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Daily
Times
MORE LOCAL JOBS
GONE.
Local
skilled pressmen have no more work here at
Portsmouth Daily Times as the Times will now be
printed
in
Gallipolis. Hundreds of newspaper presses have been shut
down
across the country as publishers battle to stay
alive.
Posted by Austin Leedom at 1:00 a.m. Thursday,
June 16, 2005
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EPA cites 18 companies for
clean-air violations
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CONTACT: William Omohundro,
(312) 353-8254
For Immediate
Release No.
04-OPA015 |
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CHICAGO (Feb. 11, 2004) -- U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has notified 18
companies that it believes they violated federal or
federally enforceable state clean-air
regulations.
These are preliminary findings of
violations. To resolve them, EPA may issue compliance
orders, assess administrative penalties or bring suit
against the companies. The companies have 30 days from
receipt of the notices to request meetings with EPA to
discuss resolving the
allegations.
"EPA's mission is to protect
public health and the environment," said Region 5
Administrator Thomas V. Skinner. "We will take whatever
steps are needed to ensure compliance with the Clean Air
Act."
[NOTE TO EDITORS: Companies
alleged to have violated federal clean-air regulations
received a Finding of Violation (FOV) and companies
alleged to have violated federally enforceable state
regulations received a Notice of Violation (NOV). Four
companies received
both.]
COMPANIES RECEIVING
FOVs |
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OSCO Industries Inc. 11th and
Chillicothe Streets Portsmouth, Ohio and OSCO Industries
Inc. Athens and Chillicothe Streets Jackson,
Ohio EPA alleges OSCO
violated federal clean-air regulations by making
major
modifications to these two gray-iron foundries
without getting proper permits
and without installing necessary pollution
control equipment. OSCO also failed
to submit timely and complete Clean Air Act
Title 5 operating permit
applications for the
foundries.
8888888888888888
The above information was obtained from
the EPA website after we
read about the local OSCO receiving a
Finding of Violation from an article
posted on Moe’s Forum today, Thursday, June
16, 2005.
The posting on Moe’s Forum is copied
below:
“My example of what are not journalist
skills is the PDT
(Portsmouth Daily
Times) not reporting OSCO being charged with
polluting
our air. Two weeks ago the
Jackson paper reported a story concerning
OSCO Industries in both the
Jackson Community and the Portsmouth
Community being charged
with illegal air emissions (pollutants); the
Jackson paper also included an
interview with Mr. Burke.
Did anyone see an article in the PDT or for
that matter did anyone see an article in any of our local newspapers? Maybe for up-to-date
and accurate news we need to
subscribe to local newspapers from the surrounding
communities like,
Jackson, Chillicothe, Ironton etc.
If the PDT would get out
of the SOGP’s *** and start investigating and reporting all the facts and information they
might, and I say might very loosely, achieve some sort of
credibility, which I can't say I've seen in my
lifetime.”
Posted
by Austin Leedom at 1:00 a.m. Thursday, June 16,
2005
8888888888
THE KU KLUX
KLAN LETTER
(This
article written and published by Austin Leedom at 7:40 p.m.
Thursday, February 3, 2005.)
Less than 36 hours ago
John Welton published on www.dougdeepe.com a copy of a letter
written under the letterhead and logo of the Grand Realm of Alabama, Knights of the Ku Klux
Klan. This letter was addressed to Mr. Roy Aeh of 1559
Charles Street, Portsmouth, Ohio 45662 and was signed by David J.
Duke, Grand Dragon.
In this letter, dated
April 29, 1978 Grand Dragon David Duke indicated his pleasure with
Mr. Roy Aeh’s induction into the Grand Realm of Ohio. Mr. Duke
wrote of a national convention to be held in Jackson,
Mississippi the week of July 23-28, 1978. He wrote, "You and your
wife JoAnn are cordially invited to be with us in this great
crusade."
This letter has been in
my possession since 1996 but was not published until Mrs. Jo Ann Aeh
recently mentioned the recall of three councilman in 1980. Mrs. Aeh
worked against the 2004 recalls of Mayor Greg Bauer and Councilwomen
Ann Sydnor and Carol Maddeline Caudill.
John Welton
(aka Doug Deepe) investigated the 1980
recall and discovered Mrs. Jo Ann Aeh was one of the leaders of this
1980 recall; she was an employee of the Portsmouth Daily
Times at that time and wrote letters to the editor
encouraging this recall; her letters were published.
Doug Deepe’s
investigation also revealed that in this 1980 recall effort hooded
Ku Klux Klan
marchers performed a terroristic nighttime parade around the homes
of Councilmen Andy Clausing and Harold Daub. Also a casket on a
float-type trailer was paraded down Chillicothe Street with enlarged
photos of Harold Daub, Andy Clausing and Mark Price attached to the
casket. The float also was adorned with KKK crosses. And, the
Portsmouth Daily Times encouraged and gave intensive
publicity to these Ku Klux Klan events, and urged the recall of three honest
councilmen.
Today, less than 36
hours after Doug Deepe’s first publication of the Ku Klux Klan letter, further
confirmation of the authenticity of letter has been received from
SOCF personnel; Roy Aeh was a teacher at the Southern Ohio
Correctional Facility (SOCF) where he used copies of the David J.
Duke Ku Klux Klan letter as a recruiting
tool to gather new members to the Klan, according to highly
reliable inside SOCF
information.
For more details about
the ghastly Un-American activities of the Ku Klux Klan in league with
the Portsmouth Daily
Times read
exclusive articles on www.dougdeepe.com .
(This article written and published
by Austin Leedom at 7:40 p.m. Thursday, February 3,
2005.)
