EDITORIAL: Elections office showed need for changes

Posted 11/13/14

The office released totals on Nov. 4 that were incomplete, since about 2,000 absentee votes had been overlooked. A contractor the office hired is being blamed, but we feel Clerk Jerri Torczon has to accept the responsibility.

The corrected …

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EDITORIAL: Elections office showed need for changes

Posted

Thumbs down to the Park County Clerks Office and its Elections Office for mishandling the election returns on Nov. 4-5.

The office released totals on Nov. 4 that were incomplete, since about 2,000 absentee votes had been overlooked. A contractor the office hired is being blamed, but we feel Clerk Jerri Torczon has to accept the responsibility.

The corrected numbers were not released until mid-day Nov. 5. While most races held up, with minor changes, the Cody school board was altered, as one candidate who thought he had lost learned he had pulled out a very last-minute win.

Mistakes happen. Corrections are needed. But this was a poor showing by the people in charge of elections for our county.

We’re glad Colleen Renner, who takes office as the clerk in January, has vowed to hire a full-time elections director. The foul-up last week revealed the need.

Thumbs up to Southside Elementary School, which deserves the accolades it is getting as a 2014 National Blue Ribbon School, so designated by the U.S. Department of Education.

Last week, Sen. John Barrasso stopped at the school to congratulate its students and staff and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Cindy Hill came as well to salute Southside. We join these public officials in the public praise for the school.

The secret to its success is simple, according to Principal Scott Schiller: The education of the kids comes first. That seems the obvious task for a school but it’s not always the case.

It is at Southside Elementary School, as well as Westside, Parkside and Clark elementary schools, we believe, and at Powell Middle School, the Shoshone Learning Center and Powell High School.

Thumbs down to the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office, which is covering itself in dishonor.

The Wyoming Attorney General’s Office is seeking to remove Campbell County Sheriff Bill Pownall from office. Pownall reportedly ordered some of his deputies not to file a drunken driving charge against his son Seth Pownall, and to instead charge him with a lesser offense, being a pedestrian under the influence.

Word finally leaked out and the Campbell County Commission asked Campbell County Attorney Jeani Stone and the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation to investigate.

Meanwhile, the younger Pownall has now been charged with DUI.

Two things make this particularly interesting: Sheriff Pownall was named Wyoming Peace Officer of the Year earlier this year. And on Nov. 4, he was elected to the state House of Representatives.

If these allegations are correct, he should resign and face the consequences of his actions.

State law gives the sheriff 20 days to respond once the AG’s Office files its complaint against him in Campbell County District Court. So far, he isn’t talking.

Undersheriff Scott Matheny is also doing his part to hold the office up to ridicule.

Matheny, a veteran of almost 30 years with the department, was elected without opposition on Nov. 4. But he wasn’t on the job that day.

Matheny “retired on Oct. 2” and took a three-month break. He will receive his retirement pay even after he returns to work in 2015. His salary will be around $100,000.

No one is saying what Matheny is doing is illegal, but it sure doesn’t pass the smell test. There’s a tarnish on the sheriff’s badge in Campbell County.

Thumbs up to Kendra VanGrinsven, the Powell native who performed a 10-day mission of mercy to Kenya this past summer.

VanGrinsven and her colleagues provided much-needed medical care to people who are in desperate poverty and greatly in need of such assistance. The story was well-told in the Nov. 4 Powell Tribune; if you missed it, we advise you to find it on our website and give it a read.

VanGrinsven is organizing an effort to collect shoes for the children of Kenya. If you have a pair or more to share, drop them off at the Aldrich’s Do It Best Center in Powell.

Thumbs down to the early blast of winter we are receiving this week.

We knew the unusually warm temperatures we were enjoying in October and early November would not last, but the low single digits and below-zero wind chills came as a rough adjustment. It’s like a trip to the dentist — you know what to expect but it’s still tough to absorb.

Only 127 days until March 20, the first day of spring. Think warm thoughts.

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