Respectfully, Voters rule, not individuals.
Dan
Swanson

KRaM
A good journalist will include the "who, what, where, when, why and how" in the lead of a story, so "why, why, why, why, why" doesn't cut it with me.

Why? Why is Mr. Chris Lind being wrongly persecuted to the point that he is unable to support his wife and four children?

Why? Why have misinformation, half truths, distorted "facts", out-right lies and emotional responses to these things been so emphasized in our local newspapers and those of our neighboring school districts, as well as Minneapolis and St.Paul?

Why? Why do people believe only one side of a story without getting down to the truth?

Why? Why do people believe outrageous rumors about what Mr. Lind has been accused rather than search out the truth?

Why? Why do people not understand that the school district has treated Mr. Lind not only unfairly, but illegally?

One cable network calls its news "Fair and Balanced" but in my opinion it is not fair nor balanced. I had hoped that the newspapers in our communities would be fair and balanced but in my opinion they often have been neither. Some examples are below.

FALSEHOOD: Mr. Lind refused to be on the finance committe of the school board even though he campaigned partially on finances.
TRUTH: Mr. Lind accepted the position on the finance committee and also asked to be on the curriculum and building committees.
FALSEHOOD: Mr. Lind was accused of several inappropriate actions that led to his dismissal.
TRUTH: Mr. Lind was accused of three incidents.
FALSEHOOD:According to many, Dr. Westerhaus stated the main reason he resigned is because Mr. Lind was elected and caused the levy and referendum to fail.
TRUTH: Mr. Lind was elected with over 3000 votes and was 4th in a list of 8 candidates.
The levy and referendum failed because local issues are the only way people can protest high taxes and wasteful spending, or not being satisfied with something. Dr. Westerhaus unfortunately was not of the same mentality as Minnesota's (and South Dakota's) Hubert Horatio Humphey "who did not turn away after defeat". (Quote from the Opinion Exchange section of the "Minneapolis Star Tribune" on Sunday January 13.) Our school district has a history of many levies and referenda being defeated up to three times before being passed. In addition to this, Mr. Lind has only 1 of 7 votes on the school board and Dr. Westerhaus, who has been such a successful superintendent, evidentally felt that was a threat to him and his record. How unfortunate for our district!
FALSEHOOD: Our local newspapers are unbiased.
TRUTH: If so, why was the letter supporting Mr. Lind from a girl who is on the student council at Prior Lake High School published but not put online like letters of those who have opposed and in many instances, slandered Mr. Lind?
FALSEHOOD: Mr. Lind ridiculed a girl by telling her it was "National Pick On Lesbian Day".
TRUTH: The girl has written a noterized letter stating that she was not rediculed as was a part of the "joke". It may have been a foolish thing for Mr. Lind to say but in light of the student involved it was not serious. It became "serious" when someone supposedly heard Mr. Lind's part of the conversation,and supposedly reported it to Mr. Massura and Mr. Massura recorded this heresay information.
FALSEHOOD: Mr. Lind spoke of celibacy with a child.
TRUTH: When approached by a young man who had graduated two years previously and who asked Mr. Lind about Biblical perspectives on celebicy, Mr. Lind spoke of St. Paul's gift from God to be able to be celibate if one wanted to, or was expected to be so.
FALSEHOOD: Mr. Lind spoke of bi-sexuality with a child.
TRUTH: The child was an upper-classman who asked what to do because his girl friend was bi-sexual. The conversation was limited because Mr. Lind evidentally was told by the boy that he was going to break up with his girl friend any way, so Mr. Lind did not even have to answer the question.
FALSEHOOD: Mr. Lind has threatened to sue the school district for a six figure amount.
TRUTH: No amount was stated in the letter asking for mediation. Mr. Lind is only trying to clear his name so he can support his family.
FALSEHOOD: Parents are informed about their children's activities and classes in our schools.
TRUTH: Those young people who are in need of council because of sexual concerns can be a part of the GLTB(Q) group, which I heard is called a "class" without their parents knowledge or permission. Girls who become pregnant have been counseled and even had arrangements made by school employees for their abortions without parental knowledge.
FALSEHOOD: Mr. Lind is inappropriate in his relationships with students and other young people.
TRUTH: Mr. Lind tells those who come to him and ask his opinion about Biblical perspective on issues of sexuality responds to them in love and Biblical passages, which many of us believe are the infallible TRUTH of God. Therefore young people are given a choice of what to believe. Similar questions may be about the theory of evolution and the theory of Intelligent Design and so students are given choices to consider. I thought "choice" was very important in our society!

The battle in our community today is not only about Mr. Lind, Dr. Westerhaus and Mr. Massurus and those of differing opinions. It is a battle of truth versus lies, rumors and distorted facts. Perhaps, I dare say, it is even a battle between Love and Hatred. If God is Love, as His Word states, who is Hatred? A law of physics says that for every reality their is an opposite.

The misinformed, gullible and ignorant people are not Hatred. They are perhaps deceived. It remains to be judged which camp I am in. In which are you?

Well stated frogsong! Chris Lind has remained silent as not to have any statements taken out of context by our media who thrive on creating controversy and slanting a story to fit their agenda. What is taking place in Prior Lake is a form of "Bullying or Mobbing", which the school district forbids but is guilty of by Westerhaus and Massaros.
A group of the Stand by Me committee have continued to degrade Mr. Lind in the newspapers and media. Their agenda was to publically degrade Mr Lind and force him to quit. They then would be able to have Westerhaus stay. Is Westerhaus a part of this plan? Mr Lind is not a quitter like Westerhaus and has not allowed the media and special interest groups to manipulate him. The real truth may come out in the courtroom with witnesses and not a con-cocked report from an HR person and his attorney sidekick. Both of those administrators should be fired by the board for poor decisions which may cost this district plenty! I hope Mr Lind and his attorney takes them to court!
Here is the website about "Bullying and Mobbing". Think about all the the degrading articles, emails, phone calls, and public humiliation this group and newspaper has put Mr.Lind through.

http://www.peu1.org/media/documents/emotionalabuse.pdf

The word "mobbing" denotes a behavior by coworkers, superiors or subordinates, who attack a colleague's dignity,
integrity, and competence, repeatedly, over a number of weeks, months, or even years. A person is being subjected to
emotional abuse, subtly or bluntly, often falsely accused of wrongdoing, and is persistently humiliated. Dr. Heinz
Leymann, a psychologist and medical scientist, pioneered the research about this workplace issue in Sweden in the
early 80s. He identified the behavior as mobbing and described it as "psychological terror" involving "hostile and
unethical communication directed in a systematic way by one or a few individuals mainly towards one individual."
Mobbing is emotional abuse committed directly or indirectly by one or a group of co-workers directed at anybody.
People who have been affected by mobbing are suffering immensely. The social and economic impact of the mobbing
syndrome has yet to be measured in quantitative terms. Mobbing can only persist as long as it is allowed to persist.
Organizational leadership plays the most important part in its prevention. By enforcing decency, civility, and high
ethical standards in the workplace and by creating a nourishing environment, bullying and mobbing will not surface.

I do believe after this is all said and done this community will owe Mr. Lind a public apology!

I really wish people would stop bashing The Prior Lake American!!!! This Newspaper provides the community with a wealth of information, come on without this Titan of the newspaper industry I never would of known Isabelle and Tyler were top baby names in 2007 at St. Francis or I wouldnt have something to lay down on the floor to train my puppy.