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BELOW IS A
LETTER FROM A CHILD VICTIM OF THE PORTSMOUTH DAILY
TIMES' VICIOUS LIES |
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(Letter from H. Justin Daub;
this letter was first posted on Doug’s Forum January
27, 2005)
AN OPEN LETTER TO
THE PENIX FAMILY ! (lets pray for our city together)
I can understand
your family’s efforts to save Mr. Penix’s reputation, and I
send my respects and sympathy to your family. Sometimes a man
must do whatever to keep his family. Many have fought in wars
for the betterment of the same.
I have been fighting
this same battle for my family and myself for many
years.
In todays editorial by Rick Greene he stated "
The Portsmouth Daily Times will take full advantage of
the First Amendment and freedom of the Press it ENJOYS !" THIS
SOUNDS LIKE THE SAME ATTITUDE USED AGAINST THE THREE
COUNCILMEN IN 1980! Which is O K. But they used it in the
wrong way! They distorted the truth and heightened
sensationalism to sell papers and destroy three men’s families
forever.
Now, please I would like to state my side if I
may? The importance of the Penix letter is irrelevant to me,
although I was very shocked when I read it years ago! But what
I would like to bring out is the things I’ve had to face in my
life due to this character assassination on my father and
family by the Portsmouth Times.
While I was only
a year old when The Portsmouth Times was feeding its
readers a daily dose of spite and hatred toward my father as
though he were a mass murderer on the loose. I looked at some
old letters to the editor and they started condemning him nine
days after he took office. He still loves and cares for this
city today! We could have moved but chose not to. Our family
has been here for two hundred years.
When I was old
enough to understand why I was being treated as some type of
outcast, my mother brought out all the old newspaper clippings
including the letter in question. I was shocked and appalled
to see the front page showing the casket parade with my
father’s picture on the side, and signs saying WANTED and
MURDERER, Not to mention an everyday editorial or other
slanderous statements and many orchestrated letters to the
editor.
I asked my parents many times why the truth was
never brought out? Well, who are you going to take it to?
The Portsmouth Times? The same people that poisoned
people against you everyday for six months? Not to mention the
local radio station blasting him every chance they
got.
Ms. Penix I would like to share a couple of small
experiences since I started school up to today. You should be
grateful your son Paul Jr. didn’t have to go through what I
did thanks to The Portsmouth Times character
assassination of my father. It still goes on today.
In
my early school years I was already being chastised and didn’t
know why. When parents found out that a DAUB was in their
child's class they would send their imbedded hatred from the
Portsmouth Times against my father to unleash them on
me. They would say awful things to me and even to the point
they brought in old paper clippings. I had to change schools
several times to try to escape this ridicule not only from the
kids but also from some teachers!
There was a time I
didn’t know it happened, at the time, a hate imbedded parent
sent cupcakes into school for their child’s birthday, for all
the kids to share. I didn’t know this until many years later
when my mother showed me the teacher’s note. The note stated
there is enough cup cakes but one short and asks the teacher
that Daub not be given one! This teacher was very kind to me
and I didn’t know this until many years later. The teacher
sent a note home with me for my parents unknowing the content.
My mother kept this note and I’ll share it with you today.
"I’m sorry but I feel compelled to tell you what happened in
my class today. Cup cakes were sent in for a small birthday
celebration, a note was sent in with them to exclude your son!
I thought about sending them back home with the child but it
was not the child's fault. I gave your son mine and sent a
note home with that child, that was the wrong thing to do to a
small child! And I would not. " When I read this I still get a
tear in my eye.
Other incidents like birthday parties
my mother gave every child an invitation to attend my party at
skate land, need not bring any gifts only have a good time. I
later found out many did not show up because their parents
stated they were not allowed, I was a Daub. But when I went to
a schoolmates party at skate land they were all
there?
When I grew older and started showing an
interest in girls around town like most young boys! I was told
by some they were not allowed to be with a Daub, and if they
were caught they would be punished! WHAT DID I DO? WHO DID I
MURDER to deserve this type of treatment?
After
graduating from high school I began looking for employment
around the area. Everywhere I applied they all asked the same
question? ARE YOU THE SON OF THAT HAROLD DAUB? THE RECALLED
COUNCILMAN? What could I say. but yes?. Needless to say all
the people that asked or brought up the 1980 city council
subject never called me back! But less qualified people did
. |
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Dear Ms. Penix be glad
for your son, that he wasn’t tormented and branded all his
life for things printed against his father in The
Portsmouth Times. IT’S BEEN HELL!
It’s hard to
explain all that’s happened in this short note over 25 years
of being chastised for something simple as my father trying to
fire a crooked city manager. Feldman left a couple years later
with a pocket full of the taxpayers money. He never looked
back on Portsmouth.
I know this site has a small
readership nothing like the thousands of papers put on
people’s porches each day by The Portsmouth Times, but
I thought I needed to reply, and at least let you know a
little about my life.
One question Ms. Penix only you
can answer! You stated to my mother and father that you later
found out you and the paper were being used and that those
people were wrong in what they did to my father. My question
is you stated you and Paul started your own paper The
Community Common because you didn’t like where the
Times was going? Then why didn’t you or your husband
ever write this in your paper and help clear the names of the
families the Times destroyed? Clausing, Price, and
Daub.
One last thing about this letter two God loving
men have gone to their grave believing this letter to be the
truth. And by all the slander these people took it looks to be
real too many. Unlike the obituary you posted of James Secrest
boasting he was a city councilman, these men asked it not be
mentioned in theirs. They wanted to go out quietly, for fear
they would even be smeared in the final day. A message to
Rick Greene, I just wonder if you would put the casket parade
on the front page today? With my fathers picture below the
words WANTED AND MURDER? I think you would! Your paper is the
biggest problem with Portsmouth ! It’s all about the love of
money, and the ability to take it away from you, the
taxpayers.
H. Justin Daub (son of Harold Daub)
Below are responses
from readers of Doug's Forum. |
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Re:
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PENIX FAMILY ! (lets pray for our city
together) (Response from a reader)
Justin,
You
wrote an awesome letter, from the heart. It took a lot of
courage to come foraward as you did. I know a bit about having
a reputation ruined by unscrupulous people, so I can empathize
with your plight. I hope for the sake of your father and
mother, and you and the rest of your family that this matter
is finally cleared up and put to rest.
