Everyone--
Mike McDowell has officially been fired from the Sheriff's
Department. The reasons he was given for his termination were that he
was, "... no longer reliable, not honest, and was uncooperative."
This in spite of the fact that the judge decided he was NOT in
contempt of court. He has not been found guilty of any crime nor
proven to have taken part in any activity that defies the law. The
only thing they COULD say truthfully about him is that he refused to
jump up and take his animal to be killed based on a phone call from a
person who refused to identify himself or state what authority
empowered him to make such demands. Instead Mike offered to pay for
quarantine and such tests as can be performed on a live animal at a
vet of his choosing and then have the animal put down if the vet even
thought it acted funny. None of this is directly involved in Mike's
job, and there has been no law broken to be able to say that he is
unsuitable as a law officer.
Mike is really down over this. He has been to the Unemployment
Offices, and they told him that if the paperwork they send to the
Sheriff comes back with the reasons stated to Mike listed on it, he
will be unemployable-- no one they work with will give him a job. In
addition to that, he will most likely be ineligible for unemployment
benefits if the above reasons are listed. And the topper is that
even if he moves away from Kansas, he will never be employable in
his field again. No law enforcement agency will ever hire him, nor
will any security firm/position. The only related job I can think of
that might overlook statements like those of the sheriff are private
investigators.
And of course the best of those probably wouldn't have him
either.
Mike is so down about it all that he was having a hard time
convincing himself to get out and get the grievance process against
the Sheriff's Office started. They can't afford to finance a
personal legal battle against the that office, but they are trying
once again to interest the ACLU in assisting them. I won't hold my
breath-- when they tried before, they couldn't get past the
secretary-- she'd just say, "They wouldn't be interested in that."
Paul asked specifically about the mention Rita made in her
letter of losing their house. He said they'd already been to see
the judge over it, and they'd been given a specific number of months
to get payments caught up before they'd be forced out. Mike says
there's no way they can make it in time, so they are preparing to
move.
There is a nationally broadcast newsmagazine type show that
wants to pick up their story. It's called American Journal, but no
one seems to know what network it runs on! They talked to the
producer of the show and told him that the only way they'd do it is
if there was absolutely nothing negative about ferrets or themselves
in the segment.
Producer guarantees that they'd have no need to be concerned on
that front, but I don't know when this might get taped and aired.
I'll try to keep y'all updated on that.
So that's where it stands. The last info on the amounts of
money coming in to help them was pretty sad. Through a post over
Internet mail, Mike McDowell had told someone that they had received
about $300 dollars in donations, and Ann Davis' ACME Ferret Co. sent
$100, though I don't know if the former amount is inclusive of the
latter. AFA (I think) also sent $100 dollars. So at best, that
comes to $500. The last quote on their attorney's bills was $8700,
and that is a few weeks old. No wonder Mike is depressed!
Ann Davis of LIFE has given permission to have checks made out
to LIFE and designated for the McDowells' Ferret Defense Fund. Any
funds collected in this manner will be forwarded to the McDowells in
the form of a check written to Mike & Rita McDowell, because the
state of Kansas doesn't allow anyone but the individual to pay the
individual's attorney. This is why the original postings said to
send money directly to the McDowells. Mike still wants to include
Rita's phone number and address, because Mike has said that they want
it posted, possibility of garbage calls and mail be darned.
Thanks for the continued interest!
Everyone--
Debra received a letter from Rita McDowell 2 weeks ago. She
was writing in response to the letter requesting permission to write
an article on their situation for her local club's newsletter and
info to share with you guys. Instead of trying to paraphrase and get
it all right, I'm going upload a copy of Debra's letter from Rita:
__________________________________
Dear Debra,
Thank you for your show of support and I would be delighted for
you to write an article on our ordeal because this could happen to
anyone.
On 12-11-93 a Kansas Power & Light worker came to relight our
furnace after a gas leak in town. My 13 year old daughter was home
alone and they were walking around the house shining their lights.
She was petrified and called me at work and I had her call 911. Her
father was a deputy at the time.
They finally came to the door, showed no ID, no uniform, & came
in to do their job. They both were dirty and petted my dog, cat,
then asked about my ferrets which were in their cages at the time.
He asked to see one & Megan took one out "Longtail" and was holding
it, cuddling it around her neck.
He stuck his hand out and Megan said, "Longtail clamped down and
I tapped his head and he released." The man laughed and said, "I'm
going to sue you!" There was no puncture wound, no blood seen by my
daughter. He left and continued working for hours on other houses.
Three days later he went to a doctor for a tetanus shot via
company policy and the doctor reported to KDHE a bite. On 12-15-93 I
get a phone call from the county saying to take our ferret to be
killed (we had the brothers since they were 3 days old.) My husband
offered to quarantine the ferret for 30 days, offered to let a vet do
a saliva and tactile hair test, but the state does not recognize
those tests.
Kris Bisgard, a vet on loan to the state, called me at work and
stated that my ferret was a wild animal like a wolf and was to be
destroyed. I tried to reason with her saying that we all have
received bites and we did not have rabies, her statement was that we
were all probably immune. She said the difference between
domesticated animals and wild is that there were vaccines for
domesticated!
