawsuit to remove an Amish
farmers driveway is costing more than
$4,000, and will increase with the June
2 motion hearing. Violating state statues is a serious matter.
But the overriding issue is the unprincipled behavior of Kendall officials.
Residents should demand justice for
our former clerk.
Don Schultz
Mineral Point
The Platteville Journal will print

most letters to the editor, regardless of
the opinion presented. The Journal reserves the right to edit material that is
libelous or otherwise offensive to community standards and to shorten letters
The Journal determines are excessively
long. All letters must be signed and the
signature must appear on the printed
letter, along with a contact number or
email for verification.
(1) In recognition of the fact that a representative government of the American type is
dependent upon an informed electorate, it is declared to be the policy of this state that the
public is entitled to the fullest and most complete information regarding the affairs of
government as is compatible with the conduct of governmental business.
(2) To implement and ensure the public policy herein expressed, all meetings of all state
and local governmental bodies shall be publicly held in places reasonably accessible to
members of the public and shall be open to all citizens at all times unless otherwise expressly provided by law.
Chapter 19.81, Wisconsin Statutes (Open Meetings Law)
In recognition of the fact that a representative government is dependent upon an informed electorate, it is declared to be the public policy of this state that all persons are
entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government and the
official acts of those officers and employees who represent them. Further, providing persons with such information is declared to be an essential function of a representative government and an integral part of the routine duties of officers and employees whose responsibility it is to provide such information. To that end, ss. 19.32 to 19.37 shall be construed in every instance with a presumption of complete public access, consistent with the
conduct of governmental business. The denial of public access generally is contrary to the
public interest, and only in an exceptional case may access be denied.
Chapter 19.31, Wisconsin Statutes (Open Records Law)

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4A

The First Amendment

The Platteville Journal

s you may be able to tell

Serving the Platteville Area Since 1899

Periodicals postage paid at Platteville, WI 53818. Owned and

On the DNR DNR list

Hazen for Hillary

To the people who said Hillary Clinton

Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell

It seems that during every election

spending in political campaigns. Although we still wont be able to change

The cost of justice

Town of Kendall officials appear to

The Platteville Journal will print

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