On Aug. 20 the Iowa Public Information Board ruled in my favor regarding the complaint I made that the Jasper County Board of Health violated Iowa Code Chapter 21 (Open Meetings Law). I am attaching a copy of that order to this email. I thought that since the paper has covered the controversial action that was taken at that July 9 meeting TWICE, perhaps it might be newsworthy to learn about the goings-on behind the scenes that are relevant to this matter.
When the Newton Daily News originally covered this topic, I reached out to the reporter, J. Pierson on July 14 to let him know that there was much much more on this topic to be investigated and I would like to talk to him about it. He ignored me. When the Newton Daily News (I believe it was the same reporter) covered the Aug. 6 “special” board meeting, I found it amusing that every single speaker at that meeting was quoted, except for me.
Is this newspaper biased? Are you only reporting what the board of health wants you to report? There is a newsworthy story behind my Open Meetings law violation complaint that might interest a lot of people who are being hurt by the board’s illegal activity that resulted in the discontinuation of the Home Health Aide department. I would like to tell the story of how the board of health, a governmental body subject to the sunshine law, has been doing business in secret for years. I’ll be writing an article detailing what happened if you would like to publish it. It’s time for people to know.
Jean Lewis
Newton