Marvin S. Hattlemeyer from KDHE called my house, berated my
husband, threatened to kill both my ferrets.
Longtail was handicapped-- he was missing a back foot, while
George had no tail. A kid at work offered to take Longtail, so I
took him to work and he took him out of my car. After 2 days I told
him that I didn't want him involved and brought Longtail home.
Seven days after the alleged bite I took Longtail to the vet and
he was in perfect health. In court this was inadmissable being
hearsay, and the vet's records were also hearsay!
I had quite a few calls saying to keep the ferrets with me at
all times, so when I had to get my hair cut I put them in a cage and
took them with me. Well they were taken again from my car, but I
really don't know who did it or where they were or are now.
On Friday the 17 KDHE called in the afternoon and said for us to
appear at district court Tues at 9:00 AM and we better find an
attorney.
Great due process of law time of one working day! The court was
never given any proof of a bite or victim. The judge, Tracy
Klingingsmith said that the states credentials were enough. We were
told that we had no right to know the victim's name or to see any
medical records.
The alleged victim and his employer kept saying (through his
employer) that they wanted no action taken against us and he was
refusing rabies shots.
Our attorney met with us 20 minutes before court and told us
that if he lost, he was off the case. The actual filing for a hearig
was *15* minutes before court! Within hours after the trial we were
served with contempt papers ordering us to find & surrender the
animal that I had testified under oath that I did not know where it
was and it disappeared before a court order was issued.
My husband's employer (Pott. County Sheriff Dept.) called and
suspended him without pay for willfully disobeying a court order,
they made comments to the press about us being unbelievable, and
that they see pink pigs flying in their parking lots.
My son's car was vandalized, and he was laid off. I am trying
to support a family of 5 on $4.70 per hour.
Well, we found another lawyer who asked for a rehearing, and
represented us in contempt court. (Oh, yeah, we tried to submit into
court the IMRAB #3 vaccine and the state acknowledged it, but the
judge still ruled against us.) My husband was found not in contempt
of court, but I was in indirect contempt and ordered to pay for
rabies shots. Mike still is not reinstated and was told that he will
probably be terminated. The sheriff has to think about it.
I called KP&L and they said that he started the shots between
Dec 25 and Jan 1, well past the 10 days that the state said he HAD to
start.
KP&L is doing this privately at no expense t me. They told me
before that the state was putting alot of pressure on them and that
they could not afford to lose any political ties. I do not
personally believe that there are any shots being given-- no
necessity. HDHE put a press release out stating that I owe $1200 for
the victim's medical cost and the newspapers printed only the state's
side, and not what my attorney said.
The judge said that there was no reason to find and sacrifice
(KILL) my ferret, but the state said they were going to find and kill
him!
I owe the first lawyer $1200+ which I am questioning, and the
second lawyer $7500 all for not breaking the law. The state used me
to make a point and if *I* had the money I would definitely go back
to court.
My family and I have suffered terribly, to the point of losing
our home. I am not hearing much from people in support and we are
emotionally as well as financially drained.
We do not have a transcript and neither does my attorney. It
costs $2 per page and the court says it will be 300+ pages long. [I
had asked if they had a copy of the decision or the transcript and
offered to pay to get a copy of it-- obviously I can't do $600
though!-- Debra] The state is supposed to furnish the judge's
decision to my attorney, and if I get one, I will forward a copy if
would like.
I do appreciate your support and concern and I am not done
fighting.
We had 2 letters from the Ks Dept. of Wildlife & Game and the
Dept. of Agriculture classifying ferrets as domesticated which the
court would not accept. KDHE has called pet stores threatening to
kill their ferrets if they nip anyone.
This whole ordeal is ridiculous! They claim victory in the
paper but they are only victorious in destroying a family
financially. They do not have my ferrets, so they must still be
alive. That's one victory for me.
I'm sure that I have left something out so feel free to call if
you have any more questions and again THANKS.
Rita McDowell
(913) 889-7180
P.S.-- Please excuse the mistakes, I wrote fast to try to get it all
down.
____________________________________________________________
If you can send something to help them out, there is a fund
being collected by LIFE (League of Independent Ferret Enthusiasts) to
help cover the McDowells' legal expenses. Checks may be made out to
LIFE, with a notation at the lower left that the money is to go to
the McDowells' Ferret Defense Fund. Don't make the check itself out
to the Defense Fund, as LIFE only maintains one checking account.
The address to mail donations to is:
LIFE
c/o Ann Davis
9330 Old Burke Lake Road
Burke, VA 22015
Since times are tough, not everyone can contribute money, but
surely we can all handle the price of a stamp and a letter to let
them know we're concerned for them? I notice that the return address
on Rita's letter is different than the one I had previously, and with
her comment about losing their house, they may have had to move. The
address on the envelope is:
Rita McDowell
Box 432
Onaga, KS 66521
The address and phone number are posted at the McDowells'
request after they were warned that it is accessable to ANY of the
users.
Hoping we'll all write soon--
Debra
As you can see, reprinted by REQUEST!! HELP THESE PEOPLE FOLKS!!
anne in chicago
[Posted in FML issue 0721]
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