July 10, 2009

Cleburne Times-Review reporter Pete Kendall pled nolo contendere (no contest) to a criminal charge of Disorderly Conduct, was pronounced guilty and fined $200 by Judge F. Steven McClure on July 7.

The citation was issued by Cleburne Police Sergeant Danny Rogers after investigation of a complaint filed by Alden Nellis. The incident occurred at the Cleburne ISD administrative offices prior to a school board meeting on May 21 while Kendall was on duty as a reporter for the Times-Review.  CISD superintendent Ronald Beard and CISD Communications Director Lisa Magers looked on as the verbal attack occurred.

The citation charged that Kendall “Did then and there knowingly in a public place within the city limits of the City of Cleburne, Johnson County, Texas, To Wit: the 505 block of North Ridgeway.

“Did use abusive, indecent, profane, or vulgar language in said public place, and the language by it’s very utterance tended to incite an immediate breach of the peace, such action being contrary to and in violation of the Penal Code, Title 9 Chapter 42, Sect. 42.01-(1).”

See copies of the Citation and Judgement here.

Alden Nellis, the victim of the abuse, said “I waited a few days to give Mr. Kendall the opportunity to apologize. When he didn’t, I filed a complaint with the Cleburne Police Department. I also emailed Dr. Beard and asked him if he and Ms. Magers were parties to the action. I got no reply. Two and a half weeks later at a school board meeting the school gave Mr. Kendall an Award.”

The complaint filed by Nellis with the Cleburne Police was this:

An account by Alden Nellis

May 21, 2009

As I approached the Cleburne ISD administration building at 5:15 p.m. for the 5:30 p.m. called meeting for the TASB staffing report, I was aware that someone was standing just inside the entry. The tint and reflections on the glass prevented me from recognizing that person.

As I opened the outside door I recognized that person as Cleburne Times-Review reporter Pete Kendall. As I opened the door into the hallway, he shouted “Shame on the Times-Review for printing the truth!” He paused. I smiled but did not respond.

Mr. Kendall, red in the face, quivering all over and waving his arms, shouted at the top of his lungs “You are a lying sack of sh*t, Alden Nellis.” [edited for decency]

Superintendent Ronny Beard, CISD PR person Lisa Magers, and Secretary Sally Smith were all in the hallway when Mr. Kendall began shouting. Superintendent Beard and Lisa Magers disappeared into offices or down the hall. Sally Smith continued carrying things back and forth to the board room where the meeting was scheduled.

Mr. Kendall continued to shout at the top of his lungs. Dr. Beard, Lisa Magers, and everyone in the board room could not help but hear him. Those in the board room included school board members, CISD staff and TASB presenters.

Mr. Kendall twice more shouted that I was a “sack of sh*t.” [edited for decency]

Mr. Kendall, among other things, shouted “The Times-Review always prints the truth.” I responded “No, you don’t.”

Mr. Kendall continued to shout at the top of his lungs. He shouted “We check things out” or something to that effect. I responded “No, you don’t. You print verbatim the press releases that the school and city send you without verifying them.”

The rest of the conversation is not word for word, but the general gist.

Mr. Kendall’s complaint was about my opinion piece printed on CleburnePolitics.com and in the Cleburne Eagle entitled “Shame on the Cleburne Times-Review” (read here http://www.cleburnepolitics.com/School/ShameonTimesReview.html) in which I said the Times-Review should not print gossip about school board candidate Tolin Navarrete when I and many others had never heard it, and they shouldn’t drag him through the mud by printing the gossip. I felt this was especially inappropriate since the election had been over for a week. My editorial was in response to the Times-Review’s editorial printed in the May 17 Sunday edition (read here http://www.cleburnetimesreview.com/archivesearch/local_story_138081809.html
in which they repeated rumors circulated about candidate Tolin Navarrete, implied that we were behind the rumors, and bemoaned that those rumors may have cost him the election.

Mr. Kendall said “You knew about the rumors.” I said I did not. He sneered “You don’t mean to tell me you don’t read the Cleburne Eagle.” I told him that I did not always read the Eagle and never read all of it, and the same was true for my reading of the Times-Review.

Mr. Kendall said “You sent that [editorial] to the Eagle because you knew they would print it.” I replied that I knew the Times-Review wouldn’t print it. (TR editor Dale Gosser sent me an email several years ago saying he would never print anything I sent in.)

Mr. Kendall continued to be very loud, very animated, very agitated, and very red-faced.

Finally he shouted “I tried giving you the benefit of the doubt, but I am through with you.” I responded “Good.” He swung around and walked into the board room where the meeting was about to start.

In the board room was a U-shaped arrangement of tables for the board, administrative staff and presenters. To the side in a row were two tables for media and public. Mr. Kendall sat at the far end of those tables. I sat next to him.

Several staff and board members came by and greeted me and shook hands. Dr. Beard was the only one to also shake hands with Mr. Kendall.

Lisa Magers came in and sat at the second chair from the other end of the tables, leaving one chair between her and me and the chair at the end empty. Mr. Kendall then got up and moved to the other end of the table next to Mrs. Magers.

After a small conversation with Mrs. Magers, Mr. Kendall asked “Have you ever seen me that mad?” If she responded I did not hear it.

As the TASB presenter, Richard Lane, finished his opening remarks and embarked on analyzing the spreadsheets in the report, Dr. Beard, who was sitting with his back to us, looked around. He saw that Mr. Kendall had a copy of the report (given to him by Mrs. Magers) and that I did not. He got up and took a copy from Dr. Warlick’s place and gave it to me.

Several questions are raised here.

Does a person have a right to attend a public meeting in a public place without being shouted at, verbally attacked, slandered, and having his character assassinated by a Times-Review reporter?

Why would a so-called impartial reporter completely lose his perspective to the degree that he verbally attacks someone in a public place at a public meeting?

Does the Times-Review hold the exclusive right to publish an opinion? The Times-Review published an editorial repeating rumors. I published a letter saying I and many others had not heard the rumors and shame on the Times-Review for printing them.

Can the Times-Review be an impartial reporter of the news when staff are so personally opinionated and involved in politics?”

End of Nellis Complaint.

Nellis said he was troubled by the fact that Superintendent Beard had not answered his question as to whether he and Mrs. Magers were a party to the fiasco. He visited Dr. Beard in his office on June 8 and asked him. Dr. Beard claimed he had answered the email, but later said he could not find it in his outbox. Dr. Beard said in a later email: “My reply was a simple no, I did not know anything was going on and I was surprised to see Pete stop you at the door… I was talking to Sally about something when this started and watched until you walked past Pete to the board room, but I could not hear the entire conversation.  I did hear you say "I don't read the Times Herald" in reply to something he asked you, but that was about all I heard.  RBeard”

Nellis said he did not understand how Dr. Beard could have heard a sentence he himself had said in a normal tone of voice and could not hear what Pete Kendall was yelling at the top of his lungs. “Nevertheless,” said Nellis, “Someone must have told the truth during the investigation or Sgt. Rogers would not have issued the citation.”