Does it appear to anyone else that these two concocted this
story together? It certainly seems that
way. It also appears that the reporter
of the local news publication has been doing this for so long, it has become
second nature. What is incredible is that this is comprised of
the two elements:
1. STUPIDITY and INTENTIONAL
STUPIDITY:
Everyone in
the county has probably at one time tried to claim something was not being
used, no good any more, it’s just junk, and tried to get something off of your
personal property tax declaration after it was signed. It just doesn't happen. I don’t want to use the word “EVERYONE” but I
think it is safe to say that a huge and overwhelming majority of the people that
read the comments about the mayor’s equipment being unused and un-taxable, viewed
this as an incorrect statement. With
the knowledge of how many people would know this, this was an incredibly stupid
move; too stupid to be called plain stupid.
On a scale of 1-10; this is out past the 100’s. Which brings up this; are they really that
stupid to think this would fly? No, probably
not, which makes this all the worse, INTENTIONAL.
INTENTIONAL:
The mention
of the word “unused” by the mayor and the reporter; well, that is a dead
giveaway. It is obvious that these two
clowns made up this story and were intentionally trying to run this by
everyone. Everyone believes what they
read in the paper, so it must be true, right.
Well,----not anymore!!!! The
idea seemed to be to try and lay this off on the assessor and maybe no one will
notice!!!!!
Either way
stupid or intentional, this is a demonstration that reveals an attitude of the
mayor and the reporter of the local news publication, for their constituents
and their readers. What is sad about all
this, the updated article that followed is also a demonstration of that
attitude. It’s apparent that the
newspaper is more interested in who Tim Miller is than if the mayor violated
election laws. It is clear that the
intention was to draw attention away from the problems the mayor might have by
not paying the taxes, and focus on two random individuals, and make them look
like trouble makers, and in general really bad people, after all they are
pilots.
Just to let
you all know, there was a comment by Robin Smith about what else are they
hiding, Wait till you find out what
these no-good pilots found with the MIRMA and the water and sewer department.
People should get honest and fair reporting from a newspaper, good or bad, but this paper is a joke. I will do what I can to inform people about this kind of reporting, and I hope people will quit spending money on their paper.
ReplyDeleteI was bowling in Union last week and heard some folks talking about Ron Blum and Domke / Missourian paper, and they were talking about their dislike of the both of them. They think they must be real good personal friends if you know what I mean. I think people are starting to see what is really going on in the city, and getting a little tired of it. This will hurt the paper, and as you all know, newspapers are almost a thing of the past anyway. People are not that stupid.
ReplyDeleteThis blog is great. A pilot in St Clair told me about this blog after we had a conversation about the airport and the city itself. I was at the gas station getting gas and he told me that my brake lights were out on a trailer I was pulling, after thanking him we started small talk and I found out he was a pilot. He said that he was probably not liked very well around here because of Ron Blum and the negative press from the Missourian. He explained his side of the story and told me of some FAA website to get some real info for myself, and wow did I learn some things. Now I pay close attention to the stories out of the paper and what I no to be fact, and let's just say the pilot was right on all accounts. This Mayor and the reporter at the paper have issues for sure. I will spread the word, fair is fair.
ReplyDeleteI live in rural St. Clair and do not subscribe to the local paper, although I do read each edition and look at stories online. Although everyone is entitled to his or her own opinions, your latest accusations against the local editor and the mayor are extremely unfair and make false accusations toward the intended subjects. And, these latest postings really have nothing to do with the airport, which is the purpose of this blog, correct? Yes, I know the paper mentioned the airport and a couple of tenants in the story in which you are referring, but it was part of the story.
ReplyDeleteSince all these overblown comments have appeared here, I took it upon myself to personally talk to our county assessor to get the real story about what was said and not said and how things were said as well talked to the mayor and the newspaper. The accusations you are making here are exaggerated to say the least. The assessor himself said that even though what was in the paper was not correct, he said it was a VERY SIMPLE misunderstanding that may have even been his own fault. And the paper corrected it as soon as it could, which is what it is supposed to do.
Yes, it was a mistake, from both parties it sounds like, but he who is perfect let him cast the first stone. And, I'm sure none of you reading this are not perfect. No of us are. The ridicule you place on here against good citizens in our community is unnecessary and shameful.
It's easy to see that your agenda is to point fingers at the city and the newspaper whenever you can and make mountains out of any molehills because of their stances on the airport. But, that's OK. From what I understand, our local paper is doing quite well and I commend it for reporting on all issues.
Blog readers, if you really want to get the facts about things around here, go to the sources. It's common knowledge that blog managers can print whatever they want, true or false. There are no repercussions to print slanderous things, half-truths or even lies. A newspaper would not survive without printing the truth. A mayor would not keep his job for several terms without doing what is correct.
I apologize this entry is so long and I know some comment will appear after mine that defends your position. But this battle waged by this blog against St. Clair and the newspaper is tasteless and it is what is stupid and intentional. Thank you.
It's a nice story Keith, but not true. Thanks
DeleteCaring St Clair person, please do tell what is unfair and false.