I believe that
it's high time that they let the truth come out. Regardless of
who is alive or dead, those that were shamefully smeared
should be cleared. If the Penix family knows what really
happened then the HONEST thing is to stand up and admit
it.
The time for denials and accusations is over. A
shameful, terrible incident has happened. It should be
rectified, it can be rectified.
A challenge has been
laid at the feet of Ms. Penix and her family. Can you, will
you, accept it and set the record straight? How can you serve
our city and county with honor and integrity while knowing of
such a lie? How can you stand yourself knowing that you have
the ability to clear a man's name, yet have withheld that
information for years?
Portsmouth is in shambles
because of underhanded dealings, rumors, and mudslinging, and
basically outright theft from it's citizens. When is it over?
The city cannot be changed until the people responsible for
such reprehensible actions are exposed and the people that
were harmed are cleared.
Too many lies. Too much
deceit. Too many innocent people harmed.
Enough is
enough!
Gravel Email:
copinawheelchair@hotmail.com
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Re: A OPEN LETTER
TO THE PENIX FAMILY ! (lets pray for our city together)
(Response from a reader of Doug’s
Forum)
Justin, Although I was not a part of the
horrendous acts that took place with your family, I still feel
that I owe you an apology. Why? Because, for a long time, I
sat back, unaware of what REALLY was happening. My blind faith
in our City officials and The PDT inadvertently allowed this
to happen. That's why, once awakened, I joined forces to help
rid this town of the vermin and stinch.
Thank you for
your willingness to share a small portion of your torment with
the rest of us. I'm sure it wasn't easy.
Claudette
Email: curlyraye@adelphia.net
EDITORS NOTE: The writings
above were posted on Doug’s Forum on January 28, 2005
by H. Justin Daub, the son of Harold and Darlene Daub.
(Responses by citizens to his letter are printed below Justin
Daub’s letter.) Harold Daub, along with two other honest
councilmen were removed from office by recall in 1980. Mr.
Daub had been in City Council only nine days when he was first
attacked by the Portsmouth Daily Times. The
Portsmouth Daily Times attacks against Daub began when
Councilman Daub refused bribes from a group that included
Attorney Clayton Johnson and the Publisher of The
Portsmouth Daily Times. The almost daily attacks by the
Times continued; The Times encouraged attacks
and demonstrations against the three Councilmen. Reports of
the number of participants in events such as the orchestrated
Casket March down Chillicothe Street were greatly exaggerated
and published (May 8, 1980) on the front page of the
Portsmouth Daily Times. (The casket used in the March was
adorned with photos of three Councilmen and large signs such
as " MURDERERS" and "WANTED" were affixed to the
casket.) Photos of the nighttime march of persons garbed
in KU KLUX KLAN robes and hoods around the homes of Andrew
Clausing and Harold Daub were not frontpaged by the Times.
Mrs. Harold (Darlene) Daub, a young mother, was home alone
with her small child Justin, when the KU KLUX KLAN marchers
made their frightening night-time parade around and around her
home. She was "terrified."
As the above writings of
young Justin Daub attest, this event was only the beginning of
a lifetime of abuse, discrimination, humiliation, and
mistreatment for the child.
Thousands of lying words
were published by the Portsmouth Daily Times in their
continuing efforts to discredit the three councilman who were
trying to avert a monstrous theft of public funds from the
city treasury by a small group of greedy
opportunists.
Twenty-five years later
the program is still in place at The Portsmouth Daily
Times as people who write and publish falsehoods for pay
are still co-operating with the Same Old Gang Program (SOGP.)
The suffering of untold thousands of citizens and the decline
of Portsmouth is the history of the disgraceful Portsmouth
Daily Times.
The above commentary
written and published by Austin Leedom, Editor of the Shawnee
Sentinel Website www.portsmouthohio.info at 8:30 a.m. on
Saturday, January 29, 2005. | PORTSMOUTH DAILY TIMES EDITOR RICK GREENE
SEEMS TO BE WILLING TO "DISH IT OUT BUT HE CAN'T TAKE IT IN RETURN"
WHEN IT COMES TO CRITICISM WITH THE PUBLIC!
By John Welton, January 30,
2005The following email was sent to me by
Robert Kelley and he granted me permission to publish the email
correspondence between him and Portsmouth Daily Times Editor Rick
Greene. It sures looks like Greene can't take what he dishes out!
Read it for yourself!
-----Forwarded Message----- From:
Rick Greene Sent: Jan 28, 2005 4:04 PM To: Robert Kelley
Subject: Re: Consider the Source
on 1/26/05 1:32 PM,
Robert Kelley at kelleyb@zoomnet.net
wrote:
Mr Greene,
After reading your
editorial 01-26-05, I shall consider you as a news source null and
void when it comes to your lack of reporting underhanded
white-collar crime in Portsmouth, Ohio. If it weren't for the
underground reporting we wouldn't have a clue about what was
really going on.
You, Mr. Greene are
nothing more than a propagandist for the SOGP and the elitist of
our fair city and county. You sir, are without principles or
scruples. I see that Douge Deepe has proof of what your newspaper
thinks of us, that we will believe anything you publish. I
sir, believe nothing that your sorry paper
prints.
When you examine your
mushy back-bone you will discover a lack of a
spine.
Most Sincerely. Robert E
Kelley 195 Wilson Street Portsmouth, Ohio
45662
P.S. I feel that you don't
have the fortitude to publish this letter. But if you do, you have
my permission.
I'm not interested in your
unsupported, and false, conspiracy theories. Please stop sending
me e-mails. Thank you.
