The Estes Parkian was pleased to see that a writer to the Estes Park News is calling for this humble blogger to be part of the solution to Estes Park’s problems. The writer (who I will not identify) endorsed this blog, by defending our freedom of speech and describing the blog as “totally laughable.” The Estes Parkian appreciates a kindred spirit who can laugh at the misdeeds covered by the Estes Parkian.
The writer (who, in the interests of protecting her I will not identify) says “the thing that is most offensive about Mr. Parkian is that he espouses all this information and won’t attach his name to it.” Yes, facts can be pesky things, especially when you cannot distract people from the facts by attaching a name to them.
The writer contends I, the Estes Parkian, do not have my facts straight. The writer of course makes no attempt to address even a single fact that has appeared on this blog over the last five years.
Aside from this being a clear case of gender discrimination, the writer operates under a key false assumption. She asserts that we as citizens have the right to voice opinions “without fear of retribution.” Despite protests to the contrary, the writer is exhibiting naivete.
How has our community treated those in our community who exposed and addressed inconvenient truths? Consider Larry Pesses and Meredith Sloan, two former school board members. They exposed and addressed serious problems in the school district. The superintendent and bookkeepers who embezzled money from the school district faced justice. The School Board member who molested a teenage boy faced justice as well. Did the community applaud them for addressing crimes committed against our children and the taxpayers? Hell No! In fact, they faced a lot of retribution from the criminal’s friends. Some of those friends remain in positions of power and influence within our mountain town. The family of the boy who was abused by a school board member moved away because of community retribution. The people who harassed that family remain in Estes. Consider also the case of Patrick Cipolla, whose identifying of problems caused yea-sayers to criticize him first without ever looking or even considering the facts he uncovered.
Estes Park is under greater threat from the yea-sayers than the naysayers. The yea-sayers said yes to embezzlers and a child molester. The yea-sayers then demonized the nay-sayers who ended the abuse. The Estes Parkian is waiting for the day when the yea-sayers even approach the level of Larry Pesses and Meredith Sloan in solving real problems.
Pat Newsom wrote a letter the same day that shows the problem. She complained that some people will want to know “every penny” where EPURA and the Town spent money on the Grandstands. The Estes Parkian just wants to know why the project is so far over budget. That’s called accounting and accountability. It is our money after all.
The Estes Parkian is not spending public dollars on this blog and the Estes Parkian is not making the Town’s decisions. If the yea-sayers spent more time finding solutions instead of hiding reality the Estes Parkian would run out of things to write. If the yea-sayers ever really welcomed different viewpoints, the Estes Parkian would run out of energy. There is no danger the Estes Parkian will run out of material.
The Estes Parkian
A Home Rule of One