DeleteCARING ST. CLAIR PERSON
DeleteIf you look at the first article in print, you will notice that 1/3 of the article talks about the taxes, 2/3 talks about who called the newspaper. It is obvious that the article as originally written, and the updated article, is aimed at making this look like this is just more more whining by the pilots, trying to retaliate against Ron Blum. The article also gives off the tone that filling a complaint is a really bad thing. Maybe someone should file a complaint with the city over Ron Blum’s qualifications for mayor. If the law says you cannot owe taxes and run for mayor, what is he doing in the mayor’s chair? If Ron Blum did not satisfy the requirements for office, who in the city will pursue this, is this the responsibility of the city attorney, the city council, has everyone on the council filed a true and complete declaration? Who in St. Clair will say this is wrong? Will the council step up and do the right thing or just hang their heads in the shame this man has brought to city hall.
Caring St Clair person you have the freedom to voice your opinion on the blog without paying for a membership unlike the newspaper your referring to. If you would, please explain the false claims and accusations you think are not true. I would like to hear what you have to say.
ReplyDeleteI called Kempin Auto and talked to the owner, his name is Christopher, Mr Kempin would not go into detail about his mention in the paper except to say it was not true and that he had spoke to the editor about it. He also said the conversation between them was private. He also said he would be glad to discuss the airport and the city if I wanted to come by his shop. He said he has 22 years of information on the airport and the city.
ReplyDeleteTo Longtime St. Clair resident: Wow! Thanks for the compliment! I am truly honored as I assume you think I am the newspaper editor! At least you didn't insult me by calling me a DeVries.
ReplyDeleteMr. Smith:
ReplyDeleteAs I said in my first post, I talked to our county assessor as well as the mayor and the editor after this story came out in the paper and after these negative comments started appearing here. The assessor himself said that even though what was in the paper was incorrect, he said it was a simple misunderstanding or miscommunication between himself and the editor that may have even been his own fault. He also said he never told anyone he was misquoted, just that the information passed along was put in the paper incorrectly. The assessor said the conversation he had with the editor afterward was cordial. And, the paper corrected the story right away after the clarification was made.
But, of course, all this got twisted on this blog.
So, to claim "stupid" and "intentional" is a false accusation. A newspaper cannot and would not do that and be able to survive and our paper is surviving quite well these days. I am sure you know that. I don't know if anyone read the story that was in the county section a while back, but our paper actually is doing better than ever. And, a media source cannot continue to fare well and thrive without being accurate and truthful up and down the line with every one of their employees, especially these days.
It is a fact that the majority of people who use our airport don't like the mayor, our city and the newspaper and they, like everyone else, have a right to their opinion. They also have the right to fight for the airport. But, this entire thing between the airport people, the mayor and the newspaper got started because the newspaper went on record in an editorial saying it supported the city's stance on closing the airport.
Again, back to the original point, the newspaper made an error. It happens. It corrected the error. It was not and could not have been intentional. Why would anyone make a mistake on purpose if he knows it then would have to be corrected? That doesn't make any sense, especially from a media source, and thus the claim above is a false one. In my opinion, the blogger owes the mayor and newspaper an apology, but I'm sure we will never see that. The owner of this blog always thinks he is right. That is his own delusion.
The editor also would not say much about the situation with Mr. Kempin. He said there is some disagreement between the two on some issues and they have talked about it. It was a private conversation that the editor also will respect, and I respect both the editor and Mr. Kempin for taking this stance.
As I understand the news process, from reading and watching, a journalist gets or gathers information from a source or sources, checks facts and reports those facts to the audience. It's a simple process done by people with talent in that area.
It also strikes me as strange as why these same people, the bloggers on here, only attack the newspaper whenever it reports something that has a tie, direct or indirect, to the airport. If the editor is so bad, why not attack him about all the other things he reports on? The paper reports the facts. When it makes a mistake, it corrects them. Don't you do the same thing?
Again, I apologize for the long post.
Were did you come up with the idea that the pilots don't like the City ? Domke ? Blume ?
DeleteHow many "mistakes" are they allowed? How many " mistakes" have the FAA made them correct? How many "mistakes" will they need to correct in the comming future? Those "mistakes" were intentional disregard of the FAA rules. There are going to be more corrections the FAA will make the city do. The editor is letting his position as Chamber of Commerce influence the way he writes and leaves pertenet info out.
ReplyDeleteFormer tenant you are correct, the editor has a problem printing any thing negative about the mayor even when they are facts. Like I have said before, people are starting to see through both of them. And as far the paper doing so well that they must be doing everything correct, we shall see, I will see what I can do to change that.
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to believe the guy did not know he had to pay taxes, but thinks he is smart enough to run a city. Wait a minute I forgot, he still can't figure out the sentence YOU CAN NOT CLOSE A AIRPORT FOR RETAIL DEVELOPMENT, so maybe he thought the tax rules do not apply to him either.
ReplyDeleteIf he would have followed the City rules and not and not had a unlicensed truck in his yard for all these years ,he would have known you could not get plates without paying tax. I'am sure it was a honest mistake. It seems he has a problem with rules.
ReplyDelete