Rick Greene Managing
Editor Portsmouth Daily Times
(COMMENT BY DOUG DEEPE:) NOW IS THAT HOW YOU TREAT THE
PUBLIC, RICKY? I GUESS IT IS, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE GUY PEGS YOU AS
THE FRAUD YOU REALLY ARE AND WHEN THE PUBLIC IS FINALLY SEEING YOU
HAVE NO INTEGRITY AS A SO-CALLED JOURNALIST! J
W)
An Open Letter to
Portsmouth Daily Times Editor Rick
Greene.
Another year
is about to end. Perhaps next year will be kinder to you. I
respectfully hope so. You have much talent. You have a degree in
journalism. You have experience, and are an excellent writer when
you are allowed to write honestly. You know how to investigate
corruption; you proved that to the Shawnee Sentinel reporters
when you worked with us and government investigators in our inquiry
into the thefts from the city by former-City Service Director Mike
Blackburn, and other investigations. You were with us when we were
investigating the missing funds from the Drug Task Force and the
fraudulent Martings Building sale.
You
told us that you agreed to be Editor of The Times when you
were promised you could really be the Editor and make the
decisions as to what you could and would write. You were
mis-informed. Your investigations and writing were fine until you
began asking the Southern Ohio Growth Partnership (SOGP) about their
financial records. Then you were told by the Chamber of Commerce (a
group that is controlled by SOGP) that if you continued your
investigations and writings they were going to withhold advertising
money from your newspaper. They did withhold their ads from your
Big Special Edition last spring, but you produced a very fine
publication without their support.
Your
investigation into the May 2002 purchase of the old Martings
Department Store Building by the City Council from Clayton Johnson
(who is also known as the Richard D. Marting Foundation) brought
more grief to you. Then the SOGP summoned you to the offices of
White-Collar-Crime King-Pin Clayton Johnson where you were, in
effect, put on a short chain and muzzled.
You
ignored the vicious slapping of a Shawnee Sentinel reporter’s
wife by a gun-toting thug (Dean Conklin) employed in the office of
City Prosecutor Mark Kuhn on Black Friday, February 27, 2004. The
police and medical records were available but you were ordered not
to write the story. Mark Kuhn was running for the office of County
Prosecuting Attorney. The SOGP (Clayton Johnson) did not dare let
Kuhn’s opponent Eric Wrage win the election. Attorney Wrage
promised, "equal justice for all." You were silenced,
again.
The SOGP
forced you to support the felonious Mayor Greg Bauer when the
citizens sought to recall him. Your writings to keep the Mayor in
office were in vain. The angered people of the City of Portsmouth
disregarded your backing of Mayor Bauer and recalled him by
two-to-one vote.
Then you
knew that you had lost your power to influence the informed voters
of Portsmouth.
But, you
were forced to back Councilwoman Ann Sydnor in spite of her lengthy
record of enriching herself at the expense of the citizens, and her
felonious record of tampering with election petitions. You also had
to support Councilwoman Maddeline Carol Caudill despite her actions
in illegally being a lead player in the purchase of the $762,000
Marting building for $2,000,000. You were fully aware that the
illegal sale of the old Martings building was simply a bail-out to
relieve Clayton Johnson (SOGP) of $600,000 in personal indebtedness.
You had to keep silent, except to praise the criminal council
members and urge the voters to retain them in
office.
You lost
again. The citizens voted them out despite your best efforts to
sustain corruption in City Council.
Following a
suit by Bob and Teresa Mollette against the council for illegally
buying the old Martings Building, Scioto County Common Pleas Court
Judge William T. Marshall ruled that the purchase was illegal and
ruled the purchase null and void.
Sadly, today
you caused an editorial to be published in your newspaper that said
that the City of Portsmouth should ignore the ruling of the
Honorable Judge and refuse to pay any court ordered fees due the
Molettes’ attorney.
As I wrote
earlier in this article, Rick Greene, you are educated, talented,
are easy to work with; you have a good personality, even charming at
times. You are an excellent investigator, a good writer. You have
done well as Managing Editor in producing a newspaper seven days a
week. Sadly, I, and others have seen a very noticeable deterioration
of the ethical editor we once knew. Your appearance has suffered,
your attitude is a fearful one and confidence in yourself is as
shattered as the public’s belief in your
truthfulness.
Rick,
as the old lyric goes, "You gotta know when to hold, You gotta know
when to fold." Next year can be much better for you, Mr. Greene.
Here in Portsmouth the citizens have voted and they say, "Thou art
weighed in the balance and found wanting." (Daniel 5:27)
You would do
well to do as many good people have done when they became tired and
frustrated by the pervasive corruption of Portsmouth; leave town.
Find an honest employer who will permit you to perform ethically.
Dress up again, shine your shoes, put on your tie, iron your shirts,
get a haircut and start smiling again. Look like an editor again.
Then you may regain your confidence and your honor; once again you
may be of value to society. You can once again be clean and healthy
morally, physically and spiritually. You can write and write
honestly. Don’t let yourself and your family go down with the dregs
of dishonest society you have been forced to associate with and
write for, here in this City of Corruption.
May
you have a happy, prosperous and ethical New Year. You owe it
yourself, and your family. You have the rest of your life before
you. You can be whatever you think you can be. "As a man thinketh in
his heart, so is he." (Proverbs
23:7)
Sincerely,
Austin Leedom December 31,
2004
DAILY
TIMES
PORTSMOUTH DAILY
TIMES EDITOR RICK GREENE SLANDERS CITIZEN, NOT KNOWING MAN’S WIFE
WAS IN THE GROUP HE WAS TALKING TO
Friday, December
17, 2004 - Editor Rick Greene of the Portsmouth Daily Times
slandered Third Ward citizen Harold Daub following the hearing today
in Common Pleas Court on the Marting Embezzlement Case.
Derogatory,
slanderous statements against Mr. Daub were made by Editor Greene to
a group of about ten citizens in the hallway outside Judge Willliam
T. Marshall’s Courtroom following the 2:30 p.m. hearing on
Friday, December 17, 2004.
