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| O'Fallon Watchdog |
Exposing Corruption, Injustices and the Truth.
Has Post-Dispatch resorted to bullying widows to make news?
From : Wake Up Call Missouri
March 05, 2008
My story yesterday, Post-Dispatch platform is a fraud, has drawn more interest than anything I have posted before.
And it should. The post was about a story written by Paul Hampel, who apparently had a bad day and decided to take it
out on citizens who dare to question their local governments. Actually, after speaking with one of the people Hampel
attacked, it appears it wasn't simply a bad day on Hampel's part, but rather a planned attack.
Sandy Waters is a 64 year old widow who has lived in St. Peters for over 34 years. She has been a trustee in her
subdivision for over 20 years, a job that comes with no pay but a lot of headaches. She managed her son's baseball team
when he was younger because no else wanted to do it. Sandy did all this while working part time in between being a
mother and wife full time.
While she followed local politics, Sandy had never spoken at a St. Peters council meeting until 2005. What made her take
the time to get involved? Sandy was watching a city workshop one night at home when Alderman Jerry Hollingsworth
mentioned an idea in which St. Peters citizens could help out the community by paying for a street sign which read, "Keep
Kids Alive, Drive 25". Sandy thought it was a good idea and that night went up to the council meeting and publicly
volunteered to pay for such a sign. Her alderman, Patrick Barclay then followed Sandy's lead and also pledged to pay for a
sign. Since then Sandy has been a semi regular at the meetings, sometimes praising the city for its actions, sometimes
criticizing St. Peters but always caring about her city.
If you read the Post-Dispatch's Platform, you would expect them to celebrate and encourage citizens like Sandy rather
than compare them to a murderer, but that is exactly what Paul Hampel and the Post did. Hampel called Sandy about ten
days ago and left a message that he was with the paper and would like to talk to her. At first Sandy was hesitant since she
had no idea who Hampel was or why a reporter would want to talk to her, but after talking with a friend she decided to call
him back.
Sandy says that Hampel told her he covered local government and that Tim Bryant, a Post-Dispatch reporter who covers
St. Peters, had said she was very educated on issues involving property values and taxes and that is what he wanted to
talk to her about. Sandy thought that was odd and told Hampel the only reason Bryant might have said that is because
she once spoke about issues regarding property values at a public meeting but she didn't consider herself an expert by
any means.
Hampel followed up by asking Sandy about speaking at St. Peters city meetings without ever telling her what he really
intended to write about. In fact, Sandy says when she would tell Hampel about some of the reasons she was involved,
such as a statement made by former alderman David Hayes that "There is no free speech in this chamber" Hampel
would act shocked that such things really happened. As Hampel reeled Sandy in he got more personal, asking her if she
was married, and Sandy opened up to him explaining she lost her husband in 2003 and that she would always miss him.
Hampel seized upon this opening to ask Sandy if the reason she went to St. Peters meetings was to fill this void. (In the
article Hampel quoted a psychiatrist who said "gadflies" often attended public meetings because this "is their only dynamic,
if you will, in which they're interacting with people.") Sandy was insulted by the question because it insinuated her
involvement in the community was some kind of a mental illness and that this involvement could replace her husband. As
Sandy became suspicious of Hampel's true intentions he followed up with a question about whether she could ever
become violent over the actions of the city. (In the article Hampel indicates he asked another of the "gadflies" if he could
see himself committing an act of violence like Charles "Cookie" Thornton, who killed five people at a Kirkwood council
meeting last month.)
At this point Sandy was growing even more suspicious of Hampel's motives and he finally mentioned the Cookie Thornton
killings in Kirkwood before informing her that he had to go. It was only after she got off the phone that Sandy first
suspected Hampel was going to try to compare her to Thornton and her suspicions came true when the article came out
Monday.
Hampel's article was titled "After Kirkwood shootings, gadflies under the microscope" Hampel wrote "Often
called gadflies, they see themselves as champions of freedom and watchdogs of local government. But post-Kirkwood, a
conflict has arisen between security and First Amendment rights. Where these critics may once have been seen as
annoying, if sometimes right, some are now being looked at as possible threats."
Gadfly is a term the Post has used in describing Thornton (Charles 'Cookie' Thornton was the town gadfly", "It's
not that Plummer thought the town gadpfly....") And it is also the term Hampel used to describe this 64 year old
widow whose only crime appears to be that she loves her home town and wanted to get involved.
