City council meetings, Mayor guilty

[masonco]

Is it just me or did the Cold news make half an effort to copy the MCP news on some of the local news this week?

While they did put on front page the precious Mayor was found guilty of drunk driving, the Cold news also went extensively into how Mayor was railroaded since he suffers from COPD which when bloodwork is done the medications mimic alcohol in the system.  That is NOT true. My hubby who was on all COPD meds the last years of his life and never once did his blood work show anything that might indicate alcohol. 9&10 news just glossed over that fact as well.

Then going on, where were the coldnews reports on all the council meetings this week? I missed them. Thankfully for once there was an objective report on Ludington council meeting in MCP.

I don't have time to seek links, so if someone would start a new topic with these links, I would appreciate it.

So my question is what is really going on with these issues of great local concern. Should Alaway of MCP consider consulting an attorney with the types of negative comments by Mayor Joe and cold news helping his cause?

What is really going on around here?

[masonco]

PLEASE administrative team...rewrite this and delete this conversation if you can put it in a way that makes more sense. I'm running late and need to fly.

[XLFD]

What-- and lose our edge, as we take the pulse of our community?  This is primarily a social networking site, so unless you totally violate the terms of service or put something up that's totally unintelligible or spammish, you have the floor.  Feel free to polish it up when you have the time, Masonco, we can always relax journalistic standards for folks that have something to say, but not a lot of time to coalesce and process it into a news article or cogent opinion piece.  Since most of the stories are on the front or second page of the MCP, I will just supply this link to the main page for now.  http://www.masoncountypress.com/

I have put a story up, and plan on another one or two, but I am running up against court deadlines too, and have to polish up my own briefs to the MI Appeals Court (FOIA Appeal).

 

[XLFD]

In defense of the COLDNews, I will say they just mimicked the words of Mayor Joe Blow Baxter's attorney, and ignored that the Mayor must have lied about his drinking times and amounts.  This is what irks me primarily, and should irk anyone, is that he shamefacedly lies about the activity, and doesn't show any public contrition for putting all of the Scottville citizens at risk who were heading off to school or their jobs, while resuming his job as Mayor of Scottville. 

The problem with COLDNews is if the person who drove off the gulley's edge were me or Rob Alway, you can make sure they would have editorialized liberally on their 'news' article. 

[Willy]

X

Would you please let us know exactly who is in the photo because it shows an uncanny resemblance to Henderson and Shay as well as Baxter or is it just the fact that many of our local politicians all resemble off the wagon clowns.

[XLFD]

I figure I'd get you on that one, Willy.  It is a public official of the area, whose clown-name is Kay-Hole the Clown.  That's the only hint I'm giving you, but you're a smart man, and you'll probably figure out who it is.

[Dave]

One thing I noted with the story regarding the tipsy mayor is this.... the mayor pleaded 'No Contest' but had his attorney attribute the blood alcohol readings to medication he takes. If he wasn't drunk then why plead 'No Contest'? If the medication was an issue with the alcohol content readings then surely any attorney worth a grain of salt would of easily gotten his client off.

[masonco]

Here is the latest on Ho Joe....It seems other media have picked up on it but I know that 9&10 news just said that his lawyer claims there were medical issues. They did not elaborate on that either. Dave that was exactly my thought. All media would be jumping on that theory and elaborating on it. On the other hand we are supposed to know how medications will affect us before we drive. Most prescriptions have that warning.

http://www.masoncountypress.com/2013/03/07/scottville-mayor-makes-h...

[XLFD]

When you are personally involved in a story, it does sometimes cloud your objectivity.  I have grown accustomed to being part of the ongoing story of how Ludington's political elite are not serving the public interest and can see where my objectivity sometimes go out the window when subjectivity just isn't working, LOL.  Rob Alway does run the risk of appearing to be vindictive or carrying out a vendetta the more he proceeds with the drumroll, but in my opinion he has a solid foundation to objectively call for resignation. 

I know I did that call back in November myself on an objective basis.  I don't have the baggage that Rob Alway had, by actually knowing and working with the man, I did it based on the fact he obviously lied to the police, and subjected the residents of Scottville to his drunk driving without comment.  When you lose moral authority, you lose everything when you're the leader of a government.  As such, I am upset for my old town of Scottville that nobody other than Rob voices their opinion as stridently as he has, and I have. 

The fact that so many other communities have now broadcast the fact that Scottville, a town that is just a Governor's penstroke of getting an Emergency Finance Manager, has re-elected a mayor that has been convicted of driving drunk and sanctioned therefrom is a black-eye for the area, and a deserved black-eye caused by Joe Baxter's reluctance to do what's right.

[masonco]

As I said before his arguement about blood alcohol level being affected and prolonged by COPD (lung disease) meds is hogwash. Go to COPD international web site for objective information on treatments and medications for COPD. Most COPD medications are inhaled directly into the lungs with breathing treatments and inhalers. My late husband did not take any drugs as such for COPD. It is true that when you don't use your oxygen if you need it, it can affect your driving with decrease faculties (once oxygen levels get below 90% a person does not think clearly) but if that is the case he should use oxygen supplement as part of driving requirements like my late husband had on his license.  He was on oxygen 10 years and steroids were the only medication added when his pneumonia flared up. 

I think it is sad that Baxter was threatening Rob personally and made statements like he did which the cold news published. But as you can see, medications that might mimic or enhance levels are not a part of "lung disease".  For other medications, they say right on the label DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL while taking this medication or THIS MEDICATION MAY AFFECT YOUR ABILITY to DRIVE.

[Lisa O'Brien]

Another thing, while some medicines may have side effects that mimic drunk behavior - my moms neighbor was on lithium - the doctor at one point prescribed a water pill for a different ailment, the effect this had on the lithium was that her levels dropped - the police stopped her up for drunk driving (she was driving the wrong way on a one way street), based on their conversations with her they knew there was something else going on, they sent her to the hospital for blood tests and got a hold of her family. Once the medical history was given and the blood test came back it was determined, that no she had not been drinking but her lithium levels being so low had caused her confused state.

So even though some medication side effects may mimic a drunken state - the blood levels would not show an elevated alcohol blood level. 

[XLFD]

It is generally acknowledged that drinking isn't good for chronic lung problems, and I've not found a doctor-approved medication for same that would affect a breathalyzer and a blood test.  I would also think that Mayor Baxter would have told the state troopers that morning about other medications that may affect his test results, but maybe he was too blitzed to think of that at that point, or maybe some medical marijuana affected his memory.

 

[Dave]

The drunken clown images make me think of the movie "Shakes The Clown" which is of course about Shakes who is an alcoholic clown... it is the Citizen Kane of alcoholic clown movies.