Apparently Mr.
Greene was unaware that Mrs. Harold (Darlene) Daub was one of the
group until a lady friend of Mrs. Daub introduced Editor Greene to
the lady.
Mr. Greene was
then excitedly apologetic and begged the lady to ask her
husband to come to his office at the Daily Times
Building.
Editor Rick
Greene may soon realize that it is time for him to move on to
another area.
His credibility
has been destroyed by his decision to take orders from the SOGP mob;
few people now trust him.
"Move on, Mr.
Greene. Go where the people do not know what you are. All you
have lost here is your honor." By Austin Leedom, Shawnee
Sentinel Reporter, Wednesday, December 22, 2004 at 12:15
a.m.
EDITOR RICK GREENE FOLLOWING ORDERS
FROM MAYOR BAUER,
AND STEVE (WNXT)
HAYES - CLICK ON Daily Times in menu at
left
(Written and
posted by Austin Leedom at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 01,
2004)
Not long ago, in the summer of
2003 Portsmouth Daily Times Editor Rick Greene and WNXT Disk
Jockey Steve Hayes were calling each other names. Now, today, Rick
Greene is running free advertising for Steve Hayes on the front page
of the Daily Times.
And on the Editorial Page
today, Rick Greene published a letter favorable to stopping the
recall of our mendacious Mayor, Greg Bauer. This letter is from a
man in Delaware, Ohio. How many letters from local people who are
suffering from Bauer’s tax raises did the Editor throw in the trash
can to make room for the epistle from Bauer’s out-of-town
accomplice?
In May, 2003 Editor Rick
Greene was furious about Greg Bauer lying to him about the thefts
committed by Bauer’s man, Mike Blackburn, who was at that time, the
City Service Director. Editor Greene was also angry that disk jockey
Steve Hayes was providing Mayor Greg Bauer air time to lie about
Rick Greene’s publication of the truth about Bauer and
Blackburn.
Since then Police Chief
Charles Horner reported that Mike Blackburn had committed five
felony crimes of theft from the city. Assistant County Prosecuting
Attorney Bill Shaw made a similar report. City Solicitor David Kuhn
did not prosecute. Kuhn asked an alleged lawyer, Waldo, in Lawrence
County to recommend "no prosecutable acts."
In February 2004 the City
Council asked the Chief of Police to investigate the purchase of the
Martings Building, for an outlandish price, in 2002. Many persons
becames extremely agitated by the possibility that the truth about
this deal would be known to the public.
The Chief accused no one of
any wrongdoing. However, Pleas of Not Guilty were made in an open
City Council meeting by Solicitor David Kuhn and council members
Carol Caudill and Howard Baughman.
The Mayor, and his devious
comrades at SOGP and the Chamber of Commerce put pressure on
Portsmouth Daily Times Publisher Eddie Blakely and Editor
Greene to stop printing the truth about the Marting’s Scandal. Bob
Huff, Mafia-style front man for SOGP told the Times to stop printing
the truth or the SOGP and the Chamber of Commerce were going to
refuse to advertise in the Times’ yearly Progress
Edition.
The SOGP, the Chamber of
Commerce and the Retail Merchants did boycott this big annual
edition, but Editor Greene published a grand edition without their
money. The publication was good.
Rick Greene has received many
investigative reports from the Shawnee Sentinel and Doug
Deepe and has verified their reports and printed the truth.
Almost every "big story" in the past year was furnished the
Times by the Sentinel and Doug Deepe. However,
Rick Greene was recently ordered not to associate with the
investigators any longer. The truth about the Martings Scandal and
Clay Johnson must not be published in the Daily Times. We can
understand the concern by Clay Johnson and Greg Bauer, and we can
understand the pressure from the advertisers. The gang that
threatened Publisher Blakely has done this
before.
Now it appears that the SOGP,
the Chamber of Commerce and others have ordered the Portsmouth
Daily Times to increase their efforts to make Mayor Greg Bauer
look good and avert his pending recall. This is understandable. An
honest Mayor would be a detriment to the thefts from city coffers.
Apparently Editor Greene has
been told to give free advertising (disguised as news stories) to
Bauer’s Best Buddy, Steve Hayes. For several weeks Rick Greene has
written against the recall; this is not enough. Not so many people
have trust in the Editor’s integrity, anymore. Now he is busily
sorting through the Letters to the Editor in an attempt to find a
letter supporting the Mayor.
We feel sorry for you, Rick
Greene. You looked better when you were honest.
We have "ladies on the street"
and "entertainment ladies" at motels that rent their bodies for a
price.
We can live with that old
profession, but it is hard to condone the acts of a "man of ethics"
with a duty to the community he receives his pay from, to prostitute
an (sometimes) honorable profession.
(Written and posted by Austin
Leedom at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 01,
2004)
RICK GREENE,
INVESTIGATIVE EDITOR
(Written and
posted by Austin Leedom at 12:30 a.m. Monday, March 29,
2004)
The Portsmouth Daily
Times (PDT)
under the editorship of Rick Greene was a leader in news in
Portsmouth, Ohio for the past several months. For the first time
since Publisher Ken Park fired Tim Underwood in 1993 the
Times published revealing investigative articles.
At that time, in an interview
with Publisher Park I questioned the dismissal of Tim Underwood who
had brought many interesting articles of criminal corruption to the
attention of the Times’ readers. Ken Park replied, "Tim
Underwood was looking at things we are not supposed to be looking
at; he is a good reporter and I hated to let him go."
PUBLISHER FIRED FOR STORY
ABOUT PHYSICIAN AT SOMCLess than
two years later Mr. Park was also fired because one of his reporters
had published a one-column, three-inch brief on page five that told
of a physician at Southern Ohio Medical Center (SOMC) who had been
sued for malpractice. SOMC had then pulled all their advertising
from the Daily Times and the hospital business group that
SOMC was part of also pulled their ads from newspapers in other
cities that were owned by the same publishing company that owned and
operated the Daily Times.