According to Sandy, that is exactly what St. Peters Mayor Len Pagono told Hampel when he spoke with him. Pagano
called Sandy and told her that he spoke with Hampel before the article ran and told him how she loved her city and her
neighborhood, that she was civic minded and that he had known her for 25 years and considered her a friend. However,
don't look for Pagano's kind words about Sandy in the article because they are no where to be found. Bullies like Hampel
have no need to let the truth get in the way of their attempt to make 64 year old civic minded widows like Sandy Waters
look dangerous.
Posted by Rick Fischer at 10:29 PM
From : Wake Up Call Missouri
March 05, 2008
My story yesterday, Post-Dispatch platform is a fraud, has drawn more interest than anything I have posted before.
And it should. The post was about a story written by Paul Hampel, who apparently had a bad day and decided to take it
out on citizens who dare to question their local governments. Actually, after speaking with one of the people Hampel
attacked, it appears it wasn't simply a bad day on Hampel's part, but rather a planned attack.
Sandy Waters is a 64 year old widow who has lived in St. Peters for over 34 years. She has been a trustee in her
subdivision for over 20 years, a job that comes with no pay but a lot of headaches. She managed her son's baseball team
when he was younger because no else wanted to do it. Sandy did all this while working part time in between being a
mother and wife full time.
While she followed local politics, Sandy had never spoken at a St. Peters council meeting until 2005. What made her take
the time to get involved? Sandy was watching a city workshop one night at home when Alderman Jerry Hollingsworth
mentioned an idea in which St. Peters citizens could help out the community by paying for a street sign which read, "Keep
Kids Alive, Drive 25". Sandy thought it was a good idea and that night went up to the council meeting and publicly
volunteered to pay for such a sign. Her alderman, Patrick Barclay then followed Sandy's lead and also pledged to pay for a
sign. Since then Sandy has been a semi regular at the meetings, sometimes praising the city for its actions, sometimes
criticizing St. Peters but always caring about her city.
If you read the Post-Dispatch's Platform, you would expect them to celebrate and encourage citizens like Sandy rather
than compare them to a murderer, but that is exactly what Paul Hampel and the Post did. Hampel called Sandy about ten
days ago and left a message that he was with the paper and would like to talk to her. At first Sandy was hesitant since she
had no idea who Hampel was or why a reporter would want to talk to her, but after talking with a friend she decided to call
him back.
Sandy says that Hampel told her he covered local government and that Tim Bryant, a Post-Dispatch reporter who covers
St. Peters, had said she was very educated on issues involving property values and taxes and that is what he wanted to
talk to her about. Sandy thought that was odd and told Hampel the only reason Bryant might have said that is because
she once spoke about issues regarding property values at a public meeting but she didn't consider herself an expert by
any means.
Hampel followed up by asking Sandy about speaking at St. Peters city meetings without ever telling her what he really
intended to write about. In fact, Sandy says when she would tell Hampel about some of the reasons she was involved,
such as a statement made by former alderman David Hayes that "There is no free speech in this chamber" Hampel
would act shocked that such things really happened. As Hampel reeled Sandy in he got more personal, asking her if she
was married, and Sandy opened up to him explaining she lost her husband in 2003 and that she would always miss him.
Hampel seized upon this opening to ask Sandy if the reason she went to St. Peters meetings was to fill this void. (In the
article Hampel quoted a psychiatrist who said "gadflies" often attended public meetings because this "is their only dynamic,
if you will, in which they're interacting with people.") Sandy was insulted by the question because it insinuated her
involvement in the community was some kind of a mental illness and that this involvement could replace her husband. As
Sandy became suspicious of Hampel's true intentions he followed up with a question about whether she could ever
become violent over the actions of the city. (In the article Hampel indicates he asked another of the "gadflies" if he could
see himself committing an act of violence like Charles "Cookie" Thornton, who killed five people at a Kirkwood council
meeting last month.)
At this point Sandy was growing even more suspicious of Hampel's motives and he finally mentioned the Cookie Thornton
killings in Kirkwood before informing her that he had to go. It was only after she got off the phone that Sandy first
suspected Hampel was going to try to compare her to Thornton and her suspicions came true when the article came out
Monday.