A newspaper needs the
advertising and Park had done well; at that time the Daily
Times was sending over $500,000.00 profit from Portsmouth to
their out of town owner every year. Mr. Park was fired and the
Southern Ohio Medical Center and their affiliates again were buying
advertisments.
Ken Park, an able
administrator who had tried to follow directions, did not suffer
financially. He had published faithfully for the benefit of the
Republican Party while he was in charge of the local newspaper. He
was awarded by the state Republican administration in Columbus with
a high-pay job with Ohio Department of Highways.
An alleged publisher who was
socially unfit and highly incompetent followed Ken Park. Then, in
the late nineties B.J.Riley was appointed publisher. Mr. Riley
promised readers he would be a watchdog over a three million dollar
grant that was being handled by the Southern Ohio Growth Partnership
(SOGP) but he fell in with the local gang after his spouse was
tendered a high-pay job by the SOGP. (Greg Bauer, our current Mayor,
was in with the SOGP gang that helped the three million dollars
disappear; only six hundred dollars was accounted for to the public
by the SOGP.)
We know little of the
background of the present publisher, Eddie Blakely. It is rumoured
that he worked for several years in Texas. Mr. Blakely no longer
works full time at the Portsmouth Daily Times; we have
information that he is also serving as Publisher for two other area
newspapers, also owned by the Alabama Company that owns the Daily
Times. It is believed that the Newspaper Company in Alabama is
short on money, as are many businesses in our nation in recent
years. Perhaps that is why Eddie Blakely is doing triple-duty as
publisher for three newspapers.
Neither John Welton nor I have
ever talked with Mr. Blakely.
Our communications with the
Daily Times for the past year have been mostly with Editor
Rick Greene who has worked closely and amicably with us in a common
interest. Editor Greene was delighted to receive documents and news
tips from us. He told us that he was short on reporters and the
company has refused to budget more money for reporters to perform
the standard of news reporting he desired to bring to his readers.
MIKE BLACKBURN – ILLEGAL COMPUTER
PURCHASE
On May 19, 2003 after we
obtained and carried the documents that exposed the thefts by City
Service Director Mike Blackburn to Mr. Greene at his office, we made
a verbal agreement that we would work covertly together. This was
fine with us. We didn’t really care about the credit for doing the
investigative work for the Daily Times; we wanted the public
to know of the corruption of the city mayor’s office, and at that
time the newspaper had more readers than we had. We continued with
this agreement because we realized that the Times had readers
that did not read the website. Many people do not have Internet
access, and many that do never bother to read our website. We wanted
the citizens of this city and county to know what the officials were
doing with our tax money.
This arrangement was a bonanza
for Editor Greene. He told us that circulation had increased as the
stories of the Mayor’s corruption with his service director Mike
Blackburn and publication of our reports of other illegal activities
became a normal occurrence for the Daily Times. We did the
investigations and furnished reports and documents to Editor Greene;
he verified our reports and printed the news. His reputation as an
investigative editor soared. Rick Greene was looking good and his
reputation as a hard-hitting honest journalist was spreading
rapidly.
When we furnished the Mike
Blackburn documents on the purchase of a $3,000.00 home computer on
a city account to Editor Greene he was delighted. After we had
published articles on the websites about the illegal purchase Mayor
Greg Bauer called Editor Greene to his city hall office to "explain"
why the purchase of personal equipment on the city’s account was
legal.MAYOR LIED TO
EDITOR
Editor Greene was furious when
he returned to his office from his interview with Mayor Greg Bauer.
Mr. Greene told us that he had taken top reporter Jeff Barron with
him to the interview and had cautioned Mr. Barron not to say
anything to the Mayor that would reveal to the Mayor that the
Daily Times already had received a copy of the incriminating
documents. Editor Greene further told us that Mayor Greg Bauer,
unaware that Editor Greene and Jeff Barron already had the story,
lied to them, told them that it was all "done" and it was all legal,
but that he had disciplined Mike Blackburn.
When The Times printed
the Blackburn-Bauer story Mayor Bauer went on the radio with his
buddy Steve Hayes and informed anyone listening that was not aware
of the illegal act, that it did indeed occur, and it was all okay.
In one radio session both Mayor Bauer and Disk Jockey Hayes both
bad-mouthed the Editor of the Times. Editor Greene responded
in a mature manner in a gentlemanly fashion. Both the disk jockey
and mayor looked even worse for their denials. Editor Greene was
doing great; and newspapers were selling.
MRDD
Many interesting cases
followed. Our long and deep investigation into the corruption at
Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (MRDD) exposed
unfair labor practices, unsafe conditions, rapes and abuse of
participants, and arrogant disregard of the participants’ human
dignity. Many state regulations were being violated and we called
for investigations by the State of Ohio. Some of the events we
exposed are still under investigation and in the courts. Our
publicity helped stop the lay-off of the veteran MRDD bus drivers
and helped stop a contract with the Canadian Laidlaw Transportation
Company. Scioto County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Bill Shaw
entered the case and ruled against the proposal which was being used
by MRDD Director John Oakley as a union-busting ploy. Mr. Shaw
enforced the law and saved many local jobs.SOCF
The Southern Ohio Correctional Facility investigation
was another big investigation. In this case Editor Greene became
active after we had set up interviews for him with prison employees.
In this case John Welton (Doug Deepe) spent endless hours in dozens
of interviews by phone and in person with with SOCF personnel; he
also gathered documents from the employees, from court files, and
from the State Correctional Offices in Columbus. Doug Deepe was able
to persuade high-ranking officers to meet with Editor Greene at the
Times Office. Doug Deepe also arranged a large interview meeting
with a group of twelve at a rural location for a nighttime meeting
with the editor. Some of the prison personnel were fearful of being
seen downtown at Mr. Greene’s office. This meeting produced an
abundance of information from local SOCF personnel and Corrections
Officers who came to the meeting from Ross County prisons after
interviews with Doug Deepe.
JOHN WELTON DID MOST OF WORK – RICK GREENE GOT
THE CREDIT
After many weeks of intensive
work the documents and other evidence Doug Deepe had obtained were
given to Editor Rick Greene. Greene wanted to write this story. He
wanted to be one to "break" this big story. He was not very quick to
put it together, as there was a tremendous volume of recordings,
documents and interviews from which to write the revealing story.
When the lengthy detailed SOCF story "broke" it was a big revelation
to the Daily Times readers. Rick Greene received full credit
for the article. The readers loved Rick Greene’s investigation and
his report.
Doug Deepe and I already had
our SOCF articles prepared to post on our websites, but we waited,
according to an agreement to keep the news secret, until Mr. Greene
got his big story printed. He wanted full credit for the entire
story; an earlier posting on our websites would have detracted from
Editor Greene’s image as an investigative reporter. We agreed
without hesitation; we wanted the public to know how conditions were
at the prison for the employees and the inmates. Rick Green did a
good job with his writing. He was looking good to the public and
selling more newspapers than ever.MARTINGS SCANDAL $1.9 MILLION
Doug Deepe and I had been
investigating the Martings Scandal for several weeks but had
difficulty getting public information from the Mayor’s office when
Police Chief Charles Horner announced on Monday, February 23, 2004
at the City Council meeting that he was investigating the Martings
Building purchase the Portsmouth Daily Times Reporter Jeff
Barron was there to report for the Times.
Editor Rick Greene began his
own investigation into the Martings Scandal and Doug Deepe and I
intensified our inquiries. Slowly, piece by piece, it has become
documented. Despite deep collusion by many persons, and rigorous
efforts to keep records hidden, we now have the story. A little more
work and we can "put the icing on the cake." We have documented
proof of multiple violations by Martings. We also have documented
proof of grand larceny by Mayor Greg Bauer. We will publish this at
the proper time.
Editor Rick Greene had worked
closely with us on this and we had exchanged information. Rick
Greene has talent; he is a good investigator. He would be hard to
beat if he didn’t have the chore of getting a newspaper written,
printed and on the street seven days a week.
Many agencies
have become interested in the Marting’s purchase made by Mayor
Bauer. At one time while Doug Deepe, Rick Greene and I were
exchanging information on Martings in a meeting in Rick Greene’s
office we were interrupted by a government official. Mr. Greene
invited the official into the room where we were. Rick Greene had
worked with us and trusted us to such an extent that he did not ask
us to leave, but asked us to stay for more exchanging of information
with him. The government official took information from us, but, as
usual with those people, we got no information; they don’t give you
anything. We didn’t mind, we appreciated the widening interest in
this Marting Scandal by other officials, and were happy to help.
Finally, our
working agreement with the Daily Times is over. This is a relief in
a way. Now we don’t have to wait to post our news for fear it will
interfere with plans of Mr. Greene to print the story. We no longer
have to communicate with Rick Greene to discuss when the stories
will be posted.
EDITOR WARNED NOT TO TACKLE SOGP – (Same Old Gang
Program)
Rick
Greene is an investigator. He wanted more information and had reason
to believe that SOGP is key to much of the corruption in this city.
We warned Editor Greene that he would meet rigid opposition from the
SOGP if he attempted to obtain information about what they do with
public money. The SOGP (also known as
the Same Old Gang Program) has long refused to make public accounting of public money.
Editor Greene disregarded our unsought advice and continued to
inquire about the "holy of holies." Bob Huff, the front confidence
man for SOGP, Clay Johnson, the lawyer, and The Chamber of Commerce
have, apparently, blocked his action.
SOGP BOB HUFF, ATTORNEY CLAY JOHNSON GET INTO
GAME
Editor Greene,
his boss Eddie Blakely, and their Attorney Rick Brown were "invited"
to Clay Johnson’s new office building at the northeast corner of
Sixth and Washington Street. We were told that Attorney Clay Johnson
laid out documents and "explained" the $1.999 million dollar
Martings deal. Now that Eddie Blakely and Rick Green have received
an official "explanation" from the "boss," don’t look for them to
print any more about the Martings Scandal unless the
Sentinel and DougDeepe.com lead the way with
more publications of revealing information.
At the City
Council meeting seven days ago, Monday, March 22, 2004 Editor Rick
Greene showed up, along with Reporter Jeff Barron. From an interview
immediately after the meeting, we believe that an interview with
Doug Deepe (John Welton) and me was the main reason Rick Greene
attended the meeting. After all, he had his top city reporter on the
job to write the article on the council meeting. Rick wasn’t needed
there.
JOHN WELTON AND SHAWNEE SENTINEL BANNED FROM
THE TIMES
During
this interview Rick Greene told us we were banned from the
Portsmouth Daily Times building. He told us that the order
came from Publisher Eddie Blakely. He later said he agreed with the
Blakely order. This order came through Editor Greene only a few days
after Clay Johnson "had laid out documents and explained" the
Martings $1.999 Million Dollar purchase. Apparently the
Shawnee Sentinel and Dougdeepe.com disturbed the
SOGP, Bob Huff, and Clay Johnson about accounts of their involvement
in this dubious deal of the Martings
purchase.
Well, you had a
good run Editor Greene. You were printing real news for nearly a
year; the readers were happy; they were proud of you and delighted
that, at last, they had a real newpaper in Portsmouth. They had
reason to hope Portsmouth was now going to become a real part of
civilized America, with a guardian newspaper to keep the citizens
free from the evils of corruption and oppression. Oh, well! A good
dream, but a brief one.
One more thing,
Editor Greene, you may be famous as a journalist some day. You have
the ability; you need the proper forum to perform to the best of
your talents.
DID EDITOR RICK GREENE TELL PUBLISHER HE HAD
HELP?
Another thought,
and a question for you, Rick Greene. Did you ever tell Publisher
Eddie Blakely that you weren’t really the one that was doing most of
the investigative work for the articles you were printing? Or, did
you simply keep quiet about your unpaid assistants, and let him
think you alone were responsible for all the breaking
news?
If you didn’t
level with your publisher, then you may sometime join the ranks of
Jayson Blair, and Jack Kelley. Jayson Blair made worldwide headlines
last year when it was revealed that many of the articles he wrote
for the New York Times were taken from articles created by
other writers. And of course, you probably read about Jack Kelley,
43, of USA Today last Friday. Nearly half of the front
section of their newspaper, including the frontpage, was filled with
apologies to their readers for printing Kelley’s phony news stories.
Kelley wrote of many events and tragedies in the Middle East war
zone during the past three years that didn’t
occur.
Good luck, Rick Greene,
remember what you were taught in your ethics classes in journalism
school. You gotta be honest! (Written and posted by Austin Leedom at
12:30 a.m. Monday, March 29, 2004)
The Portsmouth
Daily Times loses another experienced man.
(Written
and posted by Austin Leedom at 5:30 p.m. Friday, March 26,
2004)
Thom Chalfan,
former Editor of the Shawnee State University Chronicle
and Assistant Sports Editor at the Portsmouth Daily
Times after being graduated from SSU in 2001 has
left The Portsmouth Daily Times.
As Editor
of the University Chronicle for two years Mr. Chalfan
installed the latest in newspaper desktop publishing software at the
university; he trained other students in the use of the new
equipment and published many outstanding editions of the university
student newspaper. He was a superior student and was an excellent
writer and leader for the University Chronicle.
In a personal
interview with Shawnee Sentinel reporters today Mr. Chalfan
said he had received a better job with the Daily Advance
Newspaper in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. He is leaving
Portsmouth this weekend for his new position in North Carolina.
See http://www.dailyadvance.com/ for view of Thom
Chalfan’s Carolina newspaper.
Thom Chalfan is
a veteran of the United States Navy and was home-ported in Norfolk,
Virginia. He is acquainted with Atlantic coast area and appeared to
be very happy to be returning to the East Coast. He lamented the
recent departure from the Portsmouth Daily Times of Assistant Editor
Todd Garvin; he said he had enjoyed working for Mr.
Garvin.
Mr.
Chalfan indicated that his new position will pay substantially more
than he was being paid by The Portsmouth Daily Times.
(Written and posted by Austin
Leedom at 5:30 p.m. Friday, March 26, 2004)
Below is an
excerpt from a Sentinel article on March 22, 2004
concerning the violent assault of a lady in Assistant City Solicitor
Mark Kuhn's office on February 17, 2004 by Dean
Conklin, an armed employee. The Times refused to print
the news of the incident for fear of losing advertising revenue. For
full story of assault click on MARK KUHN in the menu to the left.
ooooooooooooo
Even more shameful, and
harmful, than the disgusting acts of the vicious members of the
City Solicitor’s Office, is the failure of the Portsmouth Daily
Times to report these crimes to their
readers.
The
Portsmouth Daily Times has known of this violent, disgusting
attack on the helpless woman since the day it occurred. Police
reports were available but TheTimes has refused to print this
story. Many of the citizens of this county are unaware of the
brutal physical attack, and the verbal attack by the officials
of the City Solicitor’s Office.
The Portsmouth
Daily Times is known to many as a Republican newspaper.
The
Portsmouth Daily Times is known to many others as the
main propaganda publication for the "elite group" of
"superior" people who really control many of the offices in the city
and county.
The Portsmouth Daily
Times has for years selectively controlled the news printed in
their paper. The "good people" who commit crimes are safe from any
publicity, while the "rest of us" get frontpage coverage for minor
offenses.
Do we need a newspaper that
prints only some of the news?
Also, The Portsmouth Daily
Times has regularly printed press releases from the
current Sheriff’s Office that were outright lies, and has
defended the Mayor’s Office when they have had, in their
hands, hard-copy evidence of criminal
guilt.
Mis-leading press releases
from the Chamber of Commerce, the Southern Ohio Growth Program
(SOGP) and other so-called "good groups" are routinely printed
without verification. These organizations are portrayed by the
Portsmouth Daily Times as "good people" working for the
"betterment of the community," when in reality they are
working only for their own private, self-serving
interests.
TheTimes neglected to print news about a wealthy person
of a "good family" who raped his own teen-age daughter repeatedly
over a period of two years. They did not run the story until after
it was posted on this website. There are many, many other unreported
crimes that the Portsmouth Daily Times has
concealed.
Do we need such
a so-called newspaper? Are you paying too much for your
paper?
The
Portsmouth Daily Times has also come to the rescue
of the gang that engineered the $1.9 million Marting’s fiasco.
When he began
investigation of the Martings Scandal Portsmouth Police Chief Horner
incurred the wrath of the select "people in power" who naturally
believe that their goals of continued dominance and self-prosperity
is in the best interest of the entire city and their means (legal or
corrupt) are justified by the results.
The present
Martings fiasco has entangled many of the "superior" people of
Portsmouth in a web of dreaded, unwanted publicity and
embarrassment. These "superior people" do not fear
prosecution. They have no scruples about what they do, but
they don't want the public to know. Publicity is the only
thing they fear.
The
Portsmouth Daily Times cannot be a friend of the
truth.
The
Portsmouth Daily Times’ interest in survival by
means of local advertising money forbids their ethical
obligation to report all the news.
Prediction: Editor Rick Greene 's conscience
may not allow him to remain with the Portsmouth Daily Times
much longer. He is honest; and has a brave
heart. He understands ethics of journalism. Now, it
appears Editor Greene has been silenced by Publisher Eddie Blakely
who fears loss of advertising income. Written by
Austin Leedom at 2:30 a.m. Monday, March 22, 2004
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