Hampel's article was titled "After Kirkwood shootings, gadflies under the microscope" Hampel wrote "Often
called gadflies, they see themselves as champions of freedom and watchdogs of local government. But post-Kirkwood, a
conflict has arisen between security and First Amendment rights. Where these critics may once have been seen as
annoying, if sometimes right, some are now being looked at as possible threats."
Gadfly is a term the Post has used in describing Thornton (Charles 'Cookie' Thornton was the town gadfly", "It's
not that Plummer thought the town gadpfly....") And it is also the term Hampel used to describe this 64 year old
widow whose only crime appears to be that she loves her home town and wanted to get involved.
According to Sandy, that is exactly what St. Peters Mayor Len Pagono told Hampel when he spoke with him. Pagano
called Sandy and told her that he spoke with Hampel before the article ran and told him how she loved her city and her
neighborhood, that she was civic minded and that he had known her for 25 years and considered her a friend. However,
don't look for Pagano's kind words about Sandy in the article because they are no where to be found. Bullies like Hampel
have no need to let the truth get in the way of their attempt to make 64 year old civic minded widows like Sandy Waters
look dangerous.
Posted by Rick Fischer at 10:29 PM
Watchdog Response: Surprise, surprise, surprise. Is someone trying to use the horrible mass murder of Kirkwood officials to
further one's agenda. Shame on you Mr. Hampel. You casting dispersions on these citizen's who are active in their community with
no retractions is despicable. The Post-Dispatch should be championing the causes of these citizens. Quite often these citizens are
the canaries in the coal mine warning the rest of the citizens that something is wrong with their local government. Which often is
met with apathy from people in the affected city.
Who knows maybe some of Mr. Thornton's frustration was borne out of the way the Post-Dispatch reported or lack or reporting of
his conflict with the city of Kirkwood. We may never know but isn't it worth reflecting on? Don't we all win if we can prevent this from
happening again? If Mr. Hampel believes in what he is reporting then does he have any concern that he may push these so-called
gadflies over the edge?
In the case of Ms. Waters she is well respected and effective in her community. I'm sure that hasn't gone unnoticed by those in her
community who dislike her asking questions. It's is my opinion Mr. Hampel's piece was an attempt to discredit her. So the question
to ask is. How is Mr. Hampel connected to those who would benefit from Ms. Waters being discredited?
Does anyone think that the Post-Dispatch would do a story offsetting this one about elected officials and other city officials
abusing their power? Don't hold your breath... Quite often isn't it the citizens who are the victims of abuses of power by city
officials..? How many of you out there would agree that the citizens have more to fear from city officials than they have to
fear from us?
Maybe the Watchdog will add a new page to this site. On one side we will have links to stories where government official abuse
their power and on the other side we will have links to stories where citizens abuse elected officials. Which one do you think will be
longer?
To learn more about the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's decline click on the following link.
further one's agenda. Shame on you Mr. Hampel. You casting dispersions on these citizen's who are active in their community with
no retractions is despicable. The Post-Dispatch should be championing the causes of these citizens. Quite often these citizens are
the canaries in the coal mine warning the rest of the citizens that something is wrong with their local government. Which often is
met with apathy from people in the affected city.
Who knows maybe some of Mr. Thornton's frustration was borne out of the way the Post-Dispatch reported or lack or reporting of
his conflict with the city of Kirkwood. We may never know but isn't it worth reflecting on? Don't we all win if we can prevent this from
happening again? If Mr. Hampel believes in what he is reporting then does he have any concern that he may push these so-called
gadflies over the edge?
In the case of Ms. Waters she is well respected and effective in her community. I'm sure that hasn't gone unnoticed by those in her
community who dislike her asking questions. It's is my opinion Mr. Hampel's piece was an attempt to discredit her. So the question
to ask is. How is Mr. Hampel connected to those who would benefit from Ms. Waters being discredited?
Does anyone think that the Post-Dispatch would do a story offsetting this one about elected officials and other city officials
abusing their power? Don't hold your breath... Quite often isn't it the citizens who are the victims of abuses of power by city
officials..? How many of you out there would agree that the citizens have more to fear from city officials than they have to
fear from us?
Maybe the Watchdog will add a new page to this site. On one side we will have links to stories where government official abuse
their power and on the other side we will have links to stories where citizens abuse elected officials. Which one do you think will be
longer?
To learn more about the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's decline click on the following link.
Click on the links below for more